An Edmonton foster mother arrested in January 2007 following the death of a three-year-old boy in her care has been ordered to stand trial on a charge of second-degree murder.

The 32-year-old woman, who cannot be named under Alberta's child protection laws, will also be tried on three related charges:

• Assault causing bodily harm.
• Child abandonment.
• Failing to provide the necessities of life.

The decision to take the case to trial followed a preliminary hearing that wrapped up Thursday in Edmonton.

No date has been set for the trial, and the woman will remain free on bail.

The foster child died after being rushed to hospital from a west-end home early in the morning. An autopsy showed he had suffered acute cranial trauma.

The case touched off a fierce debate over Alberta's foster care system, with opposition parties and government critics complaining there are not enough social workers to support the 10,249 children in care, 1,600 of them in Edmonton.

Alberta's Minister of Children's Services, Janis Tarchuk, appointed a seven-member panel in February 2007 to review the case. The review was complex, department officials said at the time, and was expected to take up to two years to complete.