BRITISH
COLUMBIA
November 19, 2008
Ref: 179061
Melanie Filiatrault
President
BC Federation of Foster Parents Association
200 7342 Winston St
Burnaby BC V5A2H1
Dear Melanie Filiatrault:
We are writing to update you on the status of changes in ministry responsibilities that were announced
last spring.
As you will recall, in June 2008 Government announced that responsibility for services for children
and youth with special needs, currently provided by Community Living British Columbia (CLBC)
will move to the Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) and will be integrated with
related services to children and youth with special needs and their families already provided by the
ministry. At the same time, it was established that the Ministry of Housing and Social Development
(MHSD) would assume responsibility for CLBC, which will continue to be the service delivery
agency for adults with developmental disabilities and their families.
Over the last several months, staff in the two ministries and CLBC have been working together and
preparing a transition plan that will ensure a seamless approach to service delivery and is fully
integrated to serve children, youth and adults --- a process we now anticipate will be completed by
October of 2009. We are managing this process jointly because we recognize that although there are
multiple ministries involved, there is one service system for families and that an effective, thoughtful
and coordinated approach is required to ensure a full continuum of services. A perfect example is the
need to ensure effective transitioning for youth who may be receiving services through MCFD but
may require adult services through MIHSD or CLBC in the future.
MCFD recently began a consultation phase to inform service delivery planning improvements and this
process will unfold at the provincial and regional level in the coming months. We encourage you to
participate in consultations that occur in your community. As details are available, they will be posted
CLBC are also embarking on consultation processes and where possible, these will be joint efforts.
Further information, when available will be posted at:
…/2
As you might expect, changes of this magnitude take time and require a thoughtful approach with
minimal disruption to families receiving services.
We thank you for your patience and for your input in this process. Sincerely,
Tom Christensen
Rich Coleman
Ministry of
Office of the
Mailing Address:
Location:
Children and Family
Minister
Parliament Buildings
Parliament Buildings
Development
Victoria BC V8V 1X4
Victoria
