Review of the Link leads to 29 recommendations after mismanagement allegations

A review into Manitoba's largest organization for youth and families in crisis has yielded 29 recommendations after allegations of mistreatment, racism and financial mismanagement were levelled at it in December.

Of the 29 recommendations, 23 have already been implemented, said Kerri Irvin-Ross, CEO of the Link (formerly Macdonald Youth Services), located in Winnipeg.

"Honestly, right now I'm grateful that we had this review. The Link is strong. It's going to be stronger," she said. "So we're looking to move forward."

The third-party review by consulting firm Deloitte was ordered by the Manitoba government, which contracts the Link to provide services. It started in February and was finished in June; the final 60-page report was released this week.

However, the board and management at the Link was given a draft copy in April and immediately started addressing the recommendations, Irvin-Ross said.

"It was too important to wait. We started to make those changes as soon as possible," she said.

The Link provides both short- and long-term support for youth and their families through counselling, crisis intervention, group care, a 24-hour youth shelter, housing support, education and employment assistance. It employs more than 300 people and helps 10,000 families annually, Irvin-Ross said.

In December 2022, Instagram account @darksideofthelink was created by current and former staff who alleged institutional racism due to a lack of Indigenous senior managers or board members, and questioned the staff turnover rate and financial activity.

Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont raised the issue in question period in March, asking when the review would be complete. He expressed concern about allegations of a "deeply toxic workplace" and that programs and group homes didn't have enough staff to keep youth safe.

For the most part, the review found the Link had adequate policies in place around its financial management, human resources, hiring practices and service delivery, and that those policies were being followed.

Some gaps between policy and practice were identified, but the report says those may have occurred because of staff turnover. However, that turnover was within industry norms, it said.

The recommendations primarily address those gaps.

"This assessment was not intended to be an investigation of these anonymous allegations made regarding the Link. The assessor was not given a mandate to investigate these specific allegations, and therefore, no conclusions can be reached in this assessment about whether specific allegations are, or are not, substantiated," the report says.

Allegations of racism or employee harm were also not part of the scope of the review, the report says.

As for concerns about youth being put at risk due to staffing shortages, the report states that "if during the review Deloitte saw immediate service concerns affecting the welfare of a child dealt with under the Child and Family Services Act (CFS Act), we were to notify the [government Department of Families].

"This was not required," it says.

As part of the review, 22 current and former employees were interviewed. The Link also provided "hundreds and hundreds of documents," Irvin-Ross said.

"Whatever they asked for, we did it. We fully, fully co-operated," she said.

The six recommendations that have not yet been fully implemented are in progress and should be completed by fall, she said.

On the allegations of racism and a lack of Indigenous representation within management at the Link, Irvin-Ross said both the board and management have Indigenous representation.

"We serve Indigenous people and we know the value and the importance of having volunteers as well as employees that are representative of the community. So we are actively seeking out and and meeting with Indigenous people to see if they're interested in becoming a part of this organization and helping us to grow," she said.

Spending questioned

In questioning the spending of management at the organization, some current and former staff of the Link told CBC News in January that many decisions seemed to go against the intent of the organization to help families in need.  

In particular, they cited the remodelling of an office, including $28,000 spent on furniture, as excessive and unnecessary. 

"We do have other monies, private donations, other foundations … so it's easy to say we didn't spend the $28,000 using provincial money, which would be a violation of the funding agreement," a former employee said at the time.

Irvin-Ross said on Friday that remodelling was done with capital money and the review found no program money was used.

Nonetheless, changes have been made to address the possible perception of financial mismanagement. As part of the recommendations, expenditures in excess of $10,000 must now be approved by the board.

CBC News reached out to the group of employees who made the original accusations but has not yet heard back.