Last September, the Ministry of Children and Family Development told the media that 23 children in government care had been placed in hotels since November 2014.

A new report indicates that the actual number was more than five times higher.

The investigation was jointly conducted by the ministry and the representative for children and youth, Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond. And they found that there were 117 placements in hotels over a one-year period.

The longest was 49 nights and the average length was 2.7 nights.

More than half of the stays were for only one night.

In the wake of these findings, the ministry has announced a new standard of placing children and youth in hotels only in "exceptional circumstances" and where there is "no other option".

The report came about after a B.C. youth died after being placed in a hotel for a lengthy period of time.

Turpel-Lafond applauded the government's response.

"I want to see the use of hotels as placements for children and youth completely eliminated and this is a good initial step," Turpel-Lafond said in a news release. "Every child needs and deserves a stable home in a family environment and I am pleased that RCY and the ministry were able to work quickly and collaboratively on this report to identify the scope of the problem and make progress toward eliminating it."

Children and Family Development Minister Stephanie Cadieux said in the same news release that the government's goal is to "eliminate hotel placements entirely".

"Consistent with my mandate letter, we are working on a foster recruitment, remuneration, and retention plan that will be presented to cabinet later this year," Cadieux added.