FAQ

Record keeping is part of your Family Care Home Agreement. Keep a separate, confidential record for each child — never mixed across children — stored somewhere private and secure. Ideally make brief daily entries about the child’s progress and routines; at a minimum, you must record all significant events and tell the child’s social worker about them as soon as possible. Significant events include family visits, school issues, health appointments or changes, notable behaviour, positive achievements, changes in the child’s circumstances, anything that might put the child at risk, and unauthorized absences.

A simple, consistent habit — short notes flagged for significant events — serves the child far better than an elaborate system you cannot keep up with, or detailed notes written long after the fact. These records become part of the permanent account of the child’s time with you and may matter to that child years later.

Source: Foster Family Handbook

If an infant or young child is placed with you, their sleeping arrangements must be written into the Plan of Care. Every child in care sleeps in their own bed, crib, or cradle that meets current safety regulations, and generally in their own bedroom. For an infant under one year, a crib in your room may sometimes be appropriate — discuss that with the child’s social worker and your resource social worker and include it in the plan. Foster parents do not bed-share with an infant.

Always place a baby on their back to sleep, on a firm, flat mattress in a safety-standard crib. Any change to an infant’s sleeping arrangements must be discussed with the child’s social worker and your resource social worker before you make it, and reflected in the updated Plan of Care.

Source: Foster Family Handbook

The Plan of Care is the central planning document for every child in foster care. It describes what the child needs, what each person on the care team is responsible for, and the overall goals for the child’s time in care. For children expected to be in care under six months there is a focused developmental needs plan; for six months or more, a full Plan of Care that is reviewed and updated regularly. It covers the child’s placement, emotional and developmental needs, family relationships, health, education, cultural and religious heritage, and recreation.

Your caregiver responsibilities are written into the plan — how the child will be cared for in your home and your specific role in reaching their goals. These are discussed when the child first arrives and revised collaboratively, with you and both social workers, whenever the child’s circumstances change. You and the child each get a copy. If something significant changes in the child’s life, raise it with the child’s social worker rather than waiting for the scheduled review.

Source: Foster Family Handbook

Completely normal. How families feel when a child leaves ranges from real relief to deep grief, often a mix of both. Becoming attached to a child who has lived in your home is natural, and feeling that loss when they go is not a sign that anything went wrong. Trying to avoid attachment to protect yourself usually backfires — it can hold back the quality of care you give. Fostering is temporary by design, and success often means a child moves on. Letting go is part of the work.

You do not have to carry those feelings alone. Talk to your resource social worker or your local foster parent support association, especially after a hard departure. And give your family time to adjust before taking a new placement — an open space does not always mean the timing is right.

Source: Foster Family Handbook

Children leave for many reasons: the goals of their care plan have been met and they are going home or to a permanent arrangement, your own family’s circumstances change, the child asks to move, the social worker decides a move is needed, or a court orders it. Some of these are planned well in advance; others, especially where there are safety concerns, can happen with very little notice.

You can also ask the child’s social worker to move a child if a placement has become more than your family can manage. Asking is not a failure — some placements prove genuinely beyond a family’s capacity, and naming that early is better for the child. Give as much advance notice as you can so the transition can be planned smoothly. The same goes for changes at home: if something affects your ability to keep caring for a child, tell your resource social worker as early as possible.

Source: Foster Family Handbook

When a child is referred to your home, you are entitled to all available and relevant background information about them and their family. That includes medical, educational, behavioural, and personal care details; family background relevant to caring for the child; any history of violence or illegal activity; guardianship, custody, and access arrangements; and, if it applies, a history of false allegations of abuse by the child or their family. The child’s social worker provides this. If the child is not previously known to the ministry, what is available may be limited, and for emergency placements anything that cannot be shared up front should follow as soon as possible.

All of this information is confidential. What you pass on to others in your home, including your own children, should be limited to what affects safety and wellbeing. If you are unsure what is confidential in a particular case, ask the child’s social worker.

Source: Foster Family Handbook

Yes, you have the right to say no, and saying no is not a failure — it is a judgment about fit. A placement that doesn’t work for your family, or one you are not resourced to support well, will not serve the child either. The time between when a placement is offered and when you decide is the pre-placement period, and it is the moment to be honest with yourself, your household, and the social workers about your doubts and questions.

Before deciding, weigh whether the child’s needs match your family’s strengths and current capacity, talk it over with everyone in your home including your own children, and ask the child’s social worker anything still unresolved. Your resource social worker can also talk through your concerns first — that conversation might surface added information or supports that make it workable, or confirm it is not the right fit. Either outcome is legitimate.

Source: Foster Family Handbook

Placements differ by how long they are meant to last. Short-term or temporary care is the most common, with the goal of returning the child home once the situation that led to placement is resolved; it can be as brief as a day and usually does not run past 24 months. Long-term care is for children in continuing custody, under a Special Needs Agreement, or through the Infants Act, where permanency is the goal. Emergency care is for children placed with very little notice — sometimes same day — and usually lasts up to 14 days while a better fit is arranged.

Respite and relief sound similar but serve different families. Respite gives a planned break to a child’s own parents, who keep full custody and guardianship under a Support Services Agreement, so the child is not “in care” in the usual sense. Relief gives foster families a break from an ongoing placement.

Source: Foster Family Handbook

Children come into care through three legal pathways, and the pathway shapes a child’s legal status and what decisions can be made on their behalf. Most often it is under the Child, Family and Community Service Act — either because a parent temporarily cannot care for the child and signs a voluntary agreement, or because a child is removed for protection. The Infants Act applies when a guardian dies without naming someone in a will, or when a court orders a director to take guardianship. The Adoption Act applies when a parent consents to adoption and the child is placed in foster care while that process finishes.

Knowing the basis of a placement helps you work with the child’s team. A child under a voluntary agreement has parents who are active decision-makers, while a child in continuing custody calls for different conversations about permanency. When you are not sure of a child’s status, ask the child’s social worker.

Source: Foster Family Handbook

Mostly no, and this surprises a lot of caregivers. Your caregiver service records are considered documents under your Family Care Home Agreement and records under the law, which means they are not your property. When a child’s stay in your home ends, those records are handed over to MCFD for storage and safekeeping. That does not make them less important to keep well — it means treating them with the same care you would give any permanent legal document.

A couple of related documents work differently. The Health Care Passport, where you record the child’s significant health information, is also part of the child’s file and travels with it. The Life Book, by contrast, is informal and personal — it belongs to the child and goes with them when they leave care.

Source: Foster Family Handbook