This release was issued under a previous government.
A new agreement, signed today by Human Services Minister Manmeet S. Bhullar and Chief Rick Hanson, will help cut down barriers and allow staff to work even closer to find safe kinship homes for children coming into care in the Calgary area.
Formalizing this partnership is the first step to help place children coming into care with extended family or family friends quickly and provide immediate information to caseworkers who are attending potentially unsafe situations. This agreement supports the five-point plan, announced in January, to take action for improving the child intervention system and keep children healthy and safe.
“My priority is to ensure children and youth in care are given every opportunity to be placed in homes with their extended family or close family friends first, at the time of crisis, not weeks later. This agreement is the first of its kind in Alberta and highlights how by working together we can all play a part in improving the system. I would like the percentage of children in kinship homes or with family or friends to be much higher. Today’s agreement represents an important step towards reaching that goal.”
In addition to increasing the speed at which criminal background checks of prospective kinship care providers, the agreement allows child care workers to work closer with the Calgary Police Service to gather additional information if they feel there is a situation where their safety may be an issue. This allows child care workers to better assess risks when it is necessary to go into a home or when interacting with citizens.
“The Calgary Police Service recognizes the importance of providing access to vital information in circumstances where children are at their most vulnerable. This agreement supports our ongoing mandate of working closely with partners to facilitate a coordinated and streamlined response in times of crisis.”
As of December 2013, there were more than 1,700 children in kinship homes with family or extended friends caring for them, representing 23 per cent of children in-care in the province. It is critical that the supports and services provided through Human Services be culturally appropriate and meet the unique needs of children and families.
“Cultural Kinship will transform the way ethnically and religiously diverse children are respected, protected, loved, and nourished. It is a practice that informally exists in many cultures and serves to ensure children are physically, emotionally, spiritually, and culturally safe during a period of crisis. This promising practice may be the best form of child placement practice across Canada; it is certainly one in which my diverse community has adapted through our strategic partnership with Calgary and Area Child and Family services.”
Under the Building Alberta Plan, our government is investing in families and communities, living within our means, and opening new markets for Alberta's resources to ensure we're able to fund the services Albertans told us matter most to them. We will continue to deliver the responsible change Albertans voted for.