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

Recommendations for legislative reform

Recommendation 11: Increase court oversight of MCFD’s efforts to identify less disruptive measures by adding the following provisions to the CFCSA:

1. The court shall not make an order removing the child from the care of a parent or guardian unless the court is satisfied that less disruptive measures, including services to promote the integrity of the family, have been attempted, refused by the parent or would be inadequate to protect the child;
2. Where the court determines that it is necessary to remove the child from the care of a parent or guardian, the court shall, before making an order, consider whether it is possible to place the child with a person or group in accordance with the order of preference of placements.

Recommendations for improving financial supports

Recommendation 12: The provincial government must immediately raise welfare and disability rates to the Market Basket Measure (MBM), index them to the cost of living, and remove arbitrary barriers.

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.

Recommendations for improving financial supports

Recommendation 13: In the meantime, the BC government and MCFD should bridge the gap between the current welfare and disability rates and the MBM for all families that are at risk of having children apprehended by MCFD.

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.

Recommendations for improving financial supports

Recommendation 14: The BC government should amend legislation to ensure that there is no reduction of benefits for families when a child is temporarily taken into care so that income supports and housing can be maintained while parents are working to bring their children home.

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.

Recommendations for improving financial supports

Recommendation 15: MCFD should develop a policy for supporting each family with whom it comes into contact to secure all the available provincial and federal benets. This may require training social workers to understand social assistance frameworks or creating a position within MCFD for a social assistance support worker that can help families secure all the benefits to which they are entitled.