1.1.4 Service Provision

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This section contains case management standards related to the provision of services by mandated child and family services agencies and licensed adoption agencies.

Legislation

The Child and Family Services Act
The Adoption Act

The Child and Family Services Act

Subsection 7(1) of The Child and Family Services Act lists the duties of child and family services agencies. Agencies provide these services directly or through contractual arrangements with other service organizations.

Part II of the Act pertains to services to families. Section 9 covers services to families and minor parents. Section 12 provides for day care service agreements. Under section 13, an agency may provide homemaker and parent aide services through a family support service agreement. Subsection 13(1) empowers an agency to temporarily place a homemaker in a home to care for a child in the absence of a parent. Section 14 enables a parent or guardian to enter into an agreement with an agency to voluntarily place a child. Section 16 provides for voluntary surrender of guardianship of a child by agreement.

Part III of the Act pertains to child protection. Under section 20, an agency may apply to court for an order that a person believed to have abused a child to cease to reside in the same premises as the child and to refrain from any contact with the child. Under section 21as amended by section 37 of the Child and Family Services Authorities Regulation, the director, an authority, an agency or the police may apprehend a child believed to be in need of protection and take the child to a place of safety.

Part 2 of the Child and Family Services Regulations contains provisions relating to services to families under Part II of the Act. Schedule A contains prescribed forms for services provided under Part II and Part III of the Act.

The Adoption Act

Section 9 of The Adoption Act provides licensing of adoption agencies in accordance with the regulations. Adoption agencies are licensed to provide all adoption services except for the adoption of permanent wards under section 36 of the Act.

Section 103 of the Act states that adoption records are confidential, and access to, or disclosure of information in these records may be given only in accordance with the Act. Section 104 lists exceptions that allow for disclosure of identifying and non-identifying information.

Sections in the Adoption Regulation referred to in Section 1.1.1, Intake apply to this section of the manual. Schedule B in the Adoption Regulation contains prescribed forms for services provided under The Adoption Act.

Subsection 2(1) of the Post-Adoption Registry Regulation states that a person referred to in section 111 of the Act may, on application to the director, in a form and manner specified by the director, register with the post-adoption registry.

Policy

Service Provision Process
Service Provision Decisions

Service Provision Process

Child and family services authorities are responsible for ensuring the delivery of services. They may do so through agencies they have mandated or through entering into service agreements under section 23 of The Child and Family Services Authorities Act.

The Director of Child and Family Services (Child Protection Branch) is responsible for ensuring the delivery of adoption services by licensed adoption agencies.

Agencies may deliver services through their employees or through contractual arrangements with other service providers.

Service Provision Decisions

The case management decisions in providing services are as follows:

• Have necessary referral been made?
• Have necessary contact been completed?
• Have appropriate legal steps been taken?
• Are the services in place?

Standards

1. Service Priority - The case manager arranges both emergency and ongoing services to ensure contact with the family or child based on the priority for service identified at intake.


2. Frequency of Contact with Families - The case manager maintains contact with the family based on the level of risk to the life, health or well-being of children identified in the intake and assessment stage as follows:

High Risk:

• There is face-to-face contact at least once a week. At least one of these contacts is made by the assigned case manager each month and a least one takes place in the family’s home.
• There is face-to-face contact with vulnerable children at least every two weeks

Medium Risk:

• There is face-to-face contact with the family at least once every two weeks. At least one of these contacts each month is by the assigned case manager and at least one takes place in the family’s home.
• There is face-to-face contact with vulnerable children at least once every two weeks.

Low Risk:

• There is face-to-face contact with the family at least once a month. At least one of these contacts is made by the assigned case manager every three months is by the assigned case manager and at least one takes place in the family’s home.

• Services are based on need set out in the case management plan.
  
  

3. Frequency of Contact with Caregivers - When a child is in the care of the agency the case manager, in addition to maintaining contact with the family:

• has face-to-face contact at least once a month with the child's caregiver(s)


• has face-to-face contact at least once a month with the child in the child's place of residence


• gathers information, records, photograph, and other memorabilia to create a life book of a child is likely to stay in care for more than one year including:
  
  
  • three month progress reports
  
  
  • information or records on critical life events such as birthdays, first (for example, tooth, steps, ride a bike, date) and school achievements
  
  
  • contact names

4. Ensuring Services are Provided - The case manager ensures that all services outlined in the case management plan are in place within the specified time frames.


5. Engaging Families and Children - To prepare a family or child to receive services, the case manager:
   
   
   • shares additional information with service providers that was not available in the planning stage
   
   
   • facilitates initial visits and contact between the family or child and the service providers and caregivers involved including prospective adoptive parents when indicated
   
   
   • ensures the child has an escort with whom he or she has a supportive relationship, to accompany the child on any visits
   
   
   • arranges for the child's personal belongings to be brought to the caregiver at the time of placement
   
   
6. Legal Procedures - The case manager ensures that necessary legal steps are taken (for example, court approval to change or return guardianship and the finalizing of required agreements such as the adoption placement agreement)


7. Sharing of Non-identifying Information - The case manager ensures that non-identifying information relating to the adoption of a child is provided to eligible persons when the agency has possession of the record. The case manager:
   
   
   • shares non-identifying information in person when possible
   
   
   • forwards a copy of this information to the post-adoption registry and to the agency holding the record as required
   
   


8. Change in Services - When a change in services is needed, the case manager conducts a case review to determine whether an updated assessment and plan is required.