Stolen files an inevitable risk of government policy to provide services in communities, AUPE president says
EDMONTON – The risk of confidential files being stolen from automobiles is an inevitable consequence of the way Alberta Children’s Services wants social workers to do their work, says AUPE President Doug Knight.
Knight was responding to media reports today that confidential personal information about Edmonton-area foster parents had been found dumped in a dumpster. The files had been stolen from a Child and Family Services worker’s automobile while the employee was at a work-related conference.
“This kind of situation has nothing to do with workers being careless,” said Knight. “It is the result of Government of Alberta policies that require social workers to take their work, and their files, into the community.
“If social workers are required to work from their cars, in the community, it is inevitable at some point that vehicles will be broken into or stolen and that files or laptop computers containing confidential information will be lost from time to time,” Knight said.
“As we all know, large numbers of vehicles are stolen and broken into in Edmonton every day,” he said.
“As a foster parent myself, I am not happy about this risk, but given the way the government wants social workers to do their work, I don’t see how it can be avoided completely,” Knight said.