Ministry Role and Services

Ministry Overview

The Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) is committed to helping some of the most disadvantaged people in British Columbia realize their full potential, improve their lives, and build a better future for themselves. The ministry and its many service partners seek to ensure that vulnerable children, their families and adults with developmental disabilities have the best possible opportunities to succeed and thrive — a difficult task given the complex array of needs, demands and possible service approaches.

MCFD is involved, both as a service provider and as a funder, in the provision of services and other kinds of assistance in key areas including:

• community assistance for adults with developmental disabilities to promote their well-being, and enhance independence and community participation;
• child and family development programs, including school-based programs and assistance to families to develop the skills necessary to keep their children safe and healthy;
• protecting children who are at risk of abuse or neglect, and implementing permanent care options for children who cannot live with their own families;
• child and youth mental health services to support children and young people with significant mental disorders to help them improve their functioning and well-being;
• youth justice services to promote rehabilitation and productive, positive functioning in society;
• youth services to help teens at serious risk leave harmful, high-risk situations and move successfully into adulthood;
• early childhood development services for children under age six, to promote their healthy development and well-being, to prevent later issues requiring more intensive interventions, and to ensure a lifetime of benefits;
• assistance for children and youth with special needs and their families, to help them participate more fully in their communities and help families positively manage their challenges; and
• collaborative work with Aboriginal communities to promote the development of effective, culturally appropriate services for Aboriginal children, youth and families.

In legislation, the Ministry of Children and Family Development is responsible for two major government programs: the child welfare system, under the Child, Family and Community Service Act, and permanency planning (adoption) for children in the continuing care of the ministry, under the Adoption Act. In 2003/04, MCFD also administered the following Acts: the Corrections Act (sections pertaining to youth justice services only); the Community Services Interim Authorities Act; the Human and Social Services Delivery Improvement Act (Part 3); the Human Resource Facility Act, and the Social Workers Act.

The following legislation also guided delivery of MCFD services in 2003/04: the Child Care Subsidy Act; the Community Care Facility Act; the Family Relations Act; the Mental Health Act; the Youth Criminal Justice Act (Canada), and the Young Offenders Act (British Columbia).

In 2003/04, MCFD's service delivery partners included: contracted community service providers; family foster homes; Aboriginal service providers and communities and delegated Aboriginal child welfare agencies; and school districts and health authorities.

Planning partners included: the Interim Authority for Community Living BC; regional child and family development and Aboriginal planning committees; and the Interim Joint Policy Directorate.

Invaluable advice and support were also provided by: professionals and professional associations; universities, colleges and schools of social work; research institutes; the Youth in Care Network; the BC Federation of Foster Parents Association; and a variety of other community organizations and foundations.

The ministry also works in partnership with federal government departments and agencies, other provincial governments and other BC government ministries including Health Services; Human Resources; Education; Community, Aboriginal and Women's Services; Attorney General; and Public Safety and Solicitor General. Some of the major initiatives in MCFD that have a cross-ministry impact include: services for children with special needs; child and youth mental health; early childhood development initiatives; and planning around Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, youth sexual exploitation and youth violence and crime.

Other key external stakeholders to whom the ministry is accountable include: service recipients and their families and caregivers; advocacy groups; the general public; the Office for Children and Youth; the Office of the Ombudsman; the Provincial Health Officer; the Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee; and Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs).

The ministry and its service partners have a collective responsibility to ensure that the ministry's goals and objectives are achieved in the most efficient, effective, and accountable manner.

Ministry Vision, Mission and Values

Vision

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

Mission

Our mission is to promote and develop the capacity of families and communities to:

• care for and protect vulnerable children and youth; and
• support adults with developmental disabilities.

Values

• We believe in the right and primary responsibility of families to protect and support the growth and development of children and youth. This is demonstrated through agreements with the child's extended family and close friends, greater use of family development approaches to keep families safely together, and services for families of children and youth with special needs.
• 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 and community child and youth mental health and youth justice services, our emphasis on adoption for children in permanent care and our commitment to a community-based service delivery model.
• We believe that this ministry should provide the minimal intervention necessary to ensure the safety and well-being of our most vulnerable community members. This is demonstrated through the increased use of alternatives to ministry care, mediation and family group conferencing, and assistance for adults with developmental disabilities and children and youth with special needs and their families.

Role and Mandate

The ministry's role and mandate is to:

• advance the safety and well being of vulnerable children, youth and adults;
• advance early childhood development through strategic investments; and
• advance and support a community-based system of family services that promotes innovation, equity and accountability.

Ministry Operating Context

Demographic and social trends, advances in medical science and technology, and economic restructuring in areas of the province continue to impact the need for ministry services. It has also become clear that the current level of service to meet the specialized needs of the ministry's wide range of clientele would not be sustainable without a radical shift in service delivery mechanisms. The challenge for the ministry is to ensure effective and efficient delivery of services by developing service delivery models that provide the most choice and flexibility possible within available resources.

Changing demographics and service needs

• There are now more than 926,000 children and youth in BC (about 22 per cent of the province's total population). Approximately 246,000 of these children are under age six.
• The number of Aboriginal children in BC is increasing while the non-Aboriginal child population continues to decline. Aboriginal children and youth continue to be in the care of the ministry in higher numbers than they represent in the general population.
• An increase in life expectancy, a decrease in infant mortality, and an increased incidence of some disabilities, due in part to improvements in medical technology, all add pressure to the life-long services delivered to adults with developmental disabilities and children and youth with special needs.
• There are an estimated 52,210 children in British Columbia who have a special need. In 2003/04, the number of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and their families using services related to ASD increased to more than 2,100.
• The population of adults with developmental disabilities grew by 9.7 per cent between 1996 and 2003. Many adults with developmental disabilities are cared for by their parents. As the parents age, they are no longer able to care for their adult children and may seek assistance from the ministry. The number of adults with developmental disabilities using ministry services increased by 34 per cent between January 1997 and March 2004. In March 2002, 8,657 individuals used ministry services; in March 2003 this number had increased to 8,941 and to 9,277 by March 2004.
• Over 140,000 children and youth in the province are estimated to have mental disorders that impair functioning. Anxiety disorders are the most common, affecting an estimated 65,000 children and youth.
• Youth custody counts continued to decline in 2003/04, reaching the lowest point in 19 years and reflecting a national trend. In 2003/04, an average of 151 youth were in custody throughout the province and an average of 2,766 were on supervision in the community. This compares to an average of approximately 219 youth in custody and 3,389 on community supervision in 2002/03, and an average of 257 youth in custody and 3,647 on community supervision in 2001/02. In 2003/04, about 33.5 per cent of the total number of youth in custody were Aboriginal and 17 per cent were female.
• High-risk youth are those who have left their families or the homes of other caregivers and are living in situations that put their safety and well-being at risk. 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. An estimated one per cent of youth aged 16-18 years (about 1,700 youth) are considered high risk. A comprehensive survey in 2000 estimated there were between 300 and 500 commercially sexually exploited children and youth in the province known to ministry staff.
• Half the children in the care of the ministry are from families receiving income assistance, a decrease from 65 per cent in 2001. The 2001 Census showed that nearly 20 per cent of BC's children live below the Low Income Cut Off (LICO) level.
• From 1996 to 2001 there was significant growth in the number of children in care of the ministry, with the number peaking at 10,775 children. Following a trend begun in June 2001, the total number of children in care continued to decline in 2003/04. In March 2004, there were 9,086 children in care, the lowest number since October 1997. This equates to 9.9 per 1,000, down from 10.4 per 1,000 at the start of the fiscal year and 10.7 per 1,000 the previous year. The number of Aboriginal children coming into care is decreasing although not at the same rate as non-Aboriginal children. Some children and youth in care also have special needs.
• There are some 1,700 children in permanent care whose after-care plan is adoption. In 2003/04 there were 330 adoption placements, just over the 328 placements made in 2002/03, and a significant increase as compared to 243 placements in 2001/02 and 163 in 2000/01. In 2003/04, the ministry approved approximately 267 families to adopt. Recruiting adoption applicants continues to be a priority, especially applicants from minority cultures.

Accountability and Fiscal Environment

• In May and June of 2003, a Mid-term Service Plan review was undertaken by the ministry, the Core Review Panel and Treasury Board to determine how the ministry was progressing in achieving its planned service delivery changes and resource reduction targets. The review found that significant resource reductions were still required to meet the original targets, and that the target for reducing the number of children in care in 2003/04 and 2004/05 needed to be increased to a total reduction of 600 children over the two years. This target was set in part based on the national rate of children in care, (which is nine children in care per 1,000 child population), as well as the belief that the use of out-of-care options (for example, placement with extended family for children who are at risk) represents not only the best use of resources, but, more importantly, better outcomes for the children and families served. Service delivery now focuses more on empowering families, organizations, and communities to share in the responsibility with government to protect and care for children, and using government care only when no other options are available. A further outcome of the Mid-term Service Plan review was a confirmation of the ministry's plans to change the service delivery system, a reduction in the resource reduction target from 23 to 11 per cent, (which meant $122 million was restored to the ministry's 2004/05 budget), and the protection of early childhood development initiatives, child and youth mental health programs, and services for children with special needs.
• In October 2003, the ministry commissioned the report, New Governance — Some Considerations (also known as the Sage report). The report recommended the ministry's business be re-prioritized as follows:

1. Service transformation: a fundamental change in the service delivery system to ensure more choice and flexibility for individuals and families and increased individual, family and community capacity.

2. Budget stability: increased costs and demand for services means that in order to ensure long-term sustainability, the ministry must ensure the most effective and efficient use of its resources.

3. Community-based governance: moving authority for the planning and management of service delivery to communities to allow decisions to take place closer to home. This will build capacity and enable communities to care for and support individuals and families within their own communities.

The Report also recommended that service transformation and budget stability be achieved before moving to a community-based governance model. As a result, the ministry has re-prioritized its work to ensure service transformation and budget stability are achieved while also continuing to plan for the transition to community-based governance.

Ministry Structure and Core Business Areas

Each year, the Ministry of Children and Family Development's programs serve tens of thousands of the province's most vulnerable children, youth, adults with developmental disabilities, and families. The ministry provides a wide variety of assistance aimed at enhancing their health, safety, and overall well-being. Services are provided directly by professional staff and through contracted service providers located throughout the province.

Ministry of Children and Family Development Regions

Ministry services are delivered through 183 offices in the five regions shown below.

1. North
2. Fraser
3. Vancouver Coastal
4. Vancouver Island
5. Interior

The regions deliver a wide variety of services including: services for children with special needs; child protection; residential and foster care; adoption for children permanently in care; family development; community child and youth mental health; community youth justice services; and programs to assist at-risk and/or sexually-exploited youth. Community Living Services are delivered through five regions but are co-ordinated across the province from a central office.

Provincial Services is responsible for specialized provincial programs, including: overseeing the operations of the Youth Custody Centres; Youth Forensic Psychiatric Services; Maples Adolescent Treatment Centre; Provincial Services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing; migrant services; and CommunityLINK.

There is one Headquarters office located in Victoria organized into the six divisions below:

• Provincial Services
• Community Living Services (including Services for Children with Special Needs)
• Children and Family Development
• Transition Services
• Management Services
• Executive Operations.

Headquarter's functions include determining how services will be delivered, providing support for service delivery operations, and developing mechanisms for confirming that service providers are meeting expected performance. This includes:

• establishing provincial legislation, policies and standards;
• providing leadership in performance management, including the establishment of goals, objectives, accountability requirements, auditing for compliance to standards and policies, and provincial performance reporting; and
• providing advice and support to regional staff; monitoring for administrative fairness; determining best practices; and maintaining strategic partnerships with other ministries and governments.

		Management Organizational Structure

Core Business Areas

Four core business areas provided a wide variety of services to British Columbians and worked towards the achievement of the ministry's goals and objectives in 2003/04. The resources, key goals, people served, and services provided are described below.

1. Community Living Services

Budget in 2003/04: $553,300,000

Expenditures: $579,097,000

Goal: To promote an environment where adults and children with developmental disabilities can participate in and contribute to their communities and live a full and valued life.

People Served: adults with developmental disabilities and their families, and children and youth with special needs and their families, including children with an intellectual impairment, children with a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and children who are dependent in activities of daily living. These services promote the increased well-being and functioning of clients in communities province-wide.

Services:

(a) Services to assist adults with developmental disabilities live as fully and independently as possible in the community include:

• residential programs including family care, staffed residences, and semi-independent living;
• respite and relief services;
• intensive adult care services;
• training and support programs including self-help skills, home support programs and supported work programs; and
• professional support services.

(b) Services for children and youth with special needs and their families include a range of child, youth and family focused support programs and interventions to help promote an individual's healthy development, maximize quality of life and assist families in their roles as primary caregivers. Services offered directly through ministry offices, as well as through health authorities and contracted agencies. These include:

• respite care and parent support;
• child and youth care workers;
• homemaker/home support;
• Supported Child Care;
• professional and behavioural support services for children with ASD;
• school-aged therapies;
• Early intervention strategies;
• Infant Development Program;
• the Residential Associate Family Program;
• the At Home Program, which includes the Medical Benefits program;
• Nursing Support Services; and
• the Community Brain Injury Program.

An interim community living authority was established in Fall 2002, to plan for the permanent transition of community living services for adults with developmental disabilities, and for some children and youth with special needs and their families, to the permanent community living authority. This was anticipated for late 2003, but has been delayed to ensure readiness by both the authority and the ministry. The transition is expected to occur in 2004/05.

At the end of March 2004, the Community Living Services area was assisting more than 9,200 adults with developmental disabilities and their families. Preparations continued for the introduction of individualized funding to expand service options and ensure program sustainability.

Overall, some 16,000 children and youth with special needs and their families received ministry services in 2003/04, similar to the previous year. About 2,200 children and youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder and their families received direct service or funding through the early intensive intervention programs and the new extended autism intervention (EAI) funding program.

2. Child and Family Development

Budget in 2003/04: $769,507,000

Expenditures: $736,936,000

Goal: To improve family and community capacity to protect and support children and youth.

People Served: children and youth at risk for neglect or abuse, and their families; children under the age of six years; children and youth experiencing symptoms of mental illness; children and youth no longer able to live with their families of origin; youth living a high-risk lifestyle; and youth on probation or receiving community supervision for a criminal offence.

Services: This area covers a range of services for children, youth, and their families including: early childhood development; community child and youth mental health services; youth services; family development; residential and foster care; adoption and other permanency planning options for children and youth who remain in the care of the ministry; and community youth justice and community supervision services by youth probation officers.

(a) Child welfare programs carry out the province's responsibilities under the Child, Family and Community Service Act. These programs are designed to protect children who are at risk of harm from further abuse and neglect, and to promote the capacity of families and communities to support children. Approximately 80 reports of a child at risk were received each day in 2003/04, compared to 90 in 2002/03.

Programs include residential services for children in care (e.g., foster care and Youth Agreements) and adoption services for children permanently in the care of the province. Family development services preserve children's safety and well-being while keeping families together. The focus of these programs is preventative and based on early intervention and collaboration with families and communities, and the use of out-of-care options to care for vulnerable children and youth. "Out-of-care" options include children living with kin and promoting family care over residential group homes. The use of placements of children at risk with relatives and others close to the family increased from 63 in March 2003 to 159 in March 2004. Approximately 3,100 foster parents provided caring homes for children in care.

Planning for children in care promotes family continuity, permanency and life-long attachments. In 2003/04, the rate of children in care continued to decline (9.9 per 1,000 children in the population, compared to 10.4 per 1,000 at the start of the fiscal year, and 10.7 per 1,000 the previous year). This may have been due to the increased use of alternatives to removal of children from a family situation in which they were at risk, and a greater emphasis on family development and adoptions for children in care: 326 children and youth in care were placed with adoptive families.

(b) Early Childhood Development programs encourage the development of healthy children under six years of age, and are designed to reduce the need for intervention in families and to achieve better overall outcomes for children and youth as they grow. Services such as Family Resource programs and Building Blocks are universal and widely available to BC children up to age six and their families. Some specific services address children with, or at risk of having, developmental delays. These services include Early Intervention Therapies (speech/language therapy, occupational therapy and physiotherapy), Infant Development Programs and Supported Child Care. Culturally appropriate programs have been implemented to develop capacity in Aboriginal communities for early childhood development and to support programs and initiatives that are striving to reduce the occurrence and lessen the effects of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.

(c) Child and Youth Mental Health services assist young people with mental disorders and their families. Services include assessment, diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders, and support and education for families. Other activities include consultation and planning with other ministry staff, adult mental health services, schools, and other community professionals (family physicians, psychiatrists, psychologists, etc.) who are involved with a particular child and family or who work with children and families generally. In 2003/04, MCFD mental health staff served 11,100 children and youth, while contracted professionals, accounting for about half of the program's budget, served thousands more.

(d) Youth Services provides a variety of services, such as safe houses, outreach services, support workers, and Youth Agreements programs for at-risk, high-risk and sexually exploited youth to help guide them to healthier, safer futures. Youth Agreements are an alternative to bringing youth, age 16-18, who are high-risk into the care of the ministry. These youth typically experience sexual exploitation, have alcohol and drug and/or mental health issues, and are currently not living at home. The purpose of the Youth Agreement is to assist the youth to address their risk behaviours and to help them gain independence, return to school, and/or gain work experience and life skills. The number of youth who received youth support services and agreements directly from the ministry increased from 263 in March 2003 to 379 in March 2004.

(e) Community Youth Justice services are provided through the regions for youth involved in the justice system to assist them in the development of the lifeskills needed for healthy, independent functioning. These youth may also have serious mental health disorders and other behaviours that put them at risk. The services provided include youth probation services and community-based alternatives to youth custody, such as residential or day programs, intensive supervision, restorative justice, community service work, and similar measures.

3. Provincial Services

Budget for 2003/04: $110,082,000

Expenditures: $97,081,000

Goal: To plan and deliver services in the most efficient and effective manner.

People Served:

• Youth Custody Centres accommodate youth that have been remanded by the courts while awaiting trial or sentencing, and youth that have been sentenced to either open or secure custody.
• Provincial Services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing provide a range of social and support services for deaf and hard of hearing persons and their families.
• The Maples Adolescent Centre, a designated provincial mental health facility, provides short-term care for conduct-disordered and thought-disordered adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17.
• Youth Forensic Psychiatric Services provide assessment and treatment services for young people in conflict with the law under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, and young people found unfit to stand trial or not criminally responsible due to mental disorder under the Criminal Code of Canada.
• Migrant Services provides specialized services for approximately 55 unaccompanied minors who arrive in BC from out-of-country locations annually, and who become involved in the immigration and refugee process.
• CommunityLINK (Learning Includes Nutrition and Knowledge) assists vulnerable children and youth across the province through funding to school districts.

Services:

(a) Youth Custody Centres provide programs and services such as special education, life and social skills, addictions and psychological assessment and counselling services, that advance the rehabilitation and reintegration of the youth. The primary purpose of the youth custody system is to provide for the safety and security of the public, youth and staff.

(b) Provincial Services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing includes: the Victory Hill Residential Program, which enables access to deaf educational services; the Family and Community Development Program, which provides outreach family and community support services; the Deaf Access Office; and contracted services which provide mental health, early childhood development, and social support services to deaf and hard of hearing children and youth and their families.

(c) The Maples Adolescent Centre provides residential, non-residential and outreach care to collaboratively support youth with significant psychiatric and behavioural difficulties, as well as youth found not criminally responsible due to a mental disorder (NCRMD) or unfit to stand trial.

(d) The Migrant Services team works in close association with Canada Immigration providing reception, screening, placement, and representation at refugee hearings for unaccompanied minors arriving in BC.

(e) CommunityLINK funding to school districts allows schools and their communities to choose the approach and strategies that are most appropriate for improving the educational outcomes of vulnerable students. This may include school meals programs, inner city and community programs, and school-based support workers.

4. Executive and Support Services

Budget for 2003/04: $18,583,000

Expenditures: $17,077,000

Goal: To plan and deliver services in the most efficient and effective manner.

This area, which includes Management Services, Transition Services, and Executive Operations Divisions, provides overall direction, development and support for ministry programs, including support for all regional operations and transition activities. Responsibilities include policy and legislative support, intergovernmental relations, client relations, strategic human resources, accountability and performance management support, management for corporate initiatives, and related audit, research, and financial and decision support services.

Significant Changes in Policy Direction

In 2003/04, the ministry made changes to provide more flexible and effective service delivery in both Child and Family Development and Community Living Services. The ministry responded to the needs of adults with developmental disabilities and their families, and families of children with special needs, for more socially inclusive arrangements and more choice and flexibility in what services they use. Child welfare practices are also changing, away from a preference for "in care" options, to providing a range of family and community-based out-of-care responses and options that continue to protect the safety and well-being of vulnerable children and youth. Ministry resources must be reallocated to maximize opportunities for supporting families and individuals and assisting them to meet their goals.

In the child and family development sector, the key changes included:

• shifting to a community-based service delivery system;
• providing a range of responses and community-based options to keep children safe in their communities;
• developing a spectrum of community-based Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) processes for resolving specific disputes prior to application to court;
• providing children with life plans involving alternative guardianship options that provide family stability and opportunities for life long relationships and support; and
• working collaboratively with Aboriginal communities by embracing Aboriginal approaches to protecting children and youth within the extended Aboriginal family and community.

In Community Living Services, changes to the service delivery system focused on developing service delivery options that provide families of children with special needs and adults with developmental disabilities with a greater opportunity to make choices about the services they receive, improve their community and social connections, and reach their maximum potential. The key changes included:

• implementing individualized and direct funding;
• targeting more resources to the prevention of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder;
• strengthening early childhood development programming (particularly in Aboriginal communities);
• improving service planning;
• expanding the options for Supported Child Care; and
• developing a better process for receiving feedback from the people served about the programs provided.

Update on New Era Commitments