You can get legal advice as soon as a social worker contacts you about your children. Call Legal Aid BC to make an appointment with a lawyer.
604-408-2172 (Greater Vancouver)
1-866-577-2525 (elsewhere in BC)
1-888-522-2752 (Parents Legal Centre)
You and your family have a right to be involved in deciding about your child’s care. Whenever possible, and at any time during the process, the director will work with parents or guardians rather than take a case to court. The director tries to negotiate with you to decide what’s best for your child.
If you can negotiate an agreement or a plan with the director, that can be less stressful and faster than if you go to court. You can work out an agreement for free through collaborative planning and decision making.
Negotiating with the director could help you keep your child safe in your home, or at a trusted friend or family member’s home, until you can have your child back at home.
You can negotiate an agreement at almost any time, such as:
- after the social worker tells you there are concerns about your child’s safety
- when your case is going to court
- when a judge’s order has ended
The social worker may say the ministry will remove your child if you don’t sign an agreement.
- Ask for time to find a lawyer. Get a lawyer as soon as you can.
- You can also ask for mediation or other services.
- If you don’t have time to talk to a lawyer and you sign an agreement to keep the ministry from removing your child, talk to a lawyer as soon as possible to find out what to do next.