March 2, 2007

VICTORIA – The majority of B.C.’s foster families will receive a rate increase of at least $200 per month, incrementally over the next three years, Children and Family Development Minister Tom Christensen announced today.

“Foster parents offer stability, guidance and a warm, caring home to vulnerable children and youth when they need it the very most,” said Christensen. “It is vitally important that we, as a government and as a province, recognize and support foster parents – this increase is part of that continuing work.”

Effective March 1, 2007, all foster parents will begin receiving an incremental rate lift that, over three fiscal years, will amount to a $100 per month family maintenance increase for each child in care.

In addition, more than 2,300 Levels One, Two and Three specialized family care homes – those that care for children and youth with special, physical, mental, emotional or behavioural needs of varying complexity – will also receive incremental increases to their service payments, resulting in an additional $100 per month, per child, increase over the same time period. 

That means, for example, that by April 1, 2009, a Level Two home that cares for three foster children will see a family maintenance increase of $300 per month coupled with a service payment increase of an additional $300 per month – a total of $600 additional dollars each month.

The $31-million increase over three years, announced in Budget 2007, builds on last year’s increased mileage rate and recent initiatives to improve foster care, including enhanced training for foster parents, and a concerted, provincewide effort to recruit new foster parents.

“This increase is about so much more than just dollars and cents,” said Melanie Filiatrault, president of the BC Federation of Foster Parent Associations. “It’s about recognizing the challenges foster parents face and the important work that they do, and about strengthening our partnership with the ministry – and for these things, I’m very thankful.”

More than 6,400 children and youth are presently cared for in about 3,200 foster homes throughout B.C.