WINNIPEG — The Manitoba government says human error resulted in the personal information of 9,000 children with disabilities being unintentionally shared.

The province says the breach occurred on Wednesday when staff from Children's Disability Services sent an email intended for Manitoba's children's and youth advocate to about 100 agencies and advocacy groups.

The email contained the children's diagnoses and addresses, but did not include personal health identification numbers, social insurance numbers or any financial information.

The government says the material was password-protected, but the password was also provided.

The email also included information about a matter being reviewed by the children's advocate.

The government says it has contacted the agencies and groups to make sure the email has been deleted, and is calling the children's families to apologize.

It says it will follow up with clients by email or mail.

"The mistake was human error; however, the department is following up with staff to review and improve processes to avoid this happening again," said a news release Friday.

It said the children's advocate has been informed and the breach has also been referred to the Manitoba ombudsman. (CTV Winnipeg)

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 28, 2020

The Canadian Press