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Type
Toolkit
Author
Society for Children and Youth of BC | www.scyofbc.org
Posted
July 22, 2011
Categories
Culture
Human Rights
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 About |
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There are about 9,200 children and youth living in government care in British Columbia and about 60,000 children and youth in care in Canada.
The experiences of each of these children living in care will be as diverse as the children themselves, yet we know that there are some prevailing similarities about how children and youth in
care will connect with their family and culture.
We know that youth connect with their siblings more frequently than any other family member with
whom they now have contact after ageing out of care. We know children and youth tend to identify
their birth family as their primary object of attachment, despite the birth family being identified least often to whom the youth turn when they are sick or who they talk to about their feelings.
Research also tells us that youth who have lived in many foster homes do not feel part of any family.
The potential consequences of youth not feeling connected to their family and culture are damaging.
They are more likely to be incarcerated, experience homelessness, have “behavioural difficulties”, and are more likely to engage in unhealthy relationships.
Foster parents are uniquely positioned to help young people in care build healthy relationships. The role of foster parents is to look after the best interests of the children and youth in their care and to uphold their rights—this desire to care and protect young people is the reason most foster parents
choose to take on this role.
This workshop manual explores how we can effectively care for young people who are in government care, truly listen to the voices of children and youth, and uphold their right to connect to family and culture.
(Research from Jones and Kruk. “Life in Government Care: The Connection of Youth to Family”, 2005)
www.scyofbc.org | www.everychild.ca
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