What an agreement can cover

What an agreement can cover

An agreement with the director can include:

  • support services the director can give you to help you take care of your child, called a service agreement; and can include counselling, in-home support, respite care, parenting programs, and services to support children who witness family violence
  • the safety plan you and the social worker make about how you’ll care for your child during the investigation. See When a social worker contacts you.
  • which friends or family members can care for your child for a while, called an Extended Family Program agreement.
  • how the director will care for your child for a limited time, called a voluntary care agreement.
  • a plan of care you and the social worker make to meet your child’s needs; for example, who takes care of your child while your case is in court. See Work out a plan of care for your child.
  • an access agreement about when and where you can visit with your child if the social worker removed your child from your home; for example, an access agreement may say how often you can visit your child, how long each visit is, and if you can be alone with your child
  • any other arrangement you and the social worker want to make during the investigation or court process, or even after you’ve been to court.

Extended Family Program agreement

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.

Voluntary care agreement

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.

Foster care in your community

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.

Placement after the ministry removes your child

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
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