NDP MLA Rachel Notley accused the province Monday of failing to protect children in care and trying to hide problems with the child welfare system from the public.

Children's Services Minister Janis Tarchuk tabled the last three annual reports from Alberta's Child and Youth Advocate in the legislature last Tuesday, the first day of the fall sitting and the day of the federal election.

Notley said the reports point to unsafe or inappropriate placements for children in care, a lack of ability to move children out of bad environments and failure to protect children who are alleged victims of sexual abuse.

The tabling of three years' worth of reports at once shows the government tried to keep the information from the public, said Notley.

"The fact that these reports all came together three in a row with the ministry's response nicely tied up beside it, although I would say not that effectively, on the morning of the federal election goes to show that there was a certain amount of political planning in terms of the release of this information," she said.

Instead of reporting to the minister, the Children's Advocate should report to the legislature, Notley said, which would allow for the information to be released without first being reviewed and possibly edited by ministry officials.

Tarchuk plans to comment publicly on the reports on Tuesday.