Adoptions / Permanency

Adoptions Program

Permanency Team

Our Wise Practice is:

‘thuyshenum’ - ‘placing one’s feet in the right direction’

The Permanency Team practices under guardianship and adoptions delegation to support Cultural, Relational, Physical and Legal Permanence for Cowichan Children and Youth. The Team carries the responsibility of guardianship and permanency planning for children in the ongoing care of the Agency. Core activities include assessing family environments for adoption, rescindment, permanent transfer of custody and youth independence.

PERMANENCY MEETINGS
The Team utilizes a series of four specialized meetings to support the Permanency process for our Children and Youth.

  • First Meeting - Child/Youth's Meeting   
  • Second Meeting - Permanency Meeting (Facilitated by Family Meetings Coordinator)
  • Third Meeting - Decision Making Meeting (Facilitated by Family Meetings Coordinator)
  • Fourth Meeting - Committment Meeting 

THE CHILD/YOUTH PLAN FOR PERMANENCY IS THE CENTRE OF OUR PRACTICE
Children in the long term care of the Director require a focused effort to achieve cultural, relational, physical and legal permanency
THE MEETING PROCESS: 
The Family Meeting process is the center of our approach and practice for the permanency team. Through this process all planning for permanency is done through the time the case is with the team
FOUR DIMENSIONS OF PERMANENCY
Our policy ensures that the four domains of permanency for a child must be addressed throughout planning: Cultural, Relational, Physical, Legal.

Permanency Manager – responsible for the overall functioning of the team, adherence to the policies and legislation currently governing the delegated work of the team, meeting audit standards for service delivery, ensuring the Rights of Cowichan Citizen’s is upheld, applying a lens of cultural permanence to all case file plans and fulfilling the role of Adoptions supervisor. The role reports on service delivery and statistical data, consults regularly with the Quality Assurance Manager on practice, reports to the Executive Director and maintains the daily operations of the prevention services for the Agency.

Adoption Social Worker(s) – this position is tasked with the role of taking on guardianship responsibilities for children in care. Acting as the ‘prudent parent’ for children and youth and this role maintains the focused planning on permanency plans where Adoption is the plan. This role participates in the full scope of the Permanency Meetings inclusive of the Child’s Meeting, Permanency Meeting, Decision Making Meeting and Commitment Meeting. 

Permanency Social Worker(s) – this position is tasked with the role of taking on guardianship responsibilities for children and youth in permanent care. Acting as the ‘prudent parent’ for children and youth and this role maintains the focused planning on permanency plans that may be Out of Care or Rescindment is the plan. This role participates in the full scope of the Permanency Meetings inclusive of the Child’s Meeting, Permanency Meeting, Decision Making Meeting and Commitment Meeting.

Family Finder - researches, drafts and completes the genograms for MCFD referrals, utilizing community knowledge, research, records and interviews as required concluding the referral. This role maintains referral records, interview notes, research notes and all documentation produced and ensures appropriate physical file copies are submitted for filing. 

Family Navigator - provides a liaison role between MCFD serviced Cowichan Families and the Agency through family finding, supporting the Family Meetings process and meeting regularly with MCFD social workers to encourage continued connections to permanency planning. The Family Navigator works by referral from MCFD social workers to provide direct support to children, family and extended family to identify supportive community connections to kin. Additionally, the Family Navigator acts as a support to programming when the need for cultural perspectives and continued relational supports for families

Permanency Social Work Assistant – works in direct support to social workers and families by providing referral support, forms completion and assistance with delegated tasks. A key responsibility of this role is the tracking the compliance to standards for the team’s work. This position may accompany social workers in the field to provide onsite support with documentation or other supports as needed.