Purpose of the Ministry
The Ministry of Children and Family Development provides a wide variety of services to support better outcomes for children, youth and families. MCFD's responsibilities include:
- child protection;
- residential and foster care;
- adoption for children permanently in care;
- family development;
- community child and youth mental health;
- community youth justice services;
- programs to assist at-risk or sexually exploited youth;
- early childhood development;
- child care; and,
- services for children and youth with special needs and their families.
The ministry is also responsible for a number of specialized provincial services, including youth justice, youth forensic
psychiatric services, the Maples Adolescent Treatment Centre, and services for the deaf and hard of hearing. MCFD's overall
purpose is to help ensure the best possible outcomes for children, youth and families, especially those who are vulnerable
and/or have special needs.
Vision, Mission and Values2
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 care for and protect vulnerable children and youth, and to maximize the potential of every child in B.C. by supporting healthy child development.
| 2 | The ministry's vision, mission and values were revised in the 2006/07 - 2008/09 Service Plan to better reflect its direction and priorities. |
Values
As an organization the Ministry of Children and Family Development values:
Service Excellence: Providing and supporting the delivery of quality, effective, evidence based services that strive for the optimal use of resources.
Partnerships with Aboriginal Peoples: Transforming relationships to work with Aboriginal communities to develop, implement and deliver services for Aboriginal children and families.
Dynamic Organizational Culture: Focusing on accountability, innovation and excellence.
The following values guide the planning and delivery of ministry services:
Protection of Vulnerable Children and Youth: Ensuring the safety and well-being of vulnerable children and youth is the paramount consideration.
Primacy of Family: Supporting the right and primary responsibility of families to protect and support the growth and development of children while providing the least intrusive measures to keep children safely within their families when possible.
Integrity: Promoting relationships of mutual trust, confidence and respect.
Participation: Involving children, youth, their families and communities in the planning and delivery of services.
Fostering Community Capacity: Recognizing and supporting communities so they can enhance the resilience of children and families.
