FAQ

Yes — the Foster Parent Support Line at 1-888-495-9122 is a confidential service funded by MCFD and staffed by experienced professionals. It’s there for urgent concerns that arise outside regular office hours: professional consultation, information about MCFD policy and procedure, and help thinking through a difficult situation that can’t wait until the next business day but isn’t a 911 emergency.

Hours are 4:00 p.m. to 12:45 a.m., Monday to Friday, and 8:00 a.m. to 12:45 a.m. on weekends and statutory holidays. If you call outside those hours, leave a message and staff will return your call as soon as they can.

Sources: Foster Family Handbook; Foster Caregiver Orientation Guide

They’re two different lines for two different kinds of help. The Foster Parent Support Line is an MCFD-funded service for urgent, after-hours consultation — thinking through a difficult situation or a question about ministry policy that can’t wait. The BCFPA Fosterline at 1-800-663-9999 is run by the BC Foster Parents Association and is the one to use for membership and insurance questions, advocacy support, information about BCFPA programmes and member benefits, and general caregiver consultation when the Support Line isn’t open. The Fosterline runs 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday to Friday.

For an immediate safety emergency, neither of these is the right call — dial 911, and use the emergency and crisis contacts for after-hours ministry response.

Sources: Foster Family Handbook; Foster Caregiver Orientation Guide

Several dedicated lines exist for exactly this — a day that’s escalating, a child in distress after hours, a question that can’t wait. They’re staffed by people who know foster care and can help you think through what to do. For after-hours consultation, the Foster Parent Support Line is there; for membership, insurance, and advocacy matters, the BCFPA Fosterline; and during business hours, your CFS Area Coordinator for support, consultation, or referral.

If you’re ever unsure whether something is “urgent enough” to call, err on the side of calling. These lines exist so you don’t have to navigate hard situations alone. For an immediate safety emergency, call 911, and use the emergency and crisis contacts for after-hours ministry response.

Sources: Foster Family Handbook; Foster Caregiver Orientation Guide

Under Section 70(1.1) of the CFCSA, Indigenous children in care have two rights beyond the general cultural heritage right that applies to all children: the right to receive guidance, encouragement, and support to learn about and practise their Indigenous traditions, customs, and languages, and the right to belong to their Indigenous communities. These place an active obligation on you to support the child’s cultural learning and community belonging — not merely to avoid interfering with it.

If you don’t have the background to help a child stay connected to their culture, that’s expected, and help is available. Ask the child’s social worker to connect you with people who can, and remember the child’s Nation or community takes part in decisions affecting them.

Sources: Foster Family Handbook; Foster Caregiver Orientation Guide

No. Every child in care has the right to be free from corporal punishment, and this is an absolute right with no exceptions. You must not subject any child in your care to any form of physical force — spanking, hitting, slapping, or anything that may inflict pain. The prohibition is unambiguous in law and applies without qualification.

Children also have the right to know the household’s behaviour expectations and the consequences of not meeting them, so they aren’t held to rules they were never told about. If you’re looking for guidance on positive approaches to discipline, your CFS Area Coordinator can connect you with training and support.

Sources: Foster Family Handbook; Foster Caregiver Orientation Guide

The rights of children in care aren’t guidelines — they’re law, set out in Section 70 of the CFCSA and written into every Family Care Home Agreement you sign. Children have the right to be fed, clothed, and nurtured to community standards and to the same quality of care as others in the home; to be informed about and consulted on their Plan of Care; to reasonable privacy and their personal belongings; to be free from corporal punishment; to maintain their cultural and religious identity; to communication support if language or disability is a barrier; and to be told their rights and how to contact the Representative for Children and Youth.

As a caregiver you’re legally required to act in line with these rights, and to help children in your home understand what they are. When you need support to meet any of them, the child’s social worker is your starting point.

Sources: Foster Family Handbook; Foster Caregiver Orientation Guide

Yes. If your Family Care Home Agreement is terminated or suspended, you have the right to be told why, and the right to appeal the decision. This is one of the 18 caregiver rights recognised under MCFD policy.

You don’t have to navigate it alone — you have the right to support of your choosing throughout. Your CFS Area Coordinator, the BCFFPA, or the FAFP can advise and support you as you seek reasons and pursue an appeal.

Sources: Foster Family Handbook; Foster Caregiver Orientation Guide

Start with a direct conversation — most concerns clear up through regular contact with your resource social worker or the child’s social worker. If a concern can’t be resolved informally, MCFD has a formal written review process, which begins with a request for review by a non-involved manager.

Throughout any dispute, you have the right to support of your choosing. Your CFS Area Coordinator, the BCFFPA, the Federation of Aboriginal Foster Parents (FAFP), or any other support provider can advise and stand alongside you at any stage.

Sources: Foster Family Handbook; Foster Caregiver Orientation Guide

You have the right to all available information relevant to the child’s care — medical, educational, behavioural, and personal care information, relevant family background, any history of violence or illegal activity, and the guardianship, custody, and access arrangements. For an emergency placement, this information must be provided as soon as possible.

If you feel you’re missing information you need to care for a child safely, raise it with the child’s social worker. If that doesn’t resolve it, your CFS Area Coordinator can support you.

Sources: Foster Family Handbook; Foster Caregiver Orientation Guide

Foster caregivers in BC have 18 specific rights recognised under MCFD policy and set out in the Foster Family Handbook. They cover your right to information about the child and your own file, to meaningful input into decisions and the Plan of Care, to privacy in your own home, to refuse a placement you can’t meet, to professional development and support of your choosing, to placement stabilisation and support after a placement ends, and to fair, respectful treatment — including reasons and a right to appeal if your agreement is terminated or suspended.

Knowing these rights helps you understand what you can ask for and what MCFD is expected to provide. Your CFS Area Coordinator can walk through any of them with you and support you if a right isn’t being met.

Sources: Foster Family Handbook; Foster Caregiver Orientation Guide