Strategic Context

Vision, Mission and Values

Vision

The Ministry of Children and Family Development envisions a province where children are healthy, families are responsible, and all live in safe, caring and inclusive communities.

Mission

Our mission is to promote and develop the capacity of families and communities to support healthy child development, access and provide quality child care, and care for and protect vulnerable children and youth.

Values

• We believe that government must acknowledge and reinforce the capacity of communities to enhance the resilience of children and families. This is demonstrated through our support of community-based early childhood development initiatives, quality child care options, community child and youth mental health and youth justice services and providing assistance for children and youth with special needs and their families. We place an emphasis on adoption for children in permanent care and we are committed to community-based service delivery models.
• We believe in the right and primary responsibility of families to protect and support the growth and development of children and youth. This ministry believes it should provide the least intrusive intervention necessary to ensure the safety and well-being of our most vulnerable community members. This is demonstrated through agreements with the child's extended family and close friends and greater use of family development approaches, such as mediation and family group conferencing, to keep families safely together.

Planning Context and Key Strategic Issues

Changing Demographics and Service Needs

In British Columbia there are approximately 907,000 children and youth, representing 21.5 per cent of the province's total population. An estimated 583,000 are children aged 0 – 12, including 247,000 children under age six. The child population (0 – 12 years) has declined by six per cent since 2001.

Aboriginal Children and Families

Aboriginal children represent approximately nine per cent of the child population in the province. While the overall child population in B.C. has declined over the past five years, the number of Aboriginal children has decreased at a slower rate than the population of non-Aboriginal children. The percentage of the province's child population that is Aboriginal continues to increase.

Within the current MCFD service delivery structure, Aboriginal children continue to be over-represented in child welfare services, accounting for 49 per cent of all children-in-care (August 2005). Aboriginal children are also over-represented in the youth justice system. The Province recognizes the need to work with Aboriginal communities to support families to care for their children. In September 2002, the Province and Aboriginal political leadership established a joint-dialogue and decision making process regarding issues relating to the safety and well-being of Aboriginal children and families. Since then, the ministry, in partnership with Aboriginal stakeholders, has been implementing a joint multi-year plan to move authority and responsibility for services closer to Aboriginal communities.

Children and Youth with Special Needs

There are approximately 52,000 children and youth with special needs in British Columbia aged birth to 18 years of age. These children require medical, health, educational and social supports in order to fully participate in family, school and community life. Improvements in diagnostic tools, coupled with increased public awareness of special needs and advances in medical science and technology, have contributed to increased demand for services. Medical technology has afforded a 70-fold increase in the survival rate of low birth weight infants. However, as many as 80 per cent of extremely low birth weight infants will have some form of disability — 22 per cent with severe life long disabilities. Better diagnosis and screening has resulted in the identification of more children with disabilities including those with autism.

Child Care

Of the approximately 583,000 children aged 0 – 12 in B.C., an estimated 42 per cent (approximately 250,000 children) receive some child care services while their parents are working, going to school or participating in community activities.For 2004/05, an average of 25,082 children aged 0 – 12 were supported through child care subsidies.

The Early Learning and Child Care (ELCC) agreement with the federal government provides five years of federal funding to enhance early learning and child care in British Columbia in regulated settings for children under the age of six. Based on this agreement, the ministry's budget has been increased by $55.2 million in 2005/06, $122.4 million in 2006/07 and $151.7 million in 2007/08.

Early Childhood Development

Experiences in early childhood have a profound impact on the health, well-being and development of individuals over the course of their lives. The early years have the most important influence of any time in the life cycle on brain development and subsequent learning, behaviour and health. In B.C., there are 247,000 children under age six. Studies indicate that approximately 25 per cent of all children in B.C. are developmentally vulnerable when they enter school. In partnership with the federal government, the Province has made strategic investments in evidence-based early childhood development programs and services that support young children, their families and communities.

Child Protection and Adoption

Government receives approximately 30,000 protection reports for children and youth each year. The number of children in care, which dropped from a high of 10,775 in June 2001, was stable throughout 2004/05. As of March 2005, there were 9,071 children in care. These figures include some children and youth with special needs including some children and youth in care by parental agreement. There are almost 1,700 children whose after-care plan is adoption. There were over 300 adoption placements in 2004/05. Recruiting adoption applicants, particularly applicants from minority cultures, continues to be a ministry priority.

Children and Youth at Risk

Approximately 140,000 (15 per cent) of B.C.'s children and youth experience some form of mental disorder causing significant distress that impairs their functioning at home, at school, with peers and in the community. An estimated one per cent of young people aged 16 – 18 years (about 1,700 individuals) are considered to be at high-risk and are living in situations that jeopardize their safety and well-being. Risk factors could include sexual exploitation, misuse of alcohol and drugs, significant mental health issues, involvement in criminal activities, homelessness, and detachment from family, school and work.

Youth in Custody

Youth custody counts remained stable in 2004/05. An average of 153 youth (aged 12 – 17 years) were in custody at facilities throughout the province in 2004/05, and an average of 2,469 youth were on supervision in the community. In 2004/05, approximately 38 per cent of the total number of youth in custody were Aboriginal and 15 per cent were female.

Community Living Services

On July 1, 2005, Community Living British Columbia (CLBC) was formally established as a provincial Crown agency. The goal of the ministry and the Interim Authority for Community Living British Columbia (IA/CLBC) in establishing CLBC was to create an organization dedicated to ensuring that individuals with developmental disabilities participate in and contribute to their communities and live a full and valued life. CLBC is responsible for directing operations, enforcing standards, and managing funds related to the delivery and transformation of services. Government retains responsibility for funding, performance agreements, and the monitoring and assessing of accountabilities of the agency. Demographics and service needs for this population are addressed in CLBC's service plan.

Children's Community Living Services are presently being administered by CLBC. At this time, the Ministry retains budget, policy, monitoring and accountability for these services. Over the next year, MCFD and CLBC will work together to support CLBC's provision of independent planning support and family support services for children and youth with developmental disabilities ages six to 18 and their families. For families of children with developmental disabilities under age six, independent planning and support will be available to those who request services. All other services to children and youth with special needs will be provided by the ministry.

Risks and Assumptions

There are a number of factors, risks and assumptions that impact the ministry's ability to meet its planned goals, objectives and performance targets. As well, a number of the ministry's programs and services are demand driven (e.g., child care subsidy); are provided to meet health and safety needs (e.g., particular services for children with special needs); or are required through legislation (e.g., child protection services, youth justice). Challenges for the ministry's service delivery system include changing demographics; meeting the expectations for services from clients, their families and the public; and providing these services within the ministry's budget and resource allocation.

The following assumptions form the basis of this service plan and will contribute to its success:

• The ministry will continue to maintain and develop collaborative partnerships and effective working relationships with our contracted service providers, community-based organizations and government partners.
• The ministry will continue to maintain a skilled, responsive and motivated professional workforce; improve working conditions for staff; and foster a healthy working environment where staff contributions are recognized.
• Within a three-year period, the ministry will implement a client management and contract management system that will enable the ministry to effectively link client information to services provided and expenditures. The availability of effective and efficient information systems and processes for the ministry's operations are essential to supporting the ministry's ability to manage and make informed decisions regarding its programs and services. The ministry is working collaboratively with other ministries to implement its Information and Resource Management Plan (IRMP). It is the ministry's vision that delegated Aboriginal agencies providing ministry-funded services will use a common information system.
• The ministry will continue to improve the accountability of contracted social services. This will support socially and fiscally responsible management of community-based social services throughout the province. The ministry will be implementing performance-based contracts with contracted agencies and community organizations to improve service quality and ensure the most effective use of available resources.
• The ministry emphasizes and applies research-based approaches and practices to provide staff, service providers and community partners with the tools they need to support the planning and delivery of its services.