FAQs

The mandatory training is PRIDE (Parenting Resources for Information, Development, and Education). Every caregiver who signs a Family Care Home Agreement with MCFD must complete it within the required timeframe — it’s a core expectation of the role, not an optional add-on. PRIDE comes in two parts: Pre-Service, done during your application before approval, and In-Service, done after approval.

PRIDE is the foundation, not the finish line. Afterward, your caregiver learning plan (developed with your resource social worker) maps out ongoing learning, and CFS offers workshops throughout the year on trauma-informed care, attachment, FASD, self-care, and more. Keep your certificates of completion — your resource worker tracks them at your annual review.

Sources: Foster Family Handbook; Foster Caregiver Orientation Guide

It depends on what the question is about. As a quick guide:

• A decision about a specific child (school, medical, visits, day-to-day care) — the child’s social worker.
• Your home, your contract, approvals, or payments — your resource social worker.
• Peer support, mentoring, training, or help through an investigation — your CFS Area Coordinator.
• Foster caregiver insurance — the BC Foster Parents Association (BCFPA).
• Local peer events and community — your local foster parent association.

If you’re not sure where to start, your CFS Area Coordinator can help you find the right person.

Sources: Foster Family Handbook; Foster Caregiver Orientation Guide

Caring Families Society (CFS) is a non-profit organisation that supports foster caregivers on Vancouver Island. It’s contracted by the Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) to provide support, networking, communication, and ongoing training. CFS isn’t a regulatory body and doesn’t place children — those are MCFD and Indigenous Child and Family Service Agency (ICFSA) responsibilities. In short, CFS is there to support you, so you can provide stable, informed care for the children and youth in your home.

Source: Foster Caregiver Orientation Guide

These four organizations have complementary roles. MCFD (and delegated ICFSAs) are responsible for placements, approvals, payments, and child protection — for questions about a specific child, you contact their social worker. CFS is your Vancouver Island regional support agency, providing peer support, mentoring, workshops, the Safe Babies Programme, and Investigation and Resolution Support. BCFPA (also written BCFFPA) works at the provincial level, administering foster parent insurance, running the Fosterline, and advocating for caregivers. FAFP — the Federation of Aboriginal Foster Parents — supports caregivers of Aboriginal children, working in partnership with the others rather than replacing them.

In short: go to MCFD for decisions about a child, CFS for regional peer and training support, BCFPA for insurance and provincial advocacy, and FAFP for support specific to caring for Aboriginal children.

Sources: MCFD Foster Family Handbook; CFS Foster Caregiver Orientation Guide

<!-- REVIEW: Draws on inf-014 (FAFP), which is flagged for Indigenous SME review. FAFP content here is descriptive only (role and partnerships). Hold for SME sign-off before publishing. -->