Child abuse includes physical harm, sexual abuse, and emotional abuse.

• Physical abuse can be shaking, punching, or hitting a child. Any action that hurts a child or leaves a mark can be abuse. It also includes punishments such as locking a child in a room without food, water, or a toilet for a long time.
• Sexual abuse is anything sexual that happens between a child and an adult — or a much older child. It also includes when an adult threatens to have sex with a child. You can’t take sexual photographs or videos of a child. You can’t force or permit a child to watch pornography (movies or photographs about sex) or watch actual people having sex. It’s also illegal to let people have sex with a child.
• Emotional abuse is when parents hurt a child by often ignoring, criticizing, or yelling at them. Such abuse can make children feel very sad, nervous, and alone, or even make them want to hurt themselves. Sometimes, children live in a home where they aren’t physically hurt, but their parents hurt each other. This can also make children feel afraid, which could be emotional abuse.

If you experience family violence, you can get help from VictimLinkBC. See also Live Safe, End Abuse.

If the social worker believes you can’t protect or aren’t willing to protect your child from being abused or witnessing abuse, they can remove your child from your home and your care.

Neglect is when parents don’t give their child enough food, clothes, or medical care, or if a child doesn’t have a safe place to live. Other examples of neglect are when parents are drunk and drive with their child, or when they leave their child with someone who’s drunk or drugged, or let their child use drugs or alcohol. Neglect can also be when they leave their young child alone at home or in a car.

The law doesn’t say exactly how old a child must be to stay alone. But the court has said a child eight years old is too young to be left home alone. In general, young children shouldn’t be left alone. If your child is between 10 and 12 years old, think about these things when you decide if you can leave your child alone:

• How mature is your child?
• Where will your child be?
• Are responsible adults nearby if your child needs help?
• How much does your child have to do (for example, cook or care for others)?
• Does your child know what to do in an emergency?
• What time of day will your child be alone, and for how long?

If you decide to leave your children alone, make sure they can contact you right away if necessary. Give them a phone number where they can call you.

To assess or investigate a report, the social worker may first phone you or visit you at home. During an assessment or investigation, they can do certain things, such as:

• They can talk to you about your family and your child’s safety.
• They can talk to your child alone (without you). Sometimes, the social worker talks to your child at school or somewhere else outside of your home without telling you.
• They can talk to people who know your child. These could be teachers, counsellors, relatives, family members, childcare workers, doctors, neighbours, police, friends, or religious leaders.
• They can look at any paperwork, such as medical records, school reports, and court documents, for information about your child.
• They can come to your home at any time and ask to see your child. If you don’t let them see your child, they may decide to remove your child if they think your child isn’t safe in your home. For this reason, it’s best to work things out with the social worker if you can. If you’re worried about your child talking to the social worker alone, you could ask if someone you trust can be there during the interview.
• They can remove your child from your home without warning, if they think your child needs protection. They don’t need a court order before they remove your child.
• They can place your child in a relative’s care, such as with an aunt, uncle, grandparent, or a community member or family friend.
• They can get court orders to make sure your child is safe and healthy.
• They can work with guardianship social workers to place your child for adoption.

Social workers can offer the following services:

• support services for the whole family
• help with preparing voluntary care agreements to avoid removing your child from your care
• help with writing, monitoring, and reviewing your child’s plan of care
• help with writing special needs agreements for your child if your child has special needs
• monitor how your child is doing if they’re in foster care
• help for youth moving toward independence

At all times, social workers need to keep these things in mind:

• The child’s safety always comes first.
• The best place for children is usually with their families.
• Indigenous children should stay in their communities, if possible.
• Indigenous children should have the opportunity to learn about and practise their Indigenous traditions, cultures, and languages.
• The child’s opinion should be considered when deciding what should happen.
• If support services are going to help parents care for their child, the social worker should help get these services for the parents. Examples are home support, counselling, and parenting classes.
• Decisions about the child’s care and safety should be made as quickly as possible.
• The social worker must investigate any complaint in the least disruptive way possible to the child’s family.

Social workers are supposed to be guided by the principle that keeping families together is a good thing. They aren’t supposed to remove a child unless the child’s health or safety is in immediate danger and this is the best way to protect them.

The law says if a social worker believes your child has been physically or sexually abused, they must tell the police.

If a social worker contacts you or visits your home to ask questions about your Indigenous child, they may be working for a delegated Aboriginal agency. Delegated Aboriginal agencies have an agreement with the ministry to provide certain child protection services to Indigenous communities. Some delegated Aboriginal agencies have the same powers as ministry offices. Some provide only limited services to families.

Like the ministry or social workers, some delegated Aboriginal agencies have certain powers. They can:

• get and investigate reports of child abuse and neglect
• remove your child from your home
• place your child in a relative’s care, such as with an aunt, uncle, grandparent, or a community member or family friend
• get court orders to make sure your child is safe and healthy
• work with guardianship social workers to place a child for adoption

Like the ministry or social workers, delegated Aboriginal agencies may offer the following services:

• support services for the whole family
• help with preparing voluntary care agreements to avoid removing your child from your care
• help with writing, monitoring, and reviewing your child’s plan of care
• help with writing special needs agreements for your child if your child has special needs
• monitor how your child is doing if they’re in foster care
• help for youth moving toward independence

Delegated Aboriginal agencies work with families who live on reserve and off reserve across BC.

• If you live on reserve, your band may already be involved with a delegated Aboriginal agency.
• If you live off reserve, your local city or town’s Indigenous organization may also have a delegated Aboriginal agency.

See the BC Government website for how to find and contact a delegated Aboriginal agency.

If the ministry or social worker is investigating you and a delegated Aboriginal agency represents your band or community, you can ask the ministry or social worker to tell the delegated Aboriginal agency. The delegated Aboriginal agency may be able to give culturally appropriate help. For example, some delegated Aboriginal agencies get your entire family involved in your child’s care, and some have Indigenous mediators.

Ask for as much information as possible about why the social worker is investigating you.

• Ask the social worker to answer your questions, explain what may happen, and write out important information for you.
• Take notes about what the social worker tells you. You may be nervous during the meeting and not remember everything afterward. Notes help you to keep track of what you want to find out and have to do. Your notes are also an important record of your contact with the social worker. Save your notes to help remember what you and the social worker said.

Tell the social worker your views about the safety concerns raised for your child.

• Give the social worker the names of trusted people who know you and your child. They can help explain your views about what’s best for your child.
• Tell the social worker if your child is Indigenous.
• If you agree the report is true, share your plan to keep your child safe.
• If you believe the report is false, explain what you’re doing to make sure your child is safe.

Having a social worker contact you is stressful. If you disagree with the report, don’t argue with the social worker because they won’t change their report at this stage. You need to build trust with the social worker and move forward.

Ask questions about the report and say how you can make sure your child is safe. Remember, the social worker wants to make sure your child is safe. The best thing you can do is focus on how to make sure your child is safe.

If you believe the report is false, keep in mind the social worker has already looked at the report and decided to investigate. The social worker may disagree with you that the report is false.

Keep a copy of everything that can help you prove what you say to the social worker. This could be notes about meetings with them, drug test results, contact information for people who can confirm (back up) what you say, and letters of support.

Find out what services can help you and your child.

• If your child is Indigenous and you want an Indigenous community to be involved, tell the social worker.
• Ask for an interpreter if you have trouble understanding or speaking English. The social worker can get an interpreter for you if there’s one in your area. If an interpreter isn’t available, you could ask someone you know to interpret for you. If you ask a trusted friend or family member to help you, make sure they understand they’re there to interpret, not to defend you or speak for you. Your interpreter should always stay calm when talking with the social worker.
• Ask for someone to interpret into sign language if you need that.
• If you think you aren’t being understood because you’re from another country and have different beliefs about raising children, tell the social worker. You may be able to get help from an immigrant-serving agency to explain your situation or ask about things that aren’t clear to you. 

It’s important to know how to contact the social worker who’s investigating your child’s safety.

• Ask the social worker for their business card. If they don’t have one, ask them to write down their name, office address, and phone number. This makes it easier for you to give new information, tell them about anything you forgot, or ask questions.
• Write down the name and phone number of the social worker’s supervisor or team leader (their boss).
• If a social worker phones you, it’s very important to find out their name so you can phone back if you need to. If you’re too upset to talk when the social worker phones, ask if you can phone back. If the answer is yes, be sure to phone back as soon as you can. You can also ask to meet in person.
• If you can’t reach the social worker or don’t have their phone number, call the ministry office nearest you. Or ask an advocate for help.

All social workers have lawyers who represent them. Their lawyers don’t represent you and can’t give you legal advice. You have the right to talk to your own lawyer who can give you legal advice. They have experience and knowledge about child protection law and court processes. Having your own lawyer can be very helpful for you.

You have the right to get legal advice as soon as the social worker contacts you. An advocate or community worker can also help you.

• Contact Legal Aid BC immediately to find out if you can get a free lawyer. You can apply for legal aid when a social worker starts an investigation, or you learn you’re being investigated. Even if you’d like to work cooperatively with the social worker, call Legal Aid BC or the Parents Legal Centre.
• If you’re an Indigenous parent, ask for a band or community Indigenous representative to take part in the process. Your Indigenous community, band, or First Nation may already have a written agreement with the local ministry office or delegated Aboriginal agency to set out how your band or First Nation is involved in your child protection matter.
• If you’re an Indigenous parent, ask the social worker (or your lawyer) about getting an Indigenous child protection mediator to help with your case.
• Ask an advocate or community worker to go with you to a meeting with the social worker. Advocates and community workers can explain how things work. They can help you decide how to explain your situation, take notes for you, or help you find legal help. You have the right to have an advocate with you at all face-to-face meetings, if you want an advocate to be there. 
• If you don’t have an advocate or a community worker, a trusted friend or family member may be able to support you or take notes.

See also Legal Help.

While the social worker is investigating, you can give your ideas about how to take better care of your child, or how others can help you. It often helps to write a plan with the social worker to set out what you want to do to make things better for your child. This is called a safety plan.

Making a good safety plan is one of the best ways to meet your child’s needs. It could show the social worker your child is safe in your home, and they may decide not to remove your child. If the social worker decided to remove your child, making a safety plan may help to get your child back sooner.

When you make your safety plan, think about:

• why the ministry is worried about your child’s safety
• what’s best for your child
• what you really can do
• how much time it will take you to make changes (be realistic)
• what your child wants (especially if your child is 12 or older)
• what help you may need
• what you’ll do if you have to wait for help

It’s good to tell the social worker:

• ways you can make your situation better
• what you did in the past that helped
• what support you used or plan to use
• what you’ve already done to deal with the current problem
• if you need help to find a doctor, food, counselling, family therapy, childcare, or a safe place to live
• what you’d like the social worker to do to help you
• which family members and friends can help you
• the names of trusted people who may let your child live with them for some time, if that’s needed
• how your child can help (if they’re old enough)
• if your child is Indigenous, how they could be involved with their Indigenous community
• how your child’s school or teachers could be involved

You can also make a written agreement with the social worker for them to connect you with community services to address the child protection concerns.

The social worker may decide your child needs protection and may ask you to sign a safety plan or written agreement for support services.

If you and your social worker can’t work out a safety plan or an agreement, the social worker can apply to court for a supervision order without removal. This order outlines their concerns and conditions they want you to follow. Only the court can make orders.

• The social worker applies to court for a supervision order without removal at a presentation hearing. See also What Happens at Court.
• To get the order, the social worker gives documents to the court that include their concerns for your child’s safety and the changes they ask you to make. The social worker must also give you a copy of these documents. Get legal advice as soon as you get your copy. 
• If you agree to do what’s asked in the supervision order without removal, your child can stay with you. It’s a good idea to get legal advice even if you agree to the supervision order without removal.
• You or your lawyer can also tell the judge why you agree or disagree with the information in the court documents and the order the social worker wants.
• You may feel pressured to agree to a supervision order without removal. You may think, or be told, the ministry will remove your child if you don’t agree to the supervision order. If you’re in this situation, get help from a lawyer right away.

A lawyer can try to negotiate some or all of the supervision order on your behalf. If you have a court date, it’s very important you attend court.

Get help from a lawyer as soon as you know the court date. Contact Legal Aid BC, or find out when family duty counsel is available at your local courthouse. The sooner you speak to a lawyer the better, so they can answer all your questions or concerns. 

The social worker may decide to remove your child from your home if they believe your child needs immediate protection.

• If the social worker removes your child, they have to apply to court for an interim order within seven days of your child’s removal.
• The social worker has to notify you about this application and the court hearing date.

Get help from a lawyer as soon as you know about the court hearing date. Contact Legal Aid BC, or find out when family duty counsel is available at your local courthouse. The sooner you speak to a lawyer the better, so they can answer all your questions or concerns. A lawyer can try to negotiate with the social worker for the return of your child.

If you have to go to court, a judge decides what happens next. See If the Director Removes Your Child for what to do if you have to go to court.

Any time after the social worker starts an investigation, or if someone says you’re being investigated, you can apply for legal aid. You may get a free lawyer through Legal Aid BC. See How to apply for legal aid.

You can ask for a family case planning conference for a fast response to the situation. The conference is usually under 90 minutes. It focuses on immediate concerns, next steps to keep your child safe, and how to move the plan forward for your child’s care.

• You meet with a trained facilitator.
• You can invite your lawyer, family, and support people to attend.
• Everyone who attends gets a copy of the written plan at the end of the conference.

You can ask for a family group conference, sometimes called family group decision making, at any time during the agreement process.

You meet with family members and other people involved in caring for your child. If you don’t have a lawyer and your extended family is available, a family group conference is useful to develop a plan of care. See Work out a plan of care for your child. You can also ask your lawyer, advocate, or friends to take part.

• A family group conference coordinator organizes the conference and may be there.
• You meet in a place where everyone feels comfortable.
• The people you invite talk over concerns about your family and how to deal with them.
• You and your family members who take part in the conference make the decision about how best to care for your child.
• A social worker reviews your decision and discusses it with you.

If you’re an Indigenous parent, you can choose traditional decision making to help develop a plan of care for your child. See Work out a plan of care for your child. The meetings are like family group conferences. Traditional decision making also involves your community.

• Your extended family can come to the meetings. Your community’s leaders may be there.
• You can make decisions based on your cultural traditions and values.
• You can ask to use traditional decision making at any time when you deal with a social worker.

The new federal law, An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families, establishes minimum standards for social workers involved with Indigenous families. The act provides more guidance for the social worker to consider what’s best for Indigenous families in areas such as cultural connection, ties to community, and involvement of the child’s Nation(s) at an earlier stage.

Any time you don’t agree with the social worker, or you think more discussion is needed to plan for your family’s needs, you can ask for mediation to help you work things out. A mediator is a specially trained person who doesn’t take sides. The mediator meets with you, the social worker, and anyone else involved in the case who you want at the meeting.

If you have a lawyer and the social worker has a lawyer, the mediator sits with you, the social worker, and both lawyers to develop a plan of care for your child. See Work out a plan of care for your child.

You can ask for mediation at any time, including:

• when you’re trying to work out an agreement, a safety plan, or a plan of care with the social worker
• any time you don’t agree with what the social worker wants, or you want to request an agreement
• after the court hearings have already happened

If you’re an Indigenous parent, you can ask about getting an Indigenous mediator to help with your case.

If the social worker removes your child from your home, you can ask to have your child placed to live with a friend or family member under an Extended Family Program agreement.

• You remain the legal guardian of your child.
• The person caring for your child is usually a family member and gets money and support services from the ministry to care for your child.

If you think the ministry might remove your child from your home, you can ask about a voluntary care agreement.

• You volunteer to place your child in foster care, usually for a short time. For example, if you’re a single parent and have to go to the hospital or a treatment program, you can ask for your child to be placed in foster care until you return home.
• You work with the social worker to make a plan for the earliest possible return of your child and for support needed to help you care for your child. If you’re Indigenous, your child’s Indigenous community could also be involved in making this agreement. The goal is to reunite children with their families as soon as possible.
• The initial term of a voluntary care agreement is usually for the least time you need to get over your crisis and depends on your child’s age. If you can’t care for your child after this initial time, the agreement can be renewed for a limited number of months based on your child’s age.

It’s helpful to have someone in your community approved as a foster care parent. If the ministry removes your child, your child can stay in foster care in their own community. Having foster parents in an Indigenous community can help keep children in their own communities, and sometimes in their schools and daycares. Several steps are involved for someone to become a foster parent. They must:

• complete an application and a criminal record check (everyone over 18 in the home must complete a criminal record check)
• get a medical assessment
• provide reference letters
• attend a foster parent orientation
• participate in a home study

There’s a high need for Indigenous foster parents. Support services are available from the Federation of Aboriginal Foster Parents. You can get more information from your delegated Aboriginal agency or local ministry office.

If the ministry removes your child from your home, and a family member or family friend would like to care for them, you can speak to the social worker. You should also speak to a lawyer to get legal advice about different agreements to care for your child, even after your child has been placed in a ministry foster care home.

Your family member or friend may be able to care for your child under an out-of-care order. This means the social worker places your child with them instead of in foster care. This is called out-of-care placement. The social worker does their own assessment of your family member or friend.

The assessment will likely include:

• police and ministry history checks
• a request for reference letters
• visits to your family member or friend’s home
• personal interviews

If your family member or friend are approved for out-of-care placement, they:

• care for your child for a fixed period of time
• get financial support to care for your child
• can get legal advice from family duty counsel at their local courthouse

• If possible, get help from a lawyer or advocate as soon as possible and before you try to reach an agreement with the social worker. The lawyer or advocate can go with you to meetings, help explain your rights, or help negotiate with the social worker.
• If you can’t get a lawyer or advocate to help you understand and write the agreement, get a lawyer to check the agreement once it’s written — before you sign it, or after you sign it (if you signed without getting advice).

For information about how to get legal aid help for yourself or your child, see Legal Help.

• It’s important that you’re part of making the agreement. For example, if you use drugs or alcohol, you may decide to work with a counsellor to help you deal with it. Be sure the agreement lets you choose a counsellor or program you think you can work with.
• It’s also important to let the social worker know if there’s a reason the agreement stops working for you (for example, your situation changes).
• It’s important to be on time for all your meetings. Call the social worker ahead of time if you can’t go to a meeting or may be late. The social worker keeps track of when you’re late or when you miss an appointment.

• Ask the social worker to be clear about the services or programs you and your family will get. Only agree to do something you clearly understand, or you think you can do. If you don’t do what you agree to, you may have serious problems later.
• Ask the social worker to say exactly what you have to do and what happens if you don’t meet all the terms. Get this included in your written agreement.
• The agreement should be clear about how the social worker decides when you’ve done something — and if you’ve done it well enough. For example, if the social worker says you have to take a parenting course, do you have to go to every class and prove you did, or is it enough for the person giving the course to say you finished it?

• Be sure the agreement gives you enough time to make the changes you have to make. If you agree to do something by a certain date, make sure that’s possible for you. The social worker may take serious action if you don’t follow the agreement.
• Check that programs and people you’re going to rely on will work within the time limits in the agreement.
• When you negotiate, think about how your situation could change. Ask for flexible time limits. It isn’t easy to make changes within a family. Your agreement should allow for that fact.

• Make sure everything you agree to do and everything the social worker agrees to do is put in writing. It’s very important the written agreement says exactly what you and the social worker are expected to do.
• You can refer to the document to make sure both you and the social worker meet your responsibilities. Keep a copy handy to remind yourself of what everyone agreed to.

• Always keep notes when you speak to or meet with the social worker, your community worker, advocate, or lawyer. Also keep track of court dates, meetings, and deadlines. Mark them on your calendar.
• It’s best to use one notebook for all your notes, records, and timelines. That way, all of your papers are in one place.

It’s very important for you to go to the presentation hearing and be on time.

• You can have your own lawyer at the presentation hearing. See also Legal Help.
• The social worker is at the presentation hearing with their lawyer.
• If your child is 12 or older, the social worker also tells your child the date of the presentation hearing. Your child can attend the presentation hearing, but they don’t have to.
• If you can’t get to the presentation hearing because you live in a remote area, or don’t have a way to get to the court, ask if you can participate by phone.
• If you live in a remote area without quick access to a court, the director may adjourn the presentation hearing to another day in the court nearest to you. The social worker then has to present the Report to Court within seven days. For more information, see The Report to Court section below.
• If you attend court by phone or videoconference, remember to dress appropriately for court, mute your phone or computer, and turn off your video until your matter is called.

If you, your child, or your child’s other parent are Indigenous, it’s important to let the social worker know. The social worker should tell your child’s community (such as the band) that they removed your child from your home and about any future court proceedings. Someone from the Indigenous community can come to the hearing.

You need to have a lawyer when you go to court. The issues are complicated. You want to make sure the judge hears your side of the case.

• If you don’t have a lawyer, get one immediately — you can apply for legal aid. If possible, do this before your court date. If you can’t do it before your court date, do it as soon as you can. See also How to apply for legal aid.
• If you haven’t had a chance to speak with a lawyer, you can ask the court to adjourn the presentation hearing until you can find one. You can also speak to family duty counsel at your local family court. See also Legal Help.

Before or at the presentation hearing, you receive a copy of the social worker’s Report to Court. At the start of the hearing, the judge asks if you agree or don’t agree with what the social worker wants to do in the Report to Court.

• If you agree, the judge makes an order right away. That’s the end of the presentation hearing. If the judge makes an order that day, they set another court date approximately six weeks later for your case to be back in court for the protection hearing. For more information, see Protection hearing.
• If you don’t agree with what’s in the Report to Court, the judge schedules another day for the presentation hearing to learn more about your case. It’s usually two to six weeks later. In many cases, it could be more than six weeks later. It depends on how busy the court is in your area. These hearings usually take half a day. But they could take longer.

If you don’t go to the presentation hearing, the judge will probably make the order the social worker asks for, without hearing from you.

The Report to Court should include this information:

• why the social worker decided to remove your child or ask for a supervision order
• what other steps the social worker tried before taking that action
• the date, time, and place of the removal
• who was there at the time
• what terms the social worker wants in a supervision order without removal. See also If your child needs protection.
• how your child will be cared for until the case is decided (called an interim plan of care)

Children aged 12 and older have the right to have this plan explained to them, and to tell the judge what they want. See also Work out a plan of care for your child.

It’s important for both you and your child to be part of making the interim plan of care. It says how your child will be cared for until your case is decided, which could take several months. If there are parts of the Report to Court you don’t agree with, tell your lawyer or the judge.

After talking about the Report to Court and interim plan of care at the presentation hearing, the social worker asks the judge for an interim order.

This order says how your child will be cared for and stays in place until the protection hearing is complete, or until the judge makes another order.

As soon as you get the application for an interim order, read the terms and conditions. If you have questions, discuss them with your lawyer or the social worker before you go to court.

The judge has the following options at the presentation hearing:

• Refuse to make an order (child with parent): If you can show you’re able to care for your child, and a protection hearing isn’t needed, the judge returns your child to live with you without supervision. This ends the court process for you and your child. This could happen if you’ve worked out an agreement with the social worker, and/​or if you’ve made changes the social worker suggested.
• Interim supervision order (child with parent): Your child lives with you, and the director supervises the care you give your child. This order includes conditions you must follow.
• Interim supervision order (child with someone else): Your child lives with another person who’s able to care for your child under the director’s supervision. This order set outs how your child will be cared for and may set out when and how you can visit your child.
• Interim custody order (child in foster care): Your child stays in the care of the director (foster care). This order may set out when and how you can visit your child.

Each interim order has the date and time of the start of the protection hearing. The protection hearing must be scheduled within 45 days of when the presentation hearing ends. See also Protection hearing.

If you and the social worker don’t agree on what’s in the interim order, the judge schedules another day for the hearing. At that hearing, the judge listens to the social worker, you, and other witnesses speak about how to make sure your child is safe and cared for until the protection hearing ends.

It’s very important you ask the social worker what they’ll do if you don’t agree to the supervision order. If you don’t agree to certain terms and conditions in the supervision order, the social worker may say they’ll remove your child.

If the social worker applied for a supervision order without removal, only two things can happen at the presentation hearing — the judge either makes a supervision order or refuses to make one. The judge can’t make a custody order or an order to have your child put in someone else’s care.

You can ask for the following things at the presentation hearing.

If the ministry removed your child, the first time you go to court for the presentation hearing may be the first chance you have to arrange access visits with your child. Ask for access at the presentation hearing. If you don’t ask then, you may have to wait several weeks before you get another chance to ask the judge for it.

The law says if you ask the judge for access, you should be given the access order, unless the judge decides it’s not in your child’s best interest to have you visit.

If you want more time to think about the interim order or apply for legal aid, you can ask for an adjournment. Although this means you have to come back to court on another day, an adjournment may give you more time to work out an agreement with the social worker.

When you’re deciding how long an adjournment to ask for, think about how often court is in your area. In bigger cities, court is usually once every week. But in some smaller communities, court is often less frequent.

If the judge adjourns the hearing, ask about access while you’re still in court. An adjournment can last for several weeks. You need to know when you can visit your child during that time.

You can also ask the social worker what happens between the court dates.

It’s a good idea to have a lawyer when you go to the protection hearing to present your case. See also Legal Help.

• Before you go to court, your lawyer can explain what’s likely to happen. Be sure you and your lawyer clearly understand what you want to ask the judge for.
• The social worker can apply for one of four types of orders. For more information, see Protection hearing. If the social worker gave you an application for a supervision order, read the terms and conditions. If you have any questions about the terms and conditions, ask your lawyer or the social worker before you go to court. If you don’t have a lawyer, you can also discuss your questions with family duty counsel at court.

Any time during the court process, you have the option to work out an agreement with the social worker, for free, through collaborative planning and decision making.

Before the judge can decide about the order the social worker applied for, the judge must first decide if your child needs protection or not.

• If you and the social worker both give written consent (agreement) about what happens at the protection hearing, then the judge doesn’t have to decide your child needs protection. This is very important. Speak to a lawyer about giving your written consent. The supervision or custody order can be made that day if everyone gives their consent.
• If you don’t agree with the application the social worker makes at the protection hearing, you can tell the judge you don’t agree. The next step is to have a case conference.

If you can’t reach an agreement with the social worker by the protection hearing, the judge orders you to go to a case conference. If you (or your lawyer) ask in writing to see information from the director’s files, you should get that information before the case conference.

• A case conference is a lot like mediation except the judge is in charge instead of a mediator and the case conference usually takes less time. It’s a meeting with you, your lawyer or advocate, the social worker and their lawyer, and the judge. If your child is Indigenous, a representative of the Indigenous community may also be there. For more information, see Collaborative planning and decision making.
• Be prepared to speak for yourself at a case conference. Judges usually want to hear directly from the parents. You may want to discuss what to say with your lawyer beforehand. The social worker can’t use what you say at the case conference against you in court. However, the social worker can try to use what you say to find out more information to use at a hearing.

Supervision orders or custody orders can’t be made at the case conference unless everyone agrees. If you work out an agreement with the social worker in the case conference, the judge can make a consent order. That ends the protection hearing.

You can make a consent order with the social worker after a case conference or at any time during the protection hearing process.

If you and the social worker agree on a plan of care for your child, you can make a written agreement for one of the orders the judge may make. The judge then makes a consent order and doesn’t have to decide your child needs protection.

• The court won’t have in its records that you couldn’t care for your child or your child needed protection.
• If your child is 12 or older, they have the right to be part of the discussion about a consent order. If possible, get legal advice for your child. See also Legal Help.

In most cases, both parents have to agree before the judge can make a consent order. Get legal advice before you agree to a consent order.

If you weren’t able to come to an agreement with the social worker at the case conference, the judge arranges for a protection hearing. The hearing will likely take a day or more to complete.

At the hearing, the judge must hear evidence and witnesses before making (or refusing to make) the application the social worker asked for. The judge decides if your child needs protection, makes one of the following orders, and decides how long the order lasts.

• Temporary supervision order (child with parent): Your child lives with you, and the director supervises the care you give your child.
• Temporary supervision order (child with someone else): Your child lives with another person who can care for your child under the director’s supervision.
• Temporary custody order (child in foster care): Your child stays in the care of the director (foster care).
• Permanent transfer of custody to someone else: Your child stays in the permanent care of another person.
• Continuing custody order (child in foster care): If a serious problem exists and can’t be fixed within the time the court allows, the judge may make this order. It means your child stays in the care of the director (foster care) without limits on how long this lasts. By the time the matter is at this stage, parents usually have tried to work out other options for their children’s care, and judges don’t make this order as often.

The judge includes terms and conditions in the supervision order, and whether you get an access order and what’s in the access order if your child isn’t with you.

Supervision orders and custody orders are made for a specific time, called a fixed term. The length of the fixed term is based on your child’s age at the time of the removal, or the youngest child’s age if there’s more than one child. If your child is:

• under five, the order can last for up to three months
• five to under 12, the order can last for up to six months
• 12 or older, the order can last for up to 12 months

If a child is under a continuing custody order, get legal advice to:

• have the order cancelled,
• get access to the child,
• have the child adopted,
• appeal court decisions (see below), or
• permanently transfer custody of the child to someone else.

See also Legal Help.

You may be able to appeal a custody order if you think it’s unfair — that is, you can ask another judge to decide if the order is fair.

If you want to appeal a decision, get legal advice immediately because you have only 30 days after a protection hearing to appeal an order. These time limits are very strict.

You can also apply to change an order if you make big changes in your life. This is different from appealing an order. For example, you may have had counselling that helped you with an anger problem or an addiction. Or you may have changed your housing or left an abusive relationship. If you made a life change, you can ask to change an order any time after the judge makes it. Get a lawyer’s help to do this.

A judge considers your application and decides whether to make a new order or leave it the way it is.