Fact Sheet for Schools on Children in Care of Child and Family Services

A. How do children come into care?

The mandate under which Child and Family Service Agencies operate is contained in legislation entitled "The Child and Family Services Act". In addition to this legislation, agencies are bound by regulations and standards in performing the tasks required of them. Under this legislation, children may enter the care of the agency in the following ways:

a. Voluntary Placement Agreements:

These are mutual agreements signed between the agency and the family whereby the agency agrees to provide care and control of the child for a specified period of time. Guardianship of the child is retained by the parent. Parents who place their children under this section of the legislation are entitled to cancel the agreement at any time, and must be consulted regarding any major change in the child's life. Although the Voluntary Placement Agreement contains a consent clause which allows the agency to sign on behalf of the parent, in most instances where major decisions are to be made, the agency will seek the consent of the parent.

Where issues of child protection exist, and if the family and the agency are able to agree on a plan for reconstitution of the family, Voluntary Placement Agreements are at times used as an alternative to proceeding through Family Court. If a family was to make a decision to terminate an agreement prior to the agency believing that it is safe for the child to return home, the agency would be required to make a decision about placing the child under apprehension and proceeding through Family Court for an order of guardianship.

b. Temporary Orders of Guardianship:

Temporary orders of guardianship are granted by a Family Court Judge upon application by the agency for a specified period of time. An agency may receive a temporary order of guardianship by consent of the parent in which case there is no finding of "need of protection", or may, in a situation where the parents choose to oppose, be required to present evidence before the courts to justify the agency's position that a child is in need of protection. Under these orders the agency assumes all responsibility for the child for the duration of the time they are in care including care, control and actual guardianship.

c. Permanent Orders of Guardianship:

In some circumstances the agency determines that a child will never be able to return to the care of the parents and subsequently applies for a permanent order of guardianship. The guardianship of a child who is a permanent ward of an agency remains with the agency until the child's 18th birthday when the child becomes an adult, or until the child becomes the legally adopted child of another family. Adoption is always a consideration with very young children, but may not be in the best interest of an older child who is settled in foster care and has contact with birth family. Although the agency does not have a legal or financial obligation to permanent wards beyond their 18th birthday, it is not unusual for a worker or a foster parent to maintain a supportive relationship for a period of time. The agency has a responsibility to do age of majority planning with every permanent ward prior to them turning 18. There is no capacity under the legislation for a family to consent to a permanent order, so evidence must always be presented to the Court upon application for a permanent order, even in situations where the family chooses to stand silent.

d. Voluntary Surrenders of Guardianship:

Voluntary surrenders of guardianship as well involve the permanent transfer of guardianship to an agency. These are used primarily in the surrender of new born infants, although occasionally the agency may use them in the situation of an older child where the family is clearly not prepared to engage in any way with the agency around the return of the child to the home. The agency assumes the same role as in a Permanent Order of Guardianship.

B. How do agencies decide which children will come into care?

The decision to take a child into care is an extremely serious one. It has many legal, emotional, social and moral implications, not only for the child in their immediate future, but for their long term emotional health and well-being. The Child and Family Services Act is clear in it's directive that agencies will utilize the least intrusive measures possible in dealing with child protection issues, while always attending to the "best interests" of the child in making decisions regarding the child's life. The apprehension and removal of a child is a legal intervention for protecting the child, but it is only one approach to child protection, and should be used as a last resort.

Children will be removed if any of the following conditions exist:

a. The agency is in the process of investigating a serious complaint of abuse or neglect and requires time to complete the investigation, and no other plan for protection can be offered by the family that is acceptable to the agency.

b. The agency determines upon completion of the investigation that it is unsafe to return the child to the home and that no other safety plan can be worked out that is acceptable. [offender removed, child capable of carrying out a safety plan, home supports in place, etc.]

c. The child refuses to return to the home or the parents refuse to have the child returned, and the child is unable to care for themselves.

Children may remain if:

a. The agency determines upon investigation and assessment that long term foster care will be as damaging to the child as remaining in the home. The level of risk to the child is not high. Prognosis for the family is that it is not likely to improve, but it will not likely get worse.

b. There is nothing that a foster home could do for the child that parents could not do if they were motivated to work on the problem. Attempts to change the child without family change are viewed as unlikely to succeed.

c. The child is low on the Placement Priority Policy of the agency and there is a shortage of placements.

d. The agency solicitor advises that there is not sufficient evidence to present successfully to the court, even though the worker may be left with concerns.

C. Where do children go once they enter the care of an agency?

The vast majority of children who enter the care of agencies are placed in foster homes. Most agencies have Emergency Receiving Homes, Regular Foster Homes, and Specialized Foster Homes. Children may remain in Emergency Receiving for a short time while an investigation is completed and a decision is being made about whether the child will return home. If they cannot return home, they will likely be placed in a regular foster home for the duration of their placement. Children who present high needs of a very specific nature may be placed in a specialized home. Foster homes are licensed for a maximum of four children unless special permission is obtained to exceed licensing requirements, or all of the children in the home are siblings.

Children who cannot be resourced within the foster care system of the agency are placed either in group homes or in foster homes developed specifically for them by private institutions. Agencies make every effort to resource children within their own regions. Most of the specialized resources are in Winnipeg and movement into the city frequently results in children making more negative associations and becoming familiar with more dysfunctional ways of coping. These placements are also extremely expensive for the results they are able to produce. The most successful placements in these resources have been placements necessitated due to the condition of a child [ie. autism], as opposed to the behaviour of the child.

D. Who is responsible for what?

In every situation where the agency has guardianship of a child, regardless of how the guardianship was obtained, the agency has full authority to make decisions on behalf of the child. Parents in these situations, regardless of how involved they are, cannot sign consents or other documents on the child's behalf. The agency delegates the day to day responsibility for children in care to their caregivers, generally foster parents. Decisions that foster parents can make would include things such as permission to take part in an activity or local field trip at school, permission to spend the night with a friend, decisions regarding how a child will be disciplined at home as a result of some misdemeanour at school, signing reports or notices to indicate they have been received, etc.. It is the foster parents responsibility to inform workers of these events when they occur. Decisions that workers must be involved in would include such things as consent to go on school trips which involve being away overnight, decisions about changes in a child's school placement, consents for medical or other treatment, consents for concentrated involvement with guidance counsellors or other helpers, etc..

In situations where the agency does not have guardianship but does have care and control of the child, foster parents would have the same authority as in the case of guardianship. Workers, however, may choose to consult with or involve parents in the major decisions wherever possible. The schools contact around these issues would remain with the Social Worker and not the birth parent.

E. Campership Program

Child and Family Services of Central Manitoba runs a Campership Program funded out of the Child and Family Services of Central Manitoba Foundation. The agency sends approximately 200 children to camp each summer. Schools in the region receive letters asking for referrals each year. The agency will only sponsor children to attend fully accredited camps, and will not permit children in the direct care of the agency to attend a camp that is not accredited. Permission for a child in care to attend camp must have the signature of the Social Worker. Children who are approved who are not in the care of the agency are simply funded by the agency. All authority and responsibility remains with the parents.

F. Confidentiality and Sharing of Information

Workers have the same authority to share information about children for whom they have guardianship as any parent. They have a responsibility to provide schools with the background and current information they will require to provide for the child's day to day academic, social, emotional and physical development and well-being. This information will only be provided to those staff members or other service providers who have a need to know and there is an expectation that the information will be treated with some sensitivity. Foster parents may share information about the day to day issues which may be impacting on a child, but should not be sharing extensive background information on a child. School staff are members of the circle of service providers in the child's life who will be required to respond to what is happening in the child's life and therefore must be aware of current and past issues for the child. School staff should feel free to contact workers any time they are unsure about the level at which an issue needs to be addressed.

Workers have limited authority to share information about children who are in the care of the agency under Voluntary Placement Agreements, unless it is clear that there are active child protection concerns and the agency would apprehend if the parents withdrew from the agreement. In situations where a child is clearly in care under a voluntary arrangement with no child protection concerns, workers will endeavour to have parents continue to make as many decisions about the child's life as is possible, and may wish to have parents sign consents for important matters. The first contact on these matters for the school will be the Social Worker who will make the decision about parental involvement.

G. What can schools reasonably expect from workers?

Schools will be involved with Social Workers as a result of the children who are in care on their caseloads, as well as through contact with families in the community who present with concerns of abuse, neglect or other family dysfunction, where the children may not be in the care of the agency.

Where Social Workers have responsibility for children who are in their care, schools can expect that workers will be involved in providing initial and on-going information on the child's life and attending major meetings pertaining to planning for the child's school placement, progress or behaviour.

Where Social Workers are involved with families in the community where the children are not in the care of the agency, the worker will make a determination about the level of involvement they are able to have with the school. The primary contact for the school in all cases where children are not in care is with the parents, unless the school is making a referral of abuse or neglect, or there is a clear agreement that the school will call the worker about certain issues. Social Workers have many families on their caseloads whose children are not in care, and it is impossible for them to be involved in meetings which pertain to planning for school placement, progress or behaviour for all of them. Ongoing involvement with the school regarding families in this category would be restricted to families where there are chronic child protection concerns or adolescent behaviour problems which are being addressed through a joint plan involving the school's participation and monitoring.

H. Who do schools call when they wish to make a referral?

All calls on existing cases should be made to the worker responsible for the case. Messages can be left if the worker is out. If it is an emergency, staff should ask for the Intake Worker, or the worker's Supervisor. All calls to report new referrals should be made to the Intake Worker of the day. Intake Workers are available in the Portage office and in rotating Southern offices on regular working days. After Hours staff are available at the Portage number beyond office hours. The agency phone numbers are as follows:

Portage office: 857-8751
Carman office: 745-6405 or 6406
Winkler office: 325-4889

Although Social Workers will not disclose the name of a referral source, frequently the client will assume that the school has reported due to their daily contact with the child. The agency fully appreciates the difficulty schools experience in working cooperatively with a family once they are angry about a referral. It goes without saying that this problem is compounded in small communities. Schools can stand behind the legislation which requires them to report and the agency will strongly support them in this. School staff who come to appreciate and accept the need for child protection legislation and interventions generally find this problem easier to live with.

I. Does the school have the right to refuse entry to a Social Worker?

All schools should have at their finger tips the Manitoba Guidelines on the Investigation of a Child in Need of Protection [including Child Abuse]. Child Protection Workers have the legal right to enter a school for purposes of an interview of a child where they have cause to believe that the child may be in need of protection. Workers should respect the operation of the school by calling ahead and reporting to the office when they arrive. Schools have the right to request identification and should do so if they are not familiar with the Social Worker.

This document has been prepared for your information and assistance. If you have questions about it, please direct them to the Supervisor of the area in which your school is located. Their names are in hypertext. The agency is responsible for only the portions of these divisions which fall within the boundaries of the Central Region of Manitoba.

Cathie Hamm Supervisor Intake Team

Portage la Prairie School Division

George MacDonald Supervisor South Team

Prairie Spirit School Division
- Manitou
- Darlingford
Midland School Division
Garden Valley School Division
Rhineland School Division
Western School Division

Michelle Sveistrup Supervisor North Rural Team

Morris MacDonald School Division
Turtle River School Division
Pine Creek School Division
Beautiful Plains School Division
Mountain School Division
Division Scolaire Franco-Manitobane
White Horse Plains School Division
Prairie Spirit School Division
- Shady Lane School
- Treherne Elementary
- Treherne Collegiate
- Boyne Valley School
- Holland School

Kathleen Jones PhD, R.S.W.
Executive Director
May, 2007