INFORMATION AND SUGGESTIONS FOR PARENTS WHO ARE INVOLVED WITH CHILD PROTECTION AUTHORITIES IN B.C.

Information and suggestions for parents who are involved with child protection authorities in British Columbia. 

Written by Ray Ferris April 29th 2012.This is reposted in memory of Ray who passed away on December 4, 2019 at the age 90, having helped countless children, parents and forster parents.

Introduction.

            These notes are aimed at helping people who have recently become involved with the Ministry of Child and family services directly or through others. The information is written in the light of a number of cases coming to me and to other child protection helpers. I have borne in mind many of the most common questions that have been asked me. In writing this, I warn readers that the child protection scene is ugly, not only in British Columbia, but throughout Canada and the whole English speaking world. Unfortunately, I have good grounds for this statement, which is based on contact with numerous cases and with consistent reporting on a number of child protection blogs. I am very blunt about it because I believe that people are better off knowing the stark reality of things, than in harbouring false hopes, only to be disappointed.

ASSESSING SOCIAL WORKERS

In tribute to Ray Ferris I will be re-posting some of his insightful and helpful articles. 

BASIC PRINCIPLES BY WHICH TO ASSESS SOCIAL WORKERS by Ray Ferris

If you want to assess the social workers properly then you need to go back to basic principles. This is what I always start off with and when you do that the matters usually become quite clear. The basic mandate of child protection is to ensure that a child can be made safe at home, or in alternative care. This principle is firmly embodied in the CF&CSA and there are many admonitions to extend help to parents in making sure their children are protected. If we look at what happened to Derek Hoare in the light of these principles, we can quickly see that the director was in dire dereliction of his duty.  

THE BASIC MANDATE OF CHILDREN PROTECTION

Ayn climbed a fence and was missing for a short while, they rushed in to remove her. There can be no doubt that she was at a small risk for an hour or two. This was unforeseeable and could just as easily happen in a foster home. It was in no way due to negligent or irresponsible parenting. 

What the social worker should have done is to sit down with the father and do an in-depth assessment as to what help could be given to make the home safer. It was a simple physical situation. They could have helped him to build a higher fence and they could have offered him some relief help. Something practical. He did not need a psychic re-tread. 

They would have had to spend some money, but not nearly as much as they are spending in the foster home. It has been almost two full years to date. Thousands of dollars to make sure Ayn developed anxiety disorders and a feeling of abandonment.

The ignorance and stupidity exhibited was so severe that it certainly makes one think of malice. Among all the people involved, did not one of them know about attachment deficit disorders, or the mandate to offer assistance? It makes one wonder about malice.

Derek is dad to three children, two of whom live with Autism. He was primary caregiver. One afternoon his autistic daughter Ayn climbed over a backyard fence. When he noticed he called 911 and Ayn was missing for two hours until police found her in a neighbour’s yard. Ayn was seized by child protection and what could have been settled amicably and wisely, turned into a travesty lasting 3 years. Yes, 3 yrs.

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Ray passed away on Dec. 4, 2019 at the age of 90. After a career in civil service in the care and protection of children, Ray retired and championed the rights of children, parents and foster parents who were challenged by government policies and practice. He was generous with counsel to lawyers, MLAs and advocates. He wrote the book, ‘The Art of Child Protection,’ a practical guide for social workers to make best decisions in the interest of children. In the following days, the posts will be material written by Ray Ferris that appeared in my GPS site.

DOES THE GOVERNMENT REALLY WANT OUR INPUT

In tribute to Ray Ferris I will be re-posting some of his insightful and helpful articles. 
this one originally posted February 12, 2012

DOES THE GOVERNMENT REALLY WANT OUR INPUT?

 by Ray Ferris

author of the book “The Art of Child Protection.”

You can purchase it at rtferris@telus.net

“Some time ago submissions were invited to the provincial standing interparty committee on the representative for children and youth. It is this committee which selected Ms. Turpel-Lafond and with whom she dialogues and to whom she reports. I made a fairly long submission and copied the minister, and deputy minister. In it I used the Bayne case to illustrate some of the serious flaws in the protection services and to suggest some remedies. I emphasized that I was not advocating for the Bayne case, but simply using the Baynes to illustrate some of the problems. Even before submissions had been invited, I had sent a similar letter to the minister and the deputy minister. I eventually got a reply.

OBITUARY FOR RAY THOMAS FERRIS

Hello friends, I encourage yo to go to the Sands Funeral Chapel Cremation and Reception Centre Guest Book, and write a tribute to Ray.
Memorial Service details @ end of Obit.

Obituary

FERRIS, Ray Thomas April 24, 1929 - December 4, 2019 Born in Leeds, England, to Thomas Ferris and Alice Monk, Ray spent his early years in Stapleton at the Brotherhood Church, a Tolstoyan anarchist commune founded by his father. When Ray was seven years old, a terminally ill Tom Ferris sent his son and eldest daughter Clare to live at the Bruderhof (place of brothers), a commune of refugees in England fleeing religious persecution from Germany. His mother, Alice, with new husband Howard (Steppy) Hazelhurst, rescued her malnourished children from the Bruderhof when Ray was nine.

RAY FERRIS, ADVOCATE AND FRIEND PASSED AWAY

RAY FERRIS – It is with personal sorrow that I inform you that Ray Ferris passed away on Wednesday December 4, 2019. Ray was in his 90^th year. He and his wife Jeanne lived in Victoria, B.C. News of his passing will be received with sadness by so many people in B.C. and beyond. 

Ray Ferris was my friend and fellow advocate.  Ray was an expert on child protection and specifically the work of the Ministry of Children and Families in British Columbia (MCFD). He was the author of  'The Art of Child Protection." I met Ray in 2008 when each of us became persuaded that injustice was done to Zabeth and Paul Bayne in the seizure of their children. We teamed to assist them recover custody of their four children from the Ministry of Children and Family Development. Zabeth was a champion in her own right. Whereas I was the daily online blogger’s voice, Ray was Zabeth’s resource of knowledge about the MCFD, and the legislated ACT that governed it. With Ray’s data, lawyer Doug Christie came alongside the Baynes, and was able to obtain a judge’s decision in favour of the Baynes. In the years that followed the joyful reunion of the Bayne family, Ray and I have continued to receive requests for advice from parents and caregivers whose lives are torn as children are removed. Ray Ferris’ commitment to helping people to navigate their heartbreaking troubles has been beneficial to so many. I miss him already. 

RAY receiving a Justice Award

SOCCER MOM’S CHILD HAS BEEN RETURNED TO HER

'Soccer Mom' is how she is identified to you. She has written this … "Thank you very much Ray and Ron for your help getting my child home. Without your assistance, I never would have gotten my child back."  

"My child was finally returned because the MCFD refused to disclose their evidence against me. I am a long time successful child and family advocate at my children's schools, in the district and at the provincial level, including my community. I have been a volunteer coach for two sports clubs over many years for both my children. The social worker had no intention of returning my child to my care. I was deemed uncooperative throughout. The MCFD`s actions have traumatized my child and my entire family and who no longer have our respect.  

Episode 7 of 7: SUGGESTED IMPROVEMENTS TO B.C.'S CHILD PROTECTION

Episode 7 of 7: SUGGESTED IMPROVEMENTS TO B.C.'S CHILD PROTECTION

Today, Solutions to the Problems … that's right, after four episodes reviewing current problems in the B.C. Child Protection programme, Ray Ferris is providing solutions. Remember, that the ten-page document from which all of this information has been taken has been given to some members of the B.C. Legislative Assembly.

The segments for this blog are prepared with Ray's permission. Ray has written many articles on this blog for the past decade.  Ray Ferris retired after a career that included significant years with the MCFD. He has written a book entitled 'The Art of Child Protection.' You can order Mr. Ferris' book entitled 'the Art of Child Protection' by contacting the author directly at rtferris@telus.net.

Written by Ray Ferris.

Some General Information. 

            After retirement I first started doing advocacy when one of my former foster parents asked me for help. This resulted in my becoming a voluntary consultant to the Victoria foster parents association. The Association reported that only 2% of foster home closure appeals were successful. I did not believe that the children's ministry got it right 98% of the time, nor did anyone else. I also became knowledgeable about the epidemic of false accusations from recovered memory counselling. This practice did a lot of damage before it was finally debunked. An offshoot was the counselling cult of satanic ritual abuse accusations. The FBI investigated 300 cases and found not a shred of evidence, and yet many social workers believed in it.  

            My advice on child protection issues really stepped up after I got involved in the Bayne case. A blog was opened to help raise funds for the defence and court costs. I often wrote on it and I had many people asking me for advice. There was a heavy readership from all over Canada and the USA and on the day the judgement came out there were over 12,000 hits. I still get people contacting me on line. I had 10 new cases in 2015. I have been writing much less frequently over the last few years and requests have tapered off.

            I soon began to discern definite patterns arising. To start with it seemed to me that in two cases out of three the director's evidence was usually quite weak and did not merit the adversarial treatment that was common. In the other cases there was certainly a need for protection in various degrees. However, my approach was very basic and the same as when I did protection work. I tried to guarantee due process in court. I thought that if the Act were to be followed and the rules of evidence were followed that there should be a just outcome. So what was the problem? I found that seldom was the Act being followed and even when there was legal representation there seemed to be great laxity in following due process. Some lawyers did not like to take instructions and got confused between giving advice and giving instructions. So I found that most of the time I was just giving legal advice. When asked how to pick a lawyer I suggested that they should ask them if the have read the Act and how recently and what are the salient points I need to know. Eventually I was giving them an advice letter telling them in detail how to instruct counsel to insist on notification and disclosure and how to keep reminding the court of the mandatory clauses of the Act.  I found that if we got on to the case early, we could usually get results, but if it had gone on too long there was too much ego entrenched. Defence counsels did not like being told that they had not done the job properly. The parents in most cases had no difficulty studying and understanding the sections of the Act I had them read.

If you are reading this post and have not seen previous posts, I encourage you to return to the start of this recent series.
Thank you for reading ... 

Episode 6 of 7: SUGGESTED IMPROVEMENTS TO B.C.'S CHILD PROTECTION

Episode 6 of 7: SUGGESTED IMPROVEMENTS TO B.C.'S CHILD PROTECTION

Today, Recommendation for Assessments … that's right, after four episodes reviewing current problems in the B.C. Child Protection programme, Ray Ferris is providing solutions. Remember, that the ten-page document from which all of this information has been taken has been given to some members of the B.C. Legislative Assembly.

The segments for this blog are prepared with Ray's permission. Ray has written many articles on this blog for the past decade.  Ray Ferris retired after a career that included significant years with the MCFD. He has written a book entitled 'The Art of Child Protection.' You can order Mr. Ferris' book entitled 'the Art of Child Protection' by contacting the author directly at rtferris@telus.net.

Written by Ray Ferris.

Assessments:  A great deal of protection work involves knowing how to do assessments. Such work needs experience and judgement. A worker may need to be called on to do various assessments such as risk assessments, foster home studies, parental capacity assessments, general social assessments and adoption home studies. Although these assessments have different purposes, they are far more alike than different. They all require the assembling of evidence-based information. 

This means having interview skills and listening skills and knowledge of normal and abnormal behaviour and social norms. Knowledge of child development is especially important. Interviews should always have structure. The format can be flexible as long as the necessary areas are covered. An assessor must start with an open mind and only make judgements after looking at all the facts. Human behaviour is usually consistent and it is important to understand this, particularly in assessing injury to children. Most injuries to children are accidental and one should never assume deliberate injury without good evidence, but unfortunately this happens quite regularly. This can simply be due to the social worker being anxious and afraid of being wrong.

Episode 5 of 7: SUGGESTED IMPROVEMENTS TO B.C.'S CHILD PROTECTION

Episode 5 of 7: SUGGESTED IMPROVEMENTS TO B.C.'S CHILD PROTECTION

Today, Suggestions 1,2,3,4 … that's right, after four episodes reviewing current problems in the B.C. Child Protection programme, Ray Ferris is providing solutions. Remember, that the ten-page document from which all of this information has been taken has been given to some members of the B.C. Legislative Assembly.

The segments for this blog are prepared with Ray's permission. Ray has written many articles on this blog for the past decade.  Ray Ferris retired after a career that included significant years with the MCFD. He has written a book entitled 'The Art of Child Protection.' You can order Mr. Ferris' book entitled 'the Art of Child Protection' by contacting the author directly at rtferris@telus.net.

Written by Ray Ferris.

RECOMMENDED SOLUTIONS TO CURRENT PROBLEMS WITH B.C. CHILD PROTECTION

Suggestion One: CONTRACT PUBLIC DEFENDERS - INSURE ACCESS TO EFFECTIVE LEGAL REPRESENTATION

            It is not easy to equalize the power in the court situation. The directors have deep pockets funded by the taxpayer, but the parent has to rely on patchy legal aid, on selling property or on the charity of an individual law firm. My proposal is that we follow a model that has been used with success in the criminal law arena. Public prosecutors and public defenders are both funded by the state. We used to use this model in the Victoria juvenile court. A duty defence council was always there to ensure fair process. 

             At present counsels are contracted to act for directors. I suggest we also contract public defenders.

            This model could greatly speed up cases and facilitate the settlement of cases by mutual consent. Defence counsels should know the Act inside out and be diligent in checking the wording. Prosecution and defence would in effect work together to review the evidence and this would help to avoid unnecessary extreme positions. Cases could be settled with fewer hearings and this should ease the court backlog and save parents from being beggared by legal costs. A pilot project could be initiated in a medium sized court to evaluate the concept. 

Episode 4 of 7: SUGGESTED IMPROVEMENTS TO B.C.'S CHILD PROTECTION

Episode 4 of 7: SUGGESTED IMPROVEMENTS TO B.C.'S CHILD PROTECTION

Today, Problem #4 of 4

The content derives from a ten-page document prepared by Ray Ferris for members of the B.C. legislative assembly. The segments for this blog are prepared with his permission. Ray has written many articles on this blog for the past decade.  Ray Ferris retired after a career that included significant years with the MCFD. He has written a book entitled 'The Art of Child Protection.' You can order Mr. Ferris' book entitled 'the Art of Child Protection' by contacting the author directly at rtferris@telus.net.

Written by Ray Ferris.

We've been dealing first the Current Problems With B.C. CHILD PROTECTION and then the suggested solutions. Illustrations have been included to define the problems clearly.

Today, Problem #4 of 4  Social Workers Ignorant of Their Duties

            Problem #4 of 4. A leading cause of a denial of parent and child rights is that social workers and their superiors are simply ignorant of the duties required by the Act. They rely entirely on advice from their contracted lawyers who can become very careless. Defence lawyers, especially on legal aid are often equally careless and do not take well to taking reasonable instructions. One outcome of the heavy reliance on lawyers is that the adversarial culture of the law and the courts has permeated the children's ministry and staff behaviour has become antagonistic to clients. As soon as a complaint is laid under the CF&CSA the social worker is in an adversarial situation. This spills over into attempts at mediation.  Many examples are in appendix 4.