Vancouver Aboriginal Child and Family Services Society
Encyclopedia
Vancouver Aboriginal Child and Family Services Society ("VACFSS") is a non-profit society
that provides free social services to Aboriginal people living in the Metro Vancouver area of British Columbia
, Canada. The society was incorporated in 1992, and provides advocacy, support and encouraging cultural awareness for Aboriginal children and families involved in the child protection system of British Columbia. In 1996, the society was designated by the Vancouver Aboriginal community to take on responsibility for providing child protection services for Vancouver Aboriginal children and families, and on April 1, 2008, the society became fully delegated as a provider of Child Protection services.
and in-home support programs for urban Aboriginal families. Four years later, the Mamele Society was reincorporated as the Vancouver Aboriginal Child and Family Services Society.
The core program and focus of VACFSS from 1992 to 1999 was family support services. This program advocated for and gave assistance to families involved with the Ministry and for whom there were risks of becoming involved in the child protection system. VACFSS also provided cultural support to children-in-care and cultural awareness to caregivers through the Cultural program. In 1996, after a series of community consultations, VACFSS received support from the Aboriginal community to assume “designation status”, providing advocacy to families and notifying Bands when their children were removed from member Aboriginal families living in the Lower Mainland.
In 1999, VACFSS started a Guardianship Pilot Project while starting negotiations with the Ministry to enable it to deliver delegated services. The negotiations concluded in September 2001 with the signing of the Delegation Enabling Agreement ("DEA") on December 14, 2001, which allowed VACFSS to provide a full range of delegated resource and guardianship services and non-delegated services through the Aboriginal Family Preservation and Reunification Services.
Immediately following the signing of the DEA, Guardianship was created, with residential resources following a year later. In 2004, Family Support was renamed Family Preservation and Reunification to reflect the society's mandate to use all avenues to preserve family units. VACFSS continues to grow and evolve toward the goal of full delegation.
. Services are divided under four umbrellas: Child Protection, Family Preservation & Reunification, Residential Resources, and Guardianship Services. Some clients require services from multiple, or even all of the departments, while others deal with only one department.
Child Protection social work
ers use cultural practices and supports to help families overcome their challenges. They also practice the least intrusive measures in supporting a family with their child protection needs. As part of this, they use internal and community supports. Some of these are:
Family Group Decision Making - FGDM coordinators help families experiencing child protection issues by setting up conferences which allow families to prepare a plan for dealing with their challenges. It is a non-adversarial alternative to court.
Family Development Response - FDR workers provide intensive support to families experiencing child protection concerns by connecting them with the community supports they need.
Family Reunification reconnects children with their families through involvement of the child’s caregiver. The role of caregiver is encouraged to be filled by an extended family
member or friend, though it sometimes is filled by an non-related foster parent
.
Emergency Family Response provides short-term crisis-orientated service to ensure children have immediate support. It also works to decrease the length of time a child is in care.
The Strengthening Family Program is a service provided for families who need assistance or education to help with the challenges of maintaining a safe, healthy and healthy home environment for both children and families. It is an evidence-based program that is family focused and culturally sensitive. It is intended to strengthen parenting skills, family relationships and children’s social skills
and life skills. It is available for families with children ages 6–11 years.
VACFSS offers Aboriginal Family Preservation & Reunification Services to:
Intensive Family Preservation and Reunification Services involve parents, caregivers, children and youth. It is delivered primarily in the family home, caregiver’s home or a site preferred by the family. Each family referred to the service works with a primary Family Preservation Counselor to ensure continuity of service. The service is time-limited, ranging from two (2) to six (6) months but may be extended if circumstances warrant.
The Aboriginal Family Preservation and Reunification Services assist immediate and extended families to develop a plan that will address child protection issues to prevent children from being removed from the family home. The Program also assists in the reunification of families by providing:
Associated Aboriginal Family Preservation and Reunification Services:
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
that provides free social services to Aboriginal people living in the Metro Vancouver area of British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada. The society was incorporated in 1992, and provides advocacy, support and encouraging cultural awareness for Aboriginal children and families involved in the child protection system of British Columbia. In 1996, the society was designated by the Vancouver Aboriginal community to take on responsibility for providing child protection services for Vancouver Aboriginal children and families, and on April 1, 2008, the society became fully delegated as a provider of Child Protection services.
History
The formation of VACFSS began in June 1988 as the Mamele Benevolent Society with a mandate to develop Aboriginal Child WelfareChild welfare
Child protection is used to describe a set of usually government-run services designed to protect children and young people who are underage and to encourage family stability...
and in-home support programs for urban Aboriginal families. Four years later, the Mamele Society was reincorporated as the Vancouver Aboriginal Child and Family Services Society.
The core program and focus of VACFSS from 1992 to 1999 was family support services. This program advocated for and gave assistance to families involved with the Ministry and for whom there were risks of becoming involved in the child protection system. VACFSS also provided cultural support to children-in-care and cultural awareness to caregivers through the Cultural program. In 1996, after a series of community consultations, VACFSS received support from the Aboriginal community to assume “designation status”, providing advocacy to families and notifying Bands when their children were removed from member Aboriginal families living in the Lower Mainland.
In 1999, VACFSS started a Guardianship Pilot Project while starting negotiations with the Ministry to enable it to deliver delegated services. The negotiations concluded in September 2001 with the signing of the Delegation Enabling Agreement ("DEA") on December 14, 2001, which allowed VACFSS to provide a full range of delegated resource and guardianship services and non-delegated services through the Aboriginal Family Preservation and Reunification Services.
Immediately following the signing of the DEA, Guardianship was created, with residential resources following a year later. In 2004, Family Support was renamed Family Preservation and Reunification to reflect the society's mandate to use all avenues to preserve family units. VACFSS continues to grow and evolve toward the goal of full delegation.
Departments
Vancouver Aboriginal Child and Family Services Society works from three offices located throughout East VancouverEast Vancouver
East Vancouver is a region within the City of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Geographically, East Vancouver is bordered to the north by Burrard Inlet, to the south by the Fraser River, and to the east by the city of Burnaby...
. Services are divided under four umbrellas: Child Protection, Family Preservation & Reunification, Residential Resources, and Guardianship Services. Some clients require services from multiple, or even all of the departments, while others deal with only one department.
Child Protection
VACFSS is responsible for child protection services for Aboriginal children, youth and families for Vancouver. This includes:- Providing services that help strengthen Aboriginal children and families;
- Providing service to the parents or others who are responsible for the care of such children; and
- Reviewing, assessing and investigating reports of child abuseChild abuseChild abuse is the physical, sexual, emotional mistreatment, or neglect of a child. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Children And Families define child maltreatment as any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or...
, neglect and exploitation of children.
Child Protection social work
Social work
Social Work is a professional and academic discipline that seeks to improve the quality of life and wellbeing of an individual, group, or community by intervening through research, policy, community organizing, direct practice, and teaching on behalf of those afflicted with poverty or any real or...
ers use cultural practices and supports to help families overcome their challenges. They also practice the least intrusive measures in supporting a family with their child protection needs. As part of this, they use internal and community supports. Some of these are:
Family Group Decision Making - FGDM coordinators help families experiencing child protection issues by setting up conferences which allow families to prepare a plan for dealing with their challenges. It is a non-adversarial alternative to court.
Family Development Response - FDR workers provide intensive support to families experiencing child protection concerns by connecting them with the community supports they need.
Family Preservation and Reunification
Family Preservation and Reunification provides clinical services to referred Aboriginal families who are experiencing situations that may place their children at risk. These services are based on an assessed need and are meant to prevent children from coming into care as well as foster lasting and meaningful reunifications of families whose issues necessitated the temporary removal of the child or children.Family Reunification reconnects children with their families through involvement of the child’s caregiver. The role of caregiver is encouraged to be filled by an extended family
Extended family
The term extended family has several distinct meanings. In modern Western cultures dominated by nuclear family constructs, it has come to be used generically to refer to grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins, whether they live together within the same household or not. However, it may also refer...
member or friend, though it sometimes is filled by an non-related foster parent
Foster care
Foster care is the term used for a system in which a minor who has been made a ward is placed in the private home of a state certified caregiver referred to as a "foster parent"....
.
Emergency Family Response provides short-term crisis-orientated service to ensure children have immediate support. It also works to decrease the length of time a child is in care.
The Strengthening Family Program is a service provided for families who need assistance or education to help with the challenges of maintaining a safe, healthy and healthy home environment for both children and families. It is an evidence-based program that is family focused and culturally sensitive. It is intended to strengthen parenting skills, family relationships and children’s social skills
Social skills
A social skill is any skill facilitating interaction and communication with others. Social rules and relations are created, communicated, and changed in verbal and nonverbal ways. The process of learning such skills is called socialization...
and life skills. It is available for families with children ages 6–11 years.
VACFSS offers Aboriginal Family Preservation & Reunification Services to:
- Children
- Youth
- Families
- Caregivers
- Children and youth with CCO status
Intensive Family Preservation and Reunification Services involve parents, caregivers, children and youth. It is delivered primarily in the family home, caregiver’s home or a site preferred by the family. Each family referred to the service works with a primary Family Preservation Counselor to ensure continuity of service. The service is time-limited, ranging from two (2) to six (6) months but may be extended if circumstances warrant.
The Aboriginal Family Preservation and Reunification Services assist immediate and extended families to develop a plan that will address child protection issues to prevent children from being removed from the family home. The Program also assists in the reunification of families by providing:
- Assessment and integrated service planning;
- Services to address concrete needs;
- Individual and parenting training and education;
- Therapeutic interventions with individuals, couples and families;
- Linkages to formal and therapeutic interventions;
- Specialized individual therapeutic interventions; and
- Specialized assessment.
Associated Aboriginal Family Preservation and Reunification Services:
- Group-based therapeutic intervention
- Child and youth care intervention
- Self help/mutual aid
- Volunteer mentoring
- Supervised visitation
- In-home services (homemaker services)