FAQs

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) is a brain-based disability caused by prenatal alcohol exposure. It affects how a child’s brain develops and how it handles information, stress, memory, and the ordinary expectations of daily life. Most challenges you see are not about motivation or defiance — they are about how the brain is working. Children with FASD usually want to do well; their brains just have a harder time connecting past experiences to current behaviour.

A helpful shift in daily caregiving is moving from “Why won’t they?” to “What support does their brain need right now?” When routines are predictable, instructions are clear and simple, sensory load is reduced, and adults stay calm and consistent, children with FASD are far more able to learn, regulate, and connect.

Source: CFS FASD Practice Notes

Trauma-informed care is an approach, not a technique. It is a way of seeing children and responding to them that takes into account what they may have lived through and how it affects them now. The core shift is from asking “What is wrong with this child?” to asking “What happened, and what does this child need right now?” That single shift changes how you read behaviour, what you prioritise, and what you do in difficult moments. It means seeing behaviour as communication and responding with understanding rather than punishment.

In practice, the order of things changes. Before any correction, the child’s safety and regulation come first. Before any consequence, the relationship comes first. None of this means ignoring behaviour. It means meeting it differently, with the understanding that punishment delivered to a dysregulated child does not teach the lesson the adult intended. Trauma-informed care rests on several guiding principles that work together, including safety, trust and consistency, connection before correction, choice and empowerment, and cultural safety.

Source: CFS Trauma-Informed Practice Notes

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

Alongside your own required household insurance, the BC Foster Parents Association (BCFFPA) administers two coverages for foster families at no cost to you. The first is automatic third-party liability coverage — every approved foster parent in the province is covered if someone claims against you for unintentional bodily injury or property damage arising from your caregiving, with no need to apply or pay.

The second is the Rider Insurance Programme, part of the Master Insurance Program. It supplements your own homeowner or tenant policy by mirroring its limits and covering damage and theft caused by a child or youth in care — losses a standard policy would usually exclude. Because it extends your existing policy rather than replacing it, you must keep your own household insurance in place for the Rider to work.

Sources: Foster Family Handbook; Foster Caregiver Orientation Guide

The BC Foster Parents Association — also known as the BC Federation of Foster Parent Associations (BCFFPA) — is the provincial association run by and for foster caregivers across British Columbia. The two names refer to the same organisation; both appear in ministry publications. It works closely with MCFD to build stronger partnerships between foster families and ministry staff.

BCFPA administers the Foster Parent Insurance Program for all approved caregivers, helps develop mandatory and pre-service training, publishes the FosterlineBC newsletter three times a year, advocates for caregivers provincially, and runs the Fosterline support line. Members and their families can also access comprehensive dental and extended health plans. You can learn more at bcfosterparents.ca.

Sources: Foster Family Handbook; Foster Caregiver Orientation Guide

Keep these provincial numbers where you can find them fast. For any life-threatening situation, call 911. For a child in care emergency outside office hours (normally 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday to Friday), call the MCFD After Hours Line at 1-800-663-9122 — in the Lower Mainland, 604-660-8180. To report suspected child abuse or neglect, call the Ministry Helpline for Children at 310-1234, staffed 24/7, no area code needed. For poisoning or exposure to a harmful substance, call the Poison Control Centre at 1-800-567-8911, available across BC, 24 hours a day.

Alongside these, keep your own local numbers on the fridge or in your phone: local police and fire non-emergency lines, your nearest hospital emergency room, a local crisis or distress line, and the names and numbers for your child’s social worker, your resource social worker, and your child’s doctor and dentist.

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

It depends on the amount. For damage or loss under $10,000 caused by a child or youth in care, use the Under-Deductible Losses (UDL) process through Coast Claims Insurance Services — a simpler, low-barrier route. For $10,000 or more, use the standard Rider Insurance Programme claims process. In either case, also let your resource social worker know. For help with a UDL claim, contact the BCFFPA at 1-800-663-9999.

Source: Foster Caregiver Orientation Guide

Each CFS Area Coordinator serves a specific part of Vancouver Island, and your coordinator is your first point of contact for information, peer support, mentoring, training, and investigation support. If you’re not sure which coordinator covers your community, call the CFS Regional Office toll-free at 1-888-922-8437 (admin@fpsss.com) and they’ll route you to the right person. Reach out during office hours; if you get voicemail, leave a message and your coordinator will return the call. For urgent concerns outside business hours, use the after-hours and crisis lines instead.

Source: 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