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Children's Services Transfer to MCFD

The Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD), the Ministry of Housing and Social Development (MHSD) and Community Living BC (CLBC) have worked collaboratively to complete the transfer of services for children and youth with special needs (CYSN) from CLBC to MCFD on October 31, 2009. MCFD now has service delivery responsibility for a full range of intervention and family support services. MCFD, MHSD and CLBC continue to work collectively to ensure a smooth transfer period and no disruption in service delivery.

Accomplishments:

  • The service contracts have been successfully transferred from Community Living BC to MCFD ensuring no disruption in payments to care and service providers after the transfer.
  • MCFD has read-only access to CLBC’s computer system providing full access to the records of every child and family served by CLBC, ensuring service continuity during and after the transfer.
  • A new Cross-Ministry Transition Planning Protocol for Youth with Special Needs involving nine government organizations became effective November 1, 2009: its intended to promote a coordinated approach to supporting youth with special needs as they prepare for and enter adulthood.
  • All MCFD regions developed new service delivery models for children and youth with special needs and associated staffing plans.
  • CLBC developed a new adult services delivery model and a staffing plan to support it.

Staffing:

  • MCFD, CLBC and the BC Government Employees Union (BCGEU) worked together to reach an agreement on a number of issues concerning the transfer of children’s services and the subsequent transfer of interested CLBC staff to MCFD.
  • All three met with CLBC staff in joint information sessions throughout the province to present the future staffing plans of both CLBC and MCFD and answer questions.
  • 141 CLBC employees have confirmed their desire to transfer to the ministry, which fills about 85 per cent of the new positions in children’s services.
  • The few remaining vacancies have been fast-tracked in the hiring process.

Families and Caregivers:

  • Throughout November, MCFD will be contacting families and caregivers to provide the name of the new CYSN worker assigned to their family.
  • During the last week of the October, a letter was sent to approximately 11,000 families and caregivers that provides a contact name and phone number for their regional MCFD office.
  • Families and service providers were given a 1-800 number to call if they have any questions or problems.
  • The most vulnerable children and families were identified in all the regions and CLBC is working closely with MCFD to ensure priority is given to their files. This includes youth who are to transitioning in the next eight months.

The ministry already provides a number of services to children and youth with special needs and their families. For example, responsibility for Infant Development programs, Supported Child Development, Early Intervention therapies and Key Worker services for families of children and youth with FASD are all within the current mandate of MCFD. MCFD will be integrating CLBC services with existing ministry CYSN services enabling potential access to a wider range of services and supports.

As further details become available, they will be posted on this site.