This article from The Discourse presents findings from a collaborative investigation into the child-welfare system of British Columbia (B.C.), Canada conducted by journalists from The Discourse, The Tyee and Star Vancouver in which parents were asked "whether they felt they were getting adequate support — financial and otherwise — before their kids were apprehended by B.C. social workers." According to the article, 29 of the 30 parents who responded said they were not receiving adequate support. "Data from the Ministry of Children and Family Development," says the article, "shows nearly 75 per cent of the kids in their care by December 2018 were apprehended because of 'neglect,' a term experts say is too often linked to poverty. But financial support for at-risk families can add up to less than what is available for foster parents."
The article also highlights the overrepresentation of Indigenous and First Nations children in the child welfare system and the ways in which authorities are "investing in the wrong end of the system — pouring money into foster care instead of offering adequate support to struggling families, many of whom are Indigenous." “We need to be investing in children and families long before there is a child-protection concern,” said Jennifer Chuckry, executive director of Surrounded by Cedar — one of 24 agencies delegated by the province to deliver child-welfare services to Indigenous children and families in B.C. “Instead of paying caregivers hundreds of thousands of dollars to keep kids in care.” The article outlines some of the supports that should be made available to struggling families to prevent such separation.