British Columbia

For more information, see the information sheet British Columbia's child welfare system.

Overview

In British Columbia, the Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) provides child welfare services under the mandate of the Child, Family and Community Service Act (1996). The Child, Family, and Community Service Act (1996) was amended in 2018 to improve child welfare service delivery and intervention for Indigenous children and families, with the goal of reducing the over-representation of Indigenous children and youth within the province’s child welfare system.

Child protection services in British Columbia are provided through 429 ministry offices in 13 regions and 24 delegated Aboriginal agencies, which have varying levels of delegated responsibility according to the resources and capacity of each agency (Government of British Columbia, 2021). The Federal government is responsible for funding services to First Nations children and families living on-reserve. The Adoption Act (1996), Infants Act (1996), and the Representative for Children and Youth Act (2006), are other legal acts that relate to the well-being and protection of children in British Columbia. 

Statistics
British Columbia: Children and youth in out-of-home care in 20221
Children in careChild (0-18) populationRate per 10001
10, 462926,02711.30

Statistics Links

Child welfare services fall under the jurisdiction of provincial and territorial authorities, making it difficult to compile statistics at the national level.

The most notable variations between provinces include, mandate variation by jurisdiction with respect to the age to which children are eligible for service, differences in the length of time a child can receive out-of-home care and the definition of out-of-home care.

Reference List

1 Pollock, N., Ouédraogo, A., Trocmé, N., Hovdestad, W., Miskie, A., Crompton, L., Campeau, A., Tanaka, M., Zhang, C., Laprise, C., Tonmyr, L. (2024). Original quantitative research – Rates of out-of-home care among children in Canada: an analysis of national administrative child welfare data. Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention in Canada (44)4. https://doi.org/10.24095/hpcdp.44.4.02.

Reports
Title Year
Fostering Success: Improving Educational Outcomes for Youth in/from Care
Indigenous Resilience, Connectedness and Reunification - From Root Causes to Root Solutions: A Report on Indigenous Child Welfare in British Columbia
Profile of Children and Youth in the Downtown Eastside Report
Provincial/Territorial Protocol On Children, Youth and Families Moving Between Provinces and Territories
Ten Years of Advocacy: Annual Report 2015/16 and Service Plan 2016/17–2017/18
The Placement of Children and Youth in Care in Hotels in British Columbia: A Joint Special Report
Too Many Victims Sexualized Violence in the Lives of Children and Youth in Care: An Aggregate Review
A Report and Next Steps for Action from A Forum for Change: Reconciliation for Today’s First Nations, Métis & Aboriginal Children Through Custom Adoption and Lifelong Family and Tribal Connections
B.C. Adoption Update: April 2015
Critical Injuries and Deaths: Reviews and Investigations Update #23
Critical Injuries and Deaths: Reviews and Investigations Update #25
Growing up in B.C. - 2015
Paige’s Story: Abuse, Indifference and A Young Life Discarded
Wrapping our Ways Around Them: Aboriginal Communities and the Child, Family and Community Service Act (CFCSA) Guidebook
2013/14 Annual Report and 2014/15–2015/16 Service Plan
Legislation
Links