FAQ

The child’s birth family stays central to their life no matter what brought them into care, and most children want to return home. Your attitude toward that family directly affects how the child does while they are with you. Children watch closely how the adults around them speak about each other, and a child’s sense of their family’s worth is tied to their own sense of who they are. A good rule of thumb is to speak about the birth family only in ways you would be comfortable with if the child overheard every word.

You are expected to show a positive, respectful attitude toward the birth family at all times, while still helping the child hold a realistic picture of the family’s strengths and limitations. Honesty about genuine difficulties and basic respect can exist side by side.

Source: Foster Family Handbook

Raise the developmental concern with the child’s social worker and ask whether Infant Development Services should be added to the Plan of Care. The social worker arranges the referral, and in regions where a community agency delivers the service, the referral and funding details are worked out between the ministry and that agency.

Do this early rather than waiting to see if the concern resolves on its own. In the first three years, intervention has its greatest impact, so the sooner it starts the more effective it tends to be. Infant Development Services also pair well with other supports your social worker can coordinate, such as Supported Child Care, public health assessments, and community therapy services.

Source: Foster Family Handbook

Infant Development Services (sometimes called Infant Development Programmes, or IDP) are an in-home support for children up to about age three who have a developmental delay or disability, or who are at significant risk of one. A trained worker visits regularly to coach you on techniques that stimulate the child’s motor, language, cognitive, social, and emotional development, and connects you with other early intervention services as needed. Some regions also offer parent support groups.

Availability varies by region, and the service is arranged through the child’s social worker as part of the Plan of Care. Where it is included in the plan, there is no cost to you. If the child shows delayed milestones or carries a known risk such as prenatal substance exposure, premature birth, or early medical complications, it is worth raising.

Source: Foster Family Handbook

It is common for a child’s culture, language, spiritual traditions, or community to differ from your own. You and your family are required to respect the child’s culture and religion and to find ways to make the child feel genuinely comfortable in your home, and you should never try to impose your own beliefs. Culture here is broad: family history and heritage, language, customs and traditions, spiritual practices, values, and community identity, including communities of interest such as the LGBTQ2S+ community.

On religion, the choice belongs to the child. They have the right to receive religious instruction of their choosing, to take part in religious activities they choose, and to choose no religion at all. If a child is curious about a faith tradition, including yours, they can explore it, but only at their own initiative. The child’s social worker can help you understand the cultural context that matters for a particular child.

Source: Foster Family Handbook

The cultural identity and community belonging of Indigenous children in care receive particular emphasis in both the CFCSA and MCFD policy, because Indigenous children who grow up with a strong connection to their culture do better as adults. When placing an Indigenous child, MCFD’s preference is first a family from the child’s own Nation or Indigenous cultural community, then another Indigenous family if that is not safely available, and a non-Indigenous foster home only if neither is safely available.

When an Indigenous child is placed with a non-Indigenous family, MCFD works to develop a cultural plan connecting the child to their family, community, and cultural practices. As the caregiver, you play an active role in that plan, making cultural connection a real and ongoing part of the child’s life rather than simply allowing it to happen. If you are unsure how to support these rights and connections, speak with the child’s social worker; the relevant Delegated Aboriginal Agency (DAA) or Indigenous Child and Family Service Agency (ICFSA) is also a resource for guidance specific to the child’s Nation and community.

Source: Foster Family Handbook

Children in care can be vulnerable to racism and discrimination, and you have an obligation to act when it happens rather than minimise it. If a child experiences racism or discrimination at school, in the community, or anywhere else, it needs to be addressed.

Talk to the child’s social worker about the specific circumstances. Depending on the situation, the response can range from education and conversation with those involved through to formal complaints or legal action. What matters to the child is seeing that the adults around them take these experiences seriously.

Source: Foster Family Handbook

A child or youth is considered missing under MCFD policy when their whereabouts are unknown and there are concerns about their safety. Safety concerns include vulnerability due to age, disability, mental health, or addictions; being emotionally distraught, suicidal, or at risk of harming themselves or others; extreme weather or inadequate clothing; suspicious circumstances suggesting a crime; behaviour out of character; a possible accident; or whereabouts unknown since the previous night. If any of these apply, immediately call Police/RCMP to report a missing child in care, and also notify the child’s social worker or Centralized Screening. Do not wait to see whether the young person returns on their own when safety risk factors are present.

If the social worker is unavailable, reach Centralized Screening (provincial after-hours) at 1-800-663-9122. For immediate danger call 911; for lower-urgency situations use the local non-emergency police line. After any incident, record what happened, the steps you took, and when the young person was located, and discuss it with the social worker at the earliest opportunity.

Source: Foster Family Handbook

All adolescents in care are entitled to instruction in birth control and planned parenting. The social worker will discuss with you who provides this guidance; it may be the social worker, a health professional, or in some cases shared with you as the caregiver.

If an adolescent in your care becomes pregnant, inform the social worker immediately so counselling can be arranged promptly. If the adolescent is in care by agreement or in temporary care, their parents may be involved alongside the adolescent and physician in assessing options and making a plan; if she is in continuing custody, the social worker coordinates the planning. The aim is timely access to the support, information, and professional care the young person needs to make informed decisions.

Source: Foster Family Handbook

Yes, in some cases. Under the Infants Act, a young person who is capable of making an independent and reasonable decision may consent to their own medical treatment without guardian or parental consent. It is the treating physician’s responsibility to assess whether a particular young person has that capacity.

Even when a youth can consent for themselves, these decisions can be difficult and emotionally complex. Your role is to give the young person accurate information about their options, offer emotional support and help them think through their best interests, and alert others on the care team, such as the social worker or a counsellor, when you sense they need more guidance. Because you are often closest to the young person day to day, you are well placed to notice when a decision is weighing on them.

Source: Foster Family Handbook

Who consents depends on the child’s legal status, so at placement find out from the social worker who is authorised to consent to routine and emergency care. For children in care by agreement, parents generally retain responsibility for most decisions, including medical consent, and written authority for travel or significant treatment may involve them too. For children in continuing custody or in the care of a director, you can arrange routine medical services yourself, but planned treatment or surgery usually needs the social worker’s authorisation.

As a caregiver you are not a legal guardian and do not have independent authority to consent to significant procedures. When you are uncertain whether a decision needs social worker authorisation, the safest approach is always to check first rather than act and report afterward. The social worker can also give you an after-hours contact for medical emergencies.

Source: Foster Family Handbook