September 2021
FCRR submitted a Budget Submission to the Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services on behalf of families who receive support through the Child in the Home of a Relative program, and Section 54.1/54.01 (of the BC Child, Family, and Community Services Act)
Read the full submission…
November/December 2021
FCRR with the support of Parent Support Services (PSS) drafted a generic letter and asked you our members, and other families, to add a personal story and send directly to your MLA. Some individual PSS or FCRR members received follow-up letters from their MLAs and in some cases received invitations to meet face to face with their MLAs.
January – March 2022
FCRR received emails from MLAs who were forwarding our submission to the Ministry of Children & Family Development (MCFD) and also in one instance the MLA forwarded us the response from Minister Dean of MCFD which detailed the new monthly maintenance as well as information related to other issues.
March 2022
We were contacted by and will be working with (Megan Wilde) a journalism student at UBC who is interested in creating a video documentary on kinship care families. We are hoping that she will be able to connect with some of you at the gathering.
Budget News
Notification that the 2022 budget contains acknowledgment of one of our requests for the 54.01 and 54.1 families regarding monthly maintenance payments for kinship care children with disabilities had come to fruition.
The announcement led to the following:
- Creation and distribution of a News Release regarding the FCRR involvement in change.
- Creation of a Letter sent to Minister Dean of MCFD regarding what had transpired and that well FCRR appreciated what they have done there was more work to do.
- Invitation to meet with Minister Dean of MCFD, which the president and Gary Goodwin a member of the Communications Team attended on March 31, 2022.
We are happy to announce the Minister told us on more than one occasion she was committed to following up on the items we raised and in fact, they had already started the analysis. She appreciated the fact that we not only outlined the issues but offered solutions. She thanked us and all kinship caregivers for everything they are doing, and she did realize the importance of the children being kept with family. Shari, FCRR President, did try to push for a timeline, but there is a process to go through for change, however, there was a commitment to improving things and keeping in communication with us.
April 2022
We have applied to have FCRR listed on BC211 which connects all British Columbians to vital community programs and services for everyday needs and in times of crisis which is a database listing resource.
We are continually working together with like organizations to build connections and partnerships.
June 2022
Upcoming Gathering
Fairness for Children Raised by Relatives and Parent Support Services are excited to announce our first face-to-face gathering in Nanaimo, B.C. on the weekend of June 11/12, 2022. Note for those unable to attend there will be a Zoom option. We are working hard to provide subsidies for travel and childcare as well as one-night accommodations (based on double occupancy) will be covered. We will be adding information to our website as it becomes available.
Now you are updated on all our announcements, if you are not already a member, please join us, so we can continue to stay connected and work together towards fairness for all our kinship care families.
