Highlights of the Year

The Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) would like to highlight the following achievements toward building stronger families and communities throughout British Columbia.

Practice Shifts

  • The Minister of Children and Family Development initiated two independent reviews to assess and inform improvements to the ministry's child protection system and practices, to ensure the best system of support for vulnerable children and youth in B.C. The reviews completed to date1 provide a balanced assessment and reaffirmed the practice shifts already being undertaken by the ministry. The recommendations from these reviews provide opportunities for government and the ministry to continue to strengthen its quality assurance systems and services.
  • Continued to implement practice shifts in child protection and family support, emphasizing prevention, long-term planning, family and community-based alternatives to government care, and increasing family and community participation in planning and decision-making, all of which contributed to better outcomes for children, youth and families. For example, in 2005/06, 642 children were able to be cared for by extended family or in the community, and 276 children left government care to be placed into permanent adoptive homes.
  • Built family capacity for children and families to safely care for their children through Family Development Response. The practice is supported by both families and child protection workers and is a new approach that engages families and communities to keep children safe.
  • Assisted families to develop their own solutions, with a particular focus on Aboriginal families, to identify child safety issues through a $2 million grant to the Law Foundation for Alternative Dispute Resolution.
  • Improved ministry contracting practices by moving to performance, output-based contracting to ensure that contracted service providers are held accountable for providing the best services for British Columbians.
1  Special reports regarding the investigation into the death of a First Nations child, are available at: http://www.gov.bc.ca/cyo/popt/javascript_version/investigation_reports.htm and the B.C. Children and Youth review, is available at: http://www.childyouthreview.ca/down/BC_Children_and_Youth_Review_Report_FINAL_April_4.pdf.

Capacity Building

  • Promoted parent awareness of, and community support for, early childhood development through events such as Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder research forums; resources such as toy lending libraries; cross-sectoral partnerships with businesses, non-profit organizations and communities; and targeted outreach to Aboriginal communities such as a culturally appropriate Aboriginal Infant Development policy and procedures manual for consultants working with Aboriginal families.
  • Provided 45 training sessions for 942 child and youth mental health practitioners, focusing on the latest evidence-based approaches, including advanced cognitive behavioural therapy for depression, early psychosis intervention and dialectical behavioural therapy. The training was among the most extensive of its kind in B.C.'s history.
  • Developed online and classroom post-secondary training for behavioural interventionists to work with children and youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder in B.C. The ministry's investment of $550,000 will increase the number of qualified service providers available to work with children and youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Training capacity is projected at 150–200 people per year.

Collaboration with other Ministries, Stakeholders and Community Partners

  • Responded to the life-long needs and goals of individuals and families by completing the transfer of services for individuals with developmental disabilities to a new provincial Crown agency. Community Living British Columbia (CLBC) was formally established on July 1, 2005, to provide adults with developmental disabilities with choices regarding community living services that meet their individual needs.
  • Ongoing collaboration with five Aboriginal planning committees to plan for regional and local approaches to services and supports for Aboriginal children, youth and families in preparation for regional Aboriginal authorities assuming responsibility for Aboriginal service delivery.
  • Completed planning for the transfer of the Child Care Subsidy Program from the Ministry of Employment and Income Assistance to the Ministry of Children and Family Development. The transfer is expected to be completed in 2007.
  • Made significant investments in autism research by funding the inclusion of 100 BC children in a five year national study on autism intervention. MCFD, in collaboration with the Ministries of Health and Education, committed $1.27 million. This study, which will be conducted from 2005 to 2009 is the largest ever autism research study undertaken in Canada.
  • Educated an additional 22,500 Grades 4 and 5 students about anxiety disorders through continued implementation of the FRIENDS program with the assistance of the Ministry of Education and B.C. school districts. Since FRIENDS was launched in August 2004, over 47,500 students have participated in 45 out of 60 school districts.
  • Funded $2.5 million to the Human Early Learning Partnership which released the Provincial Atlas of Child Development, a tool that maps children's readiness to learn, community by community.
  • The Human Early Learning Partnership supported an analysis of children's readiness to learn in 30 of 125 First Nations Band Schools. This analysis helps to ensure the efficient and targeted use of resources to optimize outcomes for Aboriginal children and youth.

Culturally Appropriate Services

  • Increased the number of delegation agreements with Aboriginal agencies by three to 23. These agreements provide a legal framework for delegated Aboriginal agencies to deliver child protection and family support services to Aboriginal communities.
  • Established a camp to connect children in permanent care with extended family members in their home communities. One ministry employee in the North region received the Premier's Leadership Award for her leadership role in establishing the first cultural camp for children. As a result of the camp, seven families entered into discussions with the ministry to find permanent placements for their children and eight other families established ongoing contact and regular visits.
  • Strengthened and improved access to programs, services, training and networking by increasing the number of Aboriginal early childhood development initiatives. Of the 90 Aboriginal initiatives in place in 2005/06, 41 were early childhood development programs, 28 were infant development programs serving over 500 children and their families per year, 11 were Family Resource programs and 10 were Building Blocks programs.
  • Supported more than 100 Aboriginal children to reconnect with their birth families, communities and cultures through the Roots Program that helps children to learn about their community and culture.
  • Continued dialogue and joint decision-making with Aboriginal leadership through a joint Aboriginal management committee that identifies how services to Aboriginal children and families can be improved.

Increasing Access to Services

  • Funded the creation of approximately 1,500 quality child care spaces. The Major Capital Funding for Creation of New Child Care Spaces program now provides grants for 50 per cent of the cost of a project up to $300,000 per project (up from $250,000). A new Targeted Major Capital Grants program for non-profit child care providers in Aboriginal and other priority communities identified through the Early Development Instrument, were eligible for 90 per cent of the cost of the project up to $500,000.
  • Expanded the Child Care Subsidy program for children under six, to make the subsidy available to approximately 6,500 additional children and their families, and to increase subsidy amounts for another 6,000 children and their families.
  • Created six new Child Care Resource and Referral (CCRR) programs in Courtenay, Gibsons, Elk Valley, Kitimat, North Peace and Walnut Grove to enhance both access to, and quality of child care services. Child Care Resource and Referral Programs help parents find quality care in their communities, and provide a range of supports to child care providers in over 300 communities across the province.
  • Increased capacity for the Supported Child Development program by funding $10 million to assist in reducing waiting times for services. This provides for extra staff, training, support and consultation to families and child care providers to assist children with special needs to participate in community child care settings.
  • Over $15 million in new investments in 2005/06 benefited children and youth with special needs and their families by: increasing access to therapies, infant development, respite and supported child development programs; enhancing services for children with complex health needs and children with sensory impairments; initiating the development of new supports for families of children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder and similar conditions; and addressing service demand for autism intervention, Nursing Support Services and Medical Benefits. The Infant Development Program provides home-based services through 52 community agencies to over 6,600 infants, who have, or are at risk for a developmental delay.
  • Funded 15 additional youth emergency shelter and safe house beds for youth at risk in Kelowna (7 beds) and Surrey (8 beds) and 10 transitional housing beds in Prince George.
  • Allocated $12.7 million in additional funding to child and youth mental health services. The funding created 100 new staff positions to expand treatment and support, reduce risk and build family and community capacity, and carry out evidence-based training.

New Investments

  • Government approved one-time investments of $23.5 million with on-going benefits in:
    • The Children and Youth with Special Needs Supports Fund, $10 million administered by the Vancouver Foundation to assist eligible parents of children with special needs to access equipment, vehicle conversions and home renovations that will increase access in the child's home and the community. This fund will be aligned with the Family Independence Fund, a CLBC supported fund for individuals with developmental disabilities.
    • The Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Action Fund, $10 million administered by the Victoria Foundation to promote prevention, public education, and parent and caregiver education. It will also support demonstration projects intended to focus on improving outcomes for children and youth with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.
    • Canuck Place Hospice, $3.5 million to provide access to services and supports for children with progressive life limiting illnesses and their families. This includes respite and transition care, therapeutic support services, symptom management, end of life care, as well as grief and bereavement support, counselling and outreach services.
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