OAG - Oversight of Contracted Services for Children and Youth in Care

The ministry has made significant progress in responding to all recommendations from this report.  It continues to provide regular updates to the Auditor General on progress and key actions taken to implement all four of the report recommendations as it moves forward with a complex, large scale, systemic shift that encompasses:

• Consultation and engagement with Indigenous Peoples children, youth and families, caregivers, contractors and service providers and community partners to redesign the province’s systems of support and help address the colonial legacy of BC’s child welfare system.
• The creation of the Specialized Homes and Support Services service model – including four service types: emergency care, respite, low-barrier short term stabilization and long-term specialized care -- to address the short and longer term needs of children, youth and families needing intensive support, including those who may be in crisis. The new model, which has begun early implementation in the North Fraser and Okanagan service delivery areas, features:
  • an individualized, child-centred approach to care planning – so the voices, interests and goals of children and youth are reflected in their plans of care;
  • defined outcomes, indicators and performance standards built into contracts with service providers, and
  • standardized roles, responsibilities, qualifications and staffing models.
• Ongoing outreach to Indigenous Child and Family Services Agencies (ICFS Agencies), including information-sharing and orientation on the new SHSS model.
• Continuous, province-wide intake of pre-qualified and vetted new and existing service providers for the new outcomes-based model, allowing the ministry to expand service and better meet the unique needs of children and youth throughout the province, as, when and where needed.
• Beginning in July 2023, the introduction and implementation of standardized, enhanced contracts for service providers, with clear outcomes and indicators, with provincial rollout beginning in fall 2023.
• The creation and establishment of an information management/information technology (IM/IT) system which supports the SHSS model and strengthens BC’s Network of Care for children, youth and families through:
  •  outcomes-based monitoring of services provided to children, youth and families;
  • a Service Portal, connected to the Integrated Case Management (ICM) system, that supports real time vacancy tracking and reporting on the care of individual children and youth, and forms the foundation of contract accountability and oversight;
  • a robust procurement and contract management system – also integrated with ICM -- to ensure consistency across core policies related to procurement and contract management, and
  • the inclusion of all IM/IT relevant reviews including Threat and Risk Assessments, Privacy Impact Assessments and Financial Risk and Controls reviews.
• A consistent process to access supplemental funds to allow for individualized supports to meet the unique needs of children and youth – and technology updates that will allow for the consistent monitoring of those supports, as well as resulting outcomes.
• The introduction, in February 2023, of enhanced out-of-care support agreements to ensure caregivers are able to meet the unique needs of children and youth with disabilities or complex needs that may affect their well-being, or their ability to participate fully in their schools or communities.
• The harmonizing, in 2019, of foster and extended family care rates and, in April 2023, an increase of as much as 47 per cent for foster, kinship and out-of-care providers – and an increase of up to 36 per cent for caregivers providing respite and relief care.

Supporting Documents

• SHSS Update and Contract Overview - January 2023
• SHSS Contract Overview and Implementation Timeline - February 2023
• SHSS Development Process Summary 2018 to 2022

Ministry Progress to November 30, 2022 [298KB](PDF)

Supporting Documentation:

1.0 – Overview of SHSS Model Development Process [2.5MB](PDF)

This presentation is an overview of the process, design, and development of Specialized Homes and Support Services as part of the Network of Care.

 2.0 – Draft SHSS Service Model Overview [345KB](PDF)

This document is an overview of the new Specialized Homes and Support Services (SHSS) service model, as defined in the contracts for each of the four service types: Specialized Long-Term Care, Emergency Care, Low-Barrier Short-Term Stabilization Care and Respite Care.

 3.0 – SHSS Timeline [117KB](PDF)

This document is a high-level timeline of Specialized Homes and Support Services, from Fall 2022 leading into 2023/24.

 4.0 – Outcomes Architecture and Performance Roadmap [1.3MB](PDF)

This document is a framework for performance indicators and intended outcomes of Specialized Homes and Support Services.

 5.0 – Enhanced Out of Care Policy [1MB](PDF)

This document details enhanced supports that a child/youth in an out-of-care arrangement, and their care provider may be eligible for in addition to supports described in the Out-of-Care Policy.