Since 2020, we’ve all had to adapt to a new normal, although what that looks like is different for every person and family. While our world has never felt smaller, the past 2 years has also been a reminder that we are more connected than ever. 2021 was full of monumental moments ­– the ongoing effects of the pandemic, supply chain issues, broken infrastructure, and multiple extreme weather events from fires to floods.

Collaboration has been a constant theme with BCFPA’s work this year. It’s never been clearer that tackling big problems require people working together. With your support, we have achieved so much this year. Here are some of the things that have kept us busy in 2021:

• After a 26-month process, the wording recommendations for the Chapter 5: Children and Youth in Care Policies (used by the child’s social worker) received approval from all levels of MCFD and Delegated Aboriginal Agencies including the Secretariat. The changes are in support of the Foster Parent Rights and are intended to ensure that social workers are guided by policy that is inclusive and respectful of your role as foster parents. Next steps will be to make an implementation plan to ensure that the community of social workers and foster parents are aware of the key changes. BCFPA is working with the policy division to co-host webinars during early 2022.

• BCFPA gathered concerns from foster parents about the requirement for in-person visits with bio family while the rest of BC is told to keep their bubbles to those who live in the same home. Science and medical experts established a low incidence of COVID transmission from children so it was difficult to raise an argument to support ongoing virtual visits for foster children. Our lawyer advised that no exceptions should be made singling out our community members.  We forwarded all concerns to MCFD provincial office.

• Early in 2021, we met with Minister of Children and Family Development, the Honourable Mitzi Dean. She assured us that her office would continue to support our joint initiatives for policy change and discussions about the foster care maintenance rates.

• The original and long-term underwriters for the Rider Insurance Program decided not to renew the program this year!  We eventually identified a new underwriter who was willing to support BC’s foster parents with a similar program but with a higher deductible of $10,000.

• BCFPA has worked with an external claims adjudicator to design a program to manage foster home damages that fall below the Rider deductible of $10,000. We are waiting to hear more from MCFD regarding this proposal.

• While the provincial budget in 2021 didn’t include any increase specifically for foster parents, we are still working with MCFD’s Strategic Priorities division to envision what a future payment structure will look like including a potential additional level of care.

• Aligning our BCFPA Branch operations with the revised Societies Act and our new Bylaws meant that small changes were needed. We engaged legal counsel to work with us throughout this process. During our discussions, we discovered that additional changes are necessary to bring our Branches into compliance. We adjusted our policy documents to provide clear guidelines for our Branch members.

• We anticipate that BCFPA’s contract with MCFD in the future will include the regular revision of the Foster Family Handbook as well as new YouTube videos annually.

• New BC Foster Basics videos have been uploaded to our YouTube channel! Although the pandemic impacted the post-production of the BC Foster Basics YouTube Series 3 videos, we recently finished and uploaded two videos: (1) A Day in the Life of a Social Worker and (2) Aging Out of Care.

• BCFPA is in discussions with MCFD regarding the need for contract stability for foster parents who are caring for medically fragile children and youth.  Recent situations wherein long-term contract funds have been unexpectedly reduced has resulted in placements that are put at risk.

• Our Solutions Program has identified concerning gaps in the investigation review process.  We will be addressing this with MCFD provincial office and hope discussions will lead to revision of the 8.20 – Family Care Home Investigation policy section and further conversations with the Quality Assurance team.

•  The Board had to make the difficult decision to change the 2021 AGM format from hybrid to 100% virtual. We were still able to offer virtual training and education which is accessible to foster and adoptive parents until September 2022. You can still register HERE. We also hosted three wellness webinars during Foster Family Month which you can access through our YouTube channel.

• To celebrate Adoption Awareness Month, we hosted a town hall with BC’s Provincial Director of Adoption to answer some questions you have about adopting your foster child.

• We met with Minister Dean in the Fall to discuss our activities in the community. We are happy that her office is so supportive of our agency and our joint initiatives with MCFD! We hope to have some announcements ready for our community in the Spring of 2022.

• BCFPA participated in resolving a challenging community advocacy situation that had been ongoing for several years. With the help of MCFD leadership in the region, we were able to work together in a true team effort to create a significant change that met the needs of the entire community.

• In the Fall of 2021, our members voted to change our agency name to reflect our essential role as the voice for BC’s foster parents. This exciting change has been in the works for a long time!

• The name change presented an opportunity to rebrand. Our logo has been slightly changed to BCFPA. The process of rebranding is more than just updating our logo. We also redesigned our website to better communicate our programs and services, becoming more user-friendly and modern. We understand your needs so our redesigned website now includes features such as online membership registration and renewal and increased dynamic content. You can also apply for our grants and bursaries online and upload documents that support your application. There will be more improvements to come in the new year!

• With the bylaw changes, came a restructuring of our membership classifications:

  Foster Parent Members (Voting):  Foster parents can still pay a small fee to join as a foster parent member, make motions and vote at meetings, participate in directing our association’s programs and services and benefit from bursary and discount offerings.  Your membership fees still support the family-focused and networking activities of our community branches.

  Associate (Foster Parent/Non-Voting):  We have added a classification for associate foster parents who want to join but aren’t interested in the nitty gritty of running our association. You can join at no cost, receive all of our general information, be eligible for some bursaries and ensure that your name is in our database for additional group offerings.

  Community (Stakeholders/Donors/Non-Voting): This classification is available at no cost for our partners and donors who wish to be present in our database to receive our information.

We have more exciting projects lined up for 2022 so stay tuned!

Please note that the BCFPA Provincial Office will be closed for the holidays from December 20th to January 3rd. We will be back to regular office hours on Tuesday, January 4th.

We hope that you and your family stay well and safe. We wish you a holiday season full of joy, warmth, and love.

Jayne Wilson

Executive Director

November is Adoption Awareness Month in British Columbia. It is a time to honour and celebrate the many families that have been created through adoption in this beautiful province we call home. It is also a time to remember that there are still many children and youth in government care who are waiting for a loving, permanent family.

Every child deserves a permanent family home and adoption offers light and hope in the darkness. It is truly fitting that Adoption Awareness Month follows Foster Family Month because fostering and adoption are deeply intertwined. Foster parents “stand in the gap” and support the best permanency goal for the child or youth in their care. While reunification is typically the primary goal of foster care, foster parents are often asked to consider adopting the child in their care if safely returning to the birth family isn’t possible. Each year an average of over 40% of all adoptions in BC are foster parents adopting the children or youth in their care. When foster families are unable to adopt, they skillfully facilitate the transition of a child from foster care to a suitable adoptive family or other permanent placement.

Adoption Awareness Month is a time for us to recognize the individuals and agencies who work tirelessly to support and help build forever families. BC Foster Parents Association would like to take this time to thank our partners, the Adoptive Families Association of BC, for their commitment to building prepared, resilient adoptive families. The adoption and permanency community stands strong because of you!

There are many ways to celebrate Adoption Awareness Month.

• Use social media to promote awareness of the need for adoptive families. Follow Adoptive Families Association of BC (@bcadopt) for information on events and celebrations.
• Send a card or a gift to an adoptive family you know.
• Donate to dedicated agencies that provide programs and services for adoptive families.

On behalf of the fostering community, I extend my heartfelt thanks to all adoptive families in BC for choosing to build your families through adoption and providing children and youth with loving, permanent homes.

Jayne Wilson

Executive Director

Burnout Prevention with Julie Romanowski a.k.a. Miss Behaviour

When we feel emotions such as burnout, hostility, lack of enthusiasm or no purpose, it can greatly effect everyone involved. From yourself, to the children, or family members – burnout is real and toxic. Let Julie Romanowski a.k.a. Miss Behaviour help you prevent burnout.

This webinar is a shortened version of her popular Burnout Prevention Program. She will talk about the reasons why burnout happens and provide strategies to help ease the challenges that present themselves, creating a negative impact on our physical and mental health.

Join us on October 18, 2021 at 10:30 AM

About Julie Romanowski

Julie Romanowski is Miss Behaviour! She is an educated, trained and certified ‘Early Childhood Consultant’ and’Children’s Behaviour & Discipline Specialist’. You can find Julie working and being a ​Mother, Coach, Leader, Educator, Author, Speaker & founder of Miss Behaviour: parenting coach & consultant services.

She is a ‘Children’s behaviour & discipline specialist’, that covers the areas of anxiety, child development, communication and connection with an approach that is positive and respectful. Julie is excellent at teaching Parents key skills and techniques to understand and enjoy raising their children.

http://www.julieromanowski.com

http://www.missbehaviour.ca

Mindfulness and Stress Reduction with Shahin Najak

This webinar will provide an introduction to mindfulness and how we can make small shifts in our daily lives to help you create authentic relationships, a peaceful home and joyful children. Shahin will share her passion and offer you simple daily practices designed to help you stay calm, cool and connected with yourself and your family. You will be able to add this beautiful life skill in your personal toolbox as well as your family’s.

Attendees will learn: 

1. What is mindfulness – we hear the word everyday but what does it really mean and what are the steps in making it a habit that serves us

2. Stress and our brains – how it affects us on a daily basis and how to override it

3. Three key mindfulness practices that we can start using today, and model for our children. 

Join us on October 20, 2021 at 10:30 AM

About Shahin Najak

Shahin Najak is a Certified Mindfulness Meditation Coach for parents, teachers and caregivers who want to release the overwhelm of caring for others. Her passion lies in supporting adults and children, particularly parents and teenagers, in building better relationships and incorporating mindfulness strategies as a pathway to creating and crafting a life of calm, self-esteem and self-acceptance.

Through her MBSR (mindfulness-based stress reduction) workshops, mindfulness group training programs and children’s mindfulness programs as well as her private coaching, she supports you in breaking habits that don’t serve you, clearing obstacles that create tightness in your chest so that you can finally wake up everyday feeling like you can handle anything that life throws your way.

https://www.mindful-changes.com

Nourishing Self-care through Food with Jenn Messina

Our relationship with food affects our physical and mental health. In this webinar, we will unpack how our relationship with food impacts our relationship with self-care. Being intentional with self-care through our eating habits can bring so much joy into our daily lives.

What is self-care
What do you do to take care of yourself? Why is it important?
What about food? Diets vs Intuitive Eating
Role of different foods on our energy levels
Meal swaps and snack ideas
6 Strategies that make the biggest difference in nutrition
Meal planning on a budget

Join us on October 26, 2021 from 10:00-11:00 AM

About Jenn Messina

Jenn Messina is a Registered Dietitian based in beautiful Vancouver, BC. Jenn is passionate about all aspects of holistic health and practices through the lens of Health at Every Size® and Intuitive Eating. She works with individuals who are ready to break up with dieting and find balance and joy with food! She also works with families looking to support their children to have a healthy relationship with food and their bodies.

https://www.jennmessina.com