Delegation is a formal process by which the provincial government 'delegates' some of its authority in child welfare matters to Indigenous organizations. The organizations must demonstrate a community mandate and the capacity to fulfill the role of a legal guardian in order to receive delegated authority.
Delegation means to entrust to another. When used in the context of the Ministry of Children and Family Development it refers to the Child, Family and Community Services Act. Within the scope of the Act, delegation is the transfer of authority to perform the functions mandated under the Act.
In the case of delegation these functions include:
- Resources - recruitment, training and payment of foster parents/ extended family
- Guardianship - When the Province of BC is the Guardian of a child, it must plan for the wellbeing of any child permanently in its care
- Child Protection - assessment of family functioning and removal of children who are in danger until the danger has been eliminated
MCS is seeking phased in delegation and will initially be delegated authority for Resources and Guardianship.
Delegation as a Cultural Safety Mechanism
Delegation can strengthen the Metis community. When Metis families are not functioning well, having Metis aware social workers involved allows us to draw upon and build resources within the Metis community rather than resort to placing Metis children with strangers. In our effort to help parents develop the skills and access the resources they need, delegation would better incorporate Metis culture in the solutions and interventions implemented.
As we plan for delegation an important thing to do is consult with the community. We need to know if the Metis community supports the process and what the community needs.
Please help us to plan our future by participating in the survey forms contained in this section.
Information in the following paragraphs provide an overview of the services we currently provide and how many Metis people need services in various regions
The current child welfare system, in its efforts to protect children at risk, sometimes also harms Metis children, families and communities by destroying a sense of belonging. The historic outcomes of a colonial process for a significant number of Metis families are issues of substance misuse and child neglect often linked to poverty. About 30 per cent of all Aboriginal children in care are Metis. As Metis child welfare workers we see the current child welfare system as an extension of colonialist practices. At this moment there are more Indigenous children in Government care than at any other time in history.
At the present time on Vancouver Island there are 79 Metis children in permanent government care and 30 others under Ministry orders (supervision and temporary care). Delegation will be limited to those in permanent care. Metis Community Services believes these figures are improperly low. We have noted over the years that the Ministry sometimes assigns children with Metis identity to another cultural identity. We suggest the number of Metis children in care and under orders might be doubled.
Over the last 14 years Metis Community Services has been working to keep Metis children out of permanent Ministry care and to reclaim them from permanent Ministry care once they are in.
In the month of May, 2010, in the South Island region alone, the agency provided direct services to 94 clients including 42 families and 22 single parent families. In this area our community members utilized the following supports and services: individual supports to children youth and families; advocacy for children involved in the government child welfare system; family reunification planning; FASD Key Worker and Family Group Conferencing interventions; educational outreach; and family strengthening through our Family Visitation and Cultural program. We also write Cultural Safety Agreements for children being placed for adoption and participate in planning for Metis children under Ministry orders.
In Nanaimo MCS is aware of 59 Ministry involved clients or 36 families. In Courtenay/ Comox we are aware of 9 clients, in Port Alberni there are 8 Metis children being cared for by a First Nations Delegated Agency whose Executive Director recently stated: 'there is nothing Metis specific we can provide to these children'. In both Campbell River and Parksville we are tracking 3 Metis children's files. To these families our team provides an initial telephone support contact when our duty worker encourages families to seek legal representation and to access local Indigenous service providers. We also advocate with MCF social workers to improve outcomes for these members of our community through maintaining family and community connectedness.
In 2003 Metis Community Services collaborated in a Pilot Project in which we provided a Metis Social Worker to the Nanaimo Aboriginal Team. Establishing a similar service is one of our first Delegation priorities.
How as a community do the Metis People on Vancouver Island interrupt this system and Take Back our Future? Island Metis Family and Community Services has been attempting to answer this question for the past 15 years by helping to strengthen Metis families and by reclaiming the Metis children lost to stranger care through government foster and adoption policy. Delegation is seen by Island Metis as a cultural safety mechanism that will allow the Metis community to further protect the most vulnerable members of the Metis community.