A LACK OF ACCOUNTABILITY AROUND A SOCIAL WORKER’S OBLIGATION TO IDENTIFY LESS DISRUPTIVE MEASURES

Recommendation 6: There should also be a requirement that the Ministry respond to alternative proposals by parents, Nations, and community-based organizations that support the parent. The Yellowhead Institute recommends that the legislation include “affidavit evidence from the Indigenous group that there is no available placement.

Discrepancies in the delivery of child welfare services

INCONSISTENCIES IN SOCIAL WORKER PRACTICE STANDARDS

Recommendation 7: MCFD should collaborate with Indigenous peoples to create a formal plan for recruitment and retention of Indigenous MCFD staff, with clear principles, goals, milestones, and timelines.

Discrepancies in the delivery of child welfare services

INCONSISTENCIES IN SOCIAL WORKER PRACTICE STANDARDS

Recommendation 8: MCFD must review hiring and human resource policies to remove barriers for Indigenous applicants and make workplaces safe for Indigenous employees

Discrepancies in the delivery of child welfare services

INCONSISTENCIES IN SOCIAL WORKER PRACTICE STANDARDS

Recommendation 9: MCFD should consider the creation of specialized, equitably-resourced, Indigenous-specific teams as recommended by Jane Rousseau in Struggling toward Indigenous representation and service improvement within the BC Ministry of Children and Family Development

Discrepancies in the delivery of child welfare services

INCONSISTENCIES IN SOCIAL WORKER PRACTICE STANDARDS

Recommendation 10: MCFD must ensure that efforts are embedded at all organizational levels including by training supervisors, providing opportunities for Indigenous managers, and promoting the involvement of Indigenous employees in strategic planning and practice development

Discrepancies in the delivery of child welfare services

INCONSISTENCIES IN SOCIAL WORKER PRACTICE STANDARDS

Recommendation 11: MCFD should develop a mechanism for holding regional offices accountable to implement the necessary changes identified through quality assessments

Discrepancies in the delivery of child welfare services

Subtitle:SYSTEMIC RACISM

Recommendation 12: Project participants also expressed the need for training to cover the following topics: genderbased violence; Indigenous rights, identities, and cultures; the role of ongoing colonialism on intergenerational trauma; the potential for communities and families to provide more appropriate solutions to family healing; and the importance of culture and connection to the child’s well-being.

Discrepancies in the delivery of child welfare services

Subtitle:A TOP-DOWN APPROACH

Recommendation 13: MCFD must review its policies and practices to increase the use of ADR processes, including changing the definition of family in ADR processes to recognize and honour Indigenous conceptions of family.

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.

Improving financial supports for Indigenous families

A UNIVERSAL BENEFIT FOR ALL CHILDREN LIVING IN EXTENDED FAMILY-BASED CARE

Recommendation 15: Allow for community-based organizations that work closely with the family in the provision of family support to provide a recommendation letter or report setting out the family’s needs.