Social Work Week, March 21-27, recognized the immense value social workers contribute to the lives of countless families and individuals. In B.C., we acknowledge their efforts since 2001 to reduce the number of children in government care.

Research shows the best place for children to feel supported and cared for is living safely within their family – or, alternatively, with relatives or a person with significant ties to them.

In light of this, the province has given social workers new tools to help keep children with loved ones – including the creation of kith and kin agreements that allow children to stay with extended family. In the past two years, there have been 687 kith and kin agreements, helping to reduce the number of children in care by 15 per cent. In 2003 alone, 30 per cent fewer children were removed from their homes.

Social-work practitioners and others integral to the adoption process have also helped more children to join permanent, loving homes. The province has invested to increase the number of families approved to adopt, and established a $3-million trust fund to attract, assist and provide educational support to adoptive families. Efforts like these have more than doubled the number of children in care who are adopted, to 338 in 2003-04 from 163 in 2000-01.

With the aid of social workers, B.C. also provides the most comprehensive range of support services to foster parents in Canada, including training and after-hours telephone support by professional staff. Currently, there are about 3,500 foster families across the province. With 35 per cent of B.C. adoption placements involving children who are adopted by their foster caregivers, this is another area in which the efforts of caseworkers contribute to safe, loving and permanent homes for children.

To provide social workers with a clearer picture of early childhood development issues, the province has just announced a $73-million program to provide universal hearing, dental and vision screening for every child under age six. This will make is easier for social workers to assess clients’ health-care needs and connect families with the right services.