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
Annual Report 2018/19 and Service Plan 2019/20 to 2021/22
Caught in the Middle
Alone and Afraid: Lessons learned from the ordeal of a child with special needs and his family
B.C. Adoption and Permanency Options Update
Broken Promises: Alex’s Story
Critical Injuries and Deaths: Reviews and Investigations (2016-17)
Delegated Aboriginal Agencies: How Resourcing Affects Service Delivery
Missing Peices: Joshua's story
Room for Improvement: Toward Better Education Outcomes for Children in Care
A Tragedy in Waiting: How B.C.’s Mental Health System Failed One First Nations Youth
Approach with Caution: Why the Story of One Vulnerable B.C. Youth Can't Be Told
B.C. Adoption Update: December 2015
Children and Youth in Care - Hotel Placements
Critical Injuries and Deaths: Reviews and Investigations Update #26
Critical Injuries and Deaths: Reviews and Investigations Update #27
Legislation
Links