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b.c. united party mla raises concerns about the fate of a foster child whose foster parent has terminal cancer
mike de jong, mla for abbotsford west, broke down in tears as he recounted the case of a 14-year-old foster child who was told she's facing the imminent removal from the home of her foster parents.
nov 9 2023
2 minute read
b.c. united party mla mike de jong.
jeff vinnick
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b.c.’s minister of children and families said there’s no policy that requires a foster child to be removed from a home if the foster parent has a terminal illness.
mitzi dean was responding to an emotional plea in question period from b.c. united party mla mike de jong on tuesday asking the minister to stop the removal of a foster child from her foster family because the father has terminal cancer.
de jong cried as he recounted the case of a 14-year-old who was told that she’s facing the imminent removal from the home of her foster parents, a couple from abbotsford.
the mla for abbotsford west said the teen has “faced far more challenges in her young life than anyone should. but she’s found a family where she feels safe, and she feels loved.”
de jong said he was contacted by the abbotsford family over the weekend after someone from the children and families ministry told them that the child could be removed because of a policy relating to the health of the foster parent.
“she doesn’t want to go. her case worker doesn’t want her to go. her teachers don’t want her to go, but there’s the policy,” de jong said tuesday.
however, dean told reporters on wednesday: “there is no policy in the ministry that says that a foster situation will change because of an illness or a terminal illness.”
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dean couldn’t give any details about the case because of privacy rules. dean said she doesn’t have the power to intervene in child welfare cases but said her staff has been in contact with the provincial director of child welfare to ensure the case is being handled properly.
“i understand that this is an emotional circumstance,” dean said.
child welfare staff, she said, make decisions for youth in care based on what’s in their best interest, including their age, their stage of development and other circumstances in their life.
de jong initially said in question period that the child was to be removed tuesday, but as of wednesday, he hadn’t heard from the family that the child was removed from the home.
de jong told postmedia news on wednesday that he tried to speak directly with the director of child welfare but was told the director “doesn’t talk to politicians.”
de jong, who has been an mla for 29 years, said this particular case got to him “because there just seemed to be something about the vulnerability of a young person in that, in that circumstance, is suddenly confronted by this massive bureaucracy that says, ‘and now this will happen.’ and they’re powerless.”
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