The Court of Queen’s Bench approved the settlement of a class action suit regarding the government’s role to seek compensation for children injured as a result of abuse, assault or other crimes while under provincial guardianship.

Benefit claims can be made between January 15, 2016 and January 15, 2017. The settlement applies to people who were under the care of Alberta Child Welfare and/or the Public Trustee and

Under the terms of the settlement, they can apply for financial compensation from the provincial government’s Victims of Crime program. Amounts are determined by the schedule of benefits set out in the Victims of Crime Regulation and range from $500 to $110,000, depending on the type of crime and severity of the injury.

The Alberta government is also establishing a $7.5 million fund for claims rejected by Victims of Crime program on the basis that they missed the limitations period. Those claims will be reviewed by an independent adjudicator and benefit amounts will be based on the Victims of Crime Regulation.