A panel will review the child welfare system after recent homeless counts showed a growing number of young people among those with no roof over their head, Children's Services Minister Janis Tarchuk said on Wednesday.

Homeless counts last fall in communities across Alberta uncovered the trend, said Tarchuk, who stressed that the bottom line is not to give up on any children.

Alberta's minister of children's services, Janis Tarchuk, speaks with reporters at the legislature on Wednesday. (CBC)"They are living on the streets, or couch surfing with friends, or accessing our youth shelters ... that trend is very very concerning," Tarchuk said.

The committee will determine how many spots are available for children who are wards of the province, and how many more are needed, she said.

The minister of housing will also be involved in helping to collaborate a response to this issue, Tarchuk said.

There is a gap between the number of wards of the province needing shelter and the number of spaces available for them, youth court worker Mark Cherrington said.

"I'm dealing with young people that are living in big drain culverts because there is no placements, and children's services are not willing, or not able to provide those resources," Cherrington said.

CBC News obtained numbers from the Edmonton region of children's services which show that two years ago there was a shortfall of more than 700 beds, and now that shortfall is over 800.

However, this apparent shortfall does not take into account the additional children and youth placed with extended families in an arrangement known as "kinship care."

According to the Edmonton Area Child and Family Services, the number of spaces for kinship care and other arrangements were 781 in 2007-08, 811 in 2008-09 and 791 from April to June 2009.

Teen told 'you're on your own'

CBC News spoke with a 16-year-old girl, who will be referred to as "Amanda" because she cannot be named under the Child, Youth and Family Enhancement Act.

In talking with her caseworker, she was told she was on her own in terms of finding a place to live, Amanda said.

"She just kind of leaves stuff up to me now like it's my responsibility to find my own place ... to boot, my mom abandoned me, right, so I have nobody, so I'm just out there doing whatever," Amanda said.

It's not acceptable for a case worker to tell a teenager in care who's out on the street that there are no beds, Tarchuk said.

"The bottom line is that we never do give up on them," she said.

'I'd sure wish they'd contact me'— Janis Tarchuk, children's services minister

"Our challenge is that we have to keep working with them ... that we do engage them in trying to accept our services and supports," Tarchuk said.

The minister said she's even willing to look into some these cases firsthand.

"My first advice would be I'd sure wish they'd contact me, because our options will never be that one of the places for you is is on the street, it won't be that," Tarchuk said.

The panel appointed by Tarchuk is expected to provide a report next spring, with a mandate to help build a stronger child welfare system.