Squamish needs more foster parents.
Like most communities in B.C., Squamish has a shortage of people available to foster children in need, according to Shelley Lewis, team leader for Child and Family Services in Squamish.
Children need foster care for a number of reasons, such as safety concerns in the home, because parents need help during an illness or marital conflict, or because a child has physical, mental or emotional difficulties that are beyond the parents’ ability to cope, according to ministry of children and family documents.
While the government does not release the exact numbers of children currently in need of care in small communities in order to protect the identity of the children involved, Lewis said on average there are about 56 children in care in Squamish in about 30 to 40 homes.
Squamish is in need of both short-term and long-term homes for foster children.
The greatest need is for what is called “regular” foster homes where children can be placed on an ongoing basis, said Lewis.
“Our main goal is that we want to strengthen parenting. We want kids to return to families when they can,” she said. “So those kids need someone who can be their caregiver for maybe up to a year and commit to those kids.”
There is also a need for emergency foster parents in Squamish as well as foster parents who have experience or training in dealing with children with special needs.
“We need people who are willing to do emergency foster home placements where kids may come into care temporarily – and temporarily can be a few days to six months,” she said.
Lewis said in Squamish there is only one emergency home of this type.
“Someone who is paid a little bit more and who is on call and they know that they could get a call in the middle of the night and, or, on a weekend,” she said.
The Squamish Nation, through its Ayas Men Men Child and Family Services, which is delegated for guardianship of Squamish Nation kids, takes its children who come into care permanently. (Placements of Squamish Nation children who come into care temporarily are done in co-ordination with the Ministry of Children and Family Development.)
However, there is a need for foster parents for aboriginal children who come from outside Squamish, and aren’t Squamish Nation, such as children from Mount Currie’s Lil’wat First Nation or from Alberta Nations.
“Some of them might be transient families who ended up here and then something has happened and the children have ended up in care,” Lewis said, adding that ideally those kids would be placed with aboriginal families.
In B.C. 15 per cent of foster parents are aboriginal while 51 per cent of children in care are aboriginal, according to ministry statistics. Whatever the family configuration and circumstance, it is best if foster parents are flexible and understand what they are signing up for.
“Becoming a foster parent can be a challenge because people may think I will take a group of two or three kids and I am going to have them temporarily and I am just helping in an emergency kind of a situation, but they can go on longer,” Lewis said, adding it can be very hard to give up the children when the fostering is up.
“They can sometimes go a few years through the process.”
While foster parents are paid (payment depends on the age of the child and type of care, but ranges from about $800 to $2,700 per month) in the end, it is the emotional reward that makes foster parenting worthwhile, Lewis said.
To learn more about becoming a foster parent call the Child and Family Services office in Squamish at 604-892-1400.
Foster Facts
• There are 3,239 foster families in B.C., according to the ministry.
• There are different types of fostering. So-called restricted homes are where the children know the foster parents. The foster parents could be a relative or friend of the family, for example.
• The most common form of fostering takes place in regular homes where the foster parents are known to the children.
• Specialized homes come in three levels and care for children with moderate to extreme emotional or developmental needs. Each level requires the foster parents have specific experience and training.
• For children in continuing care, stays can be short term, anywhere from one day to 24 months, or longer. Often the long-term plan is for the child’s adoption.
• There is also emergency care where children arrive with very little notice and stay for up to 14 days, while more permanent arrangements are made.
• Relief or respite care involves fostering for perhaps a couple of days on an intermittent basis.
