Transparency: Parents are consistently deprived of basic information related to their case at every stage of the child protection process. Being informed about the Ministry’s concerns is crucial for parents to be able to take steps to improve their circumstances and work towards the return of their child.

Parents reported not being told that an investigation was underway, or informed of the steps they need to take to have their children returned. Despite the duty of social workers to keep parents informed about the status of their file and the plan for their child, mothers felt they were consistently uninformed and sometimes given misinformation.

Placements and visits: Children taken into care continue to be placed far from their family, siblings, and community, often in culturally inappropriate homes. Parents and grandparents are also concerned about the low priority placed on ensuring visits with children, the way in which visits are supervised, and the lack of accountability when visits are cancelled.

A number of parents are very upset about the quality of care their children are receiving and the Ministry’s lack of responsiveness when they voice their concerns. The CFCSA principle to preserve kinship ties and a child’s attachment to the extended family is, in many cases, not being observed.

The role of the social worker: Social workers must play a dual role which can be highly problematic in terms of their relationship with parents. They play a supportive role where they are supposed to build trust with a parent and provide the appropriate services and resources.

On the other hand, they are investigators who may eventually make the decision to apprehend or not return a child. These competing roles can impede the creation of trust or rapport between the parent and social worker.

There is also a very high turnover rate among social workers which creates a lack of continuity. Huge caseloads can make it impossible to respond quickly to changes in parents’ lives and appreciate the strides parents are making to address the Ministry’s concerns.

The court system: The Courts play an important role in the child protection system as decision-maker and reviewer of child protection cases. Parents describe the court system as not only overwhelming in its complexity, but also plagued with inordinate and unreasonable delays.

Many parents reported that while they had legal representation they did not feel adequately informed of what to expect at court dates and often did not understand what had happened in court. Delays throughout the court process leave many parents feeling hopeless and unheard. The court system, which is intended to be an oversight mechanism to ensure that child protection laws are being applied appropriately, is viewed by parents as doing too little too late.

A broken system

This study is by no means the first to identify these shortcomings of the child protection system. The CFCSA was brought into force, in part, to address some of the very problems identified in this study, yet little has changed.

The child welfare system is in desperate need of a new approach in order to live up to the promise of its own legislation.
B.C.’s child protection system remains crisis driven. Child protection social workers have too many cases and too few resources for prevention or to address underlying social or economic problems.

The courts are backlogged, and child protection teams do not have the time or resources to work toward family reunification. The end results are apprehensions that could be avoided and children lingering in care.

Taking children into government care in order to ensure their safety and well-being is not working. Outcomes for children coming out of the foster care system are devastating. Seventy-three percent of youth involved with the young offenders system in B.C. are also involved with the child protection system. Only 21 percent of former youth in care graduate, compared with 78 percent of the general population.

In B.C., young women who are in the permanent care of the province are four times more likely to become pregnant than other young women who have never been in care. When these children become parents they disproportionately lose their own children to the foster care system.

Sixty-five percent of the parents that took part in this study spent time in the foster care system themselves as children. The key to reversing these trends lies in supporting vulnerable families before, during, and after a time of crisis.

The historical relationship between Aboriginal families and the government has had long-term negative social and economic consequences that are still being felt today. These families continue to be poorly served by the child protection system.

Improving the system for Aboriginal people will require a concerted effort to address the levels poverty and discrimination affecting Aboriginal people across the province as well as a genuine commitment from the government to support Aboriginal people in developing child protection strategies that meet the needs of families and communities.

The child protection system can only begin to truly satisfy its mandate to serve the best interests of children if decision makers embrace the principles laid out in the CFCSA. Without a genuine commitment to implementation, progressive principles cannot repair this broken system. Implementation will necessarily require a long-term commitment and substantial resources. As the government of British Columbia, yet again, considers reforms to the child protection system we hope that this time the voices of vulnerable families will be heard.