The legal context: Assessing the child welfare legislation from a rights-based framework

THE STATE’S POSITIVE OBLIGATION TO PROVIDE SUPPORTS PRIOR TO APPREHENSION

Recommendation 1: States should pursue policies that ensure support for families in meeting their responsibilities towards the child and promote the right of the child to have a relationship with both parents. These policies should address the root causes of child abandonment, relinquishment and separation of the child from his/her family by ensuring, inter alia, the right to birth registration, and access to adequate housing and to basic health, education and social welfare services, as well as by promoting measures to combat poverty, discrimination, marginalization, stigmatization, violence, child maltreatment and sexual abuse, and substance abuse.

The legal context: Assessing the child welfare legislation from a rights-based framework

THE STATE’S POSITIVE OBLIGATION TO PREVENT AND ADDRESS FAMILY VIOLENCE

Recommendation 2: States should allocate adequate resources to address risk factors and prevent violence before it occurs. Policies and programmes should address immediate risk factors, such as a lack of parent-child attachment, family breakdown, abuse of alcohol or drugs, and access to rearms. In line with the Millennium Development Goals, attention should be focused on economic and social policies that address poverty, gender and other forms of inequality, income gaps, unemployment, urban overcrowding, and other factors which undermine society

Substance use: Current MCFD approaches and recommendations for change

Recommendation 14: make specialized substance use consultants available to support families to develop timely safety planning including engaging and enabling the support of family members.

Conclusion and Recommendations

Recommendations for legislative reform:

Recommendation 26: (c) having a disability

Conclusion and Recommendations

Recommendations for improving prevention-based efforts

Recommendation 40: The BC government and MCFD should work with Indigenous communities to fund and develop comprehensive services for families that are experiencing violence including services for abusive men and services for the entire family. These services should address intersecting needs including historical trauma, parenting skills, and substance use.