nova scotia foster parents fear support cuts will weaken foster care system
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the foster family federation of nova scotia was informed in june that the rest of their funding is being eliminated at the end of this fiscal year. amy richardson and her partner have been foster parents for nine years and she is concerned that with the province taking over services a lot of those supports will still be reduced or ended completely.
tim krochak
/
the chronicle herald
being foster parents for just under a decade, amy richardson and her partner have opened their home to multiple children in need of care.
in richardson’s experience, being a foster parent means relying on systems that can help you raise concerns to officials, support you in successes and navigate through hard situations that can arise when fostering.
systems, richardson fears, that are at risk of being reduced or disappearing entirely.
federation of foster families cut by over half
in the most recent provincial budget, the federation of foster families nova scotia lost 52 per cent of its $1.1 million funding. later, on june 15, in a meeting with the department of opportunities and social development, the organization was told their remaining core funding would end at the end of the fiscal year.
“it makes me kind of angry, to be honest,” richardson said. “the federation really serves a very big purpose as far as foster parents go. “
for nearly 50 years, the federation has supported foster families in the province. while it can continue to function as a charity without government funding, board chair christopher higgins said it will no longer have the capacity to provide the same resources.
“the board of directors will continue to try and support to the best of our abilities,” he said. “but essentially, the federation staff, we won’t have the ability to pay their resources, which will eliminate those supports that we currently provide.”
the issue with this is that it could mean the end or the reduction of centralized services the federation provides, like advocacy, specialized training, and independent support for foster parents who are facing allegations.
in a statement, the department of opportunities and social development said the province has made an investment of more than $34 million toward a redesign of nova scotia foster care, with funding to support foster families increasing from $570 per month to $3,000, a nearly five-fold increase.
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“to be clear, there is no reduction in the amount caregivers receive through our foster program,” the department said.
they acknowledged that the federation’s role in coordinating and supporting foster parents has been important, adding that services are already in the process of being moved from the federation to the province, including allegation support and the ambassador program, where mentors guide new foster parents and help staff with recruitment.
‘some foster parents don’t want that’
richardson and her partner operate what is called a hub home under the current mockingbird family model, where foster homes are put into small groups called constellations.
foster parents meet monthly at their local hub home to discuss foster experiences. the federation organizes these meetings without having a departmental social worker present, allowing foster parents to speak more openly about their issues before they are brought to the province.
the meetings will now be facilitated by the province and, according to richardson, could potentially include a social worker, leaving many caregivers uncomfortable speaking freely.
“sometimes foster parents don’t want that,” she said.
richardson called the current mockingbird model the “best thing to happen to foster care ever,” especially with the ability it gave foster families to form their own support networks amongst themselves.
richardson, a foster parent, is concerned the independent support and services provided by the foster family federation of nova scotia will be lost if taken over by the province.
tim krochak
/
chronicle herald
her worry with the province taking over services is that the work will be moved to social workers who are already overworked and that could weaken the model she sees as so valuable.
“they’re already supporting us in every way possible that they can,” richardson said. “i don’t know how they would add more to their plate and support us in additional ways on top of the ways that they already support us.”
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she said that support from within a constellation is not enough to replace the federation’s help with communicating concerns with government officials.
higgins said outside of the mockingbird constellations, the province is expecting regional foster family associations to bring concerns from their local area forward.
according to him, only two are currently active, one covering halifax and another in cape breton.
“my biggest worry is that it’s just going to fizzle away,” higgins said. “only two regional associations are active. the rest of them just don’t have the presence.”
allegation support
another concern to arise from the decision is what will be replacing the federation’s independent support for foster parents facing allegations.
currently, when a foster parent is dealing with an allegation, the federation will provide someone to help navigate the investigation and accompany them to meetings.
richardson said it was similar to the role of a union representative, a person who knows the process independent from the department conducting the investigation.
“they’re impartial to the situation because they don’t work for the department,” she said. “they are really there just to support foster parents in that situation.”
whether an allegation turns out to be true or not, the process can be stressful. without help independent from the investigation, richardson said people could feel isolated.
“there’s not going to be anybody in our corner in those situations, and that doesn’t really feel fair,” she said.
the department said allegation support will continue but did not clarify if it would be independent.
when speaking about the june 15 meeting, higgins said one option discussed seemed to put the same departmental team in charge of investigations and support for the accused foster parents.
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higgins said that option could have “the investigators also being the support tool for the homes that are being accused of this.
“which seems to me like a conflict of interest. “
he emphasized that while child safety will always be critical, it is important to also support caregivers. adding that in 2025, there were 21 investigations opened into foster families where ultimately the claims were unsubstantiated.
“if i were one of those 21 families, i don’t know how much support i would feel coming from the person that is investigating us. “
‘we will lose foster parents’
acting executive director of the federation jill martin said that for foster parents, the experience can be rewarding but comes with many challenges, even more so without proper support.
“it’s not an easy gig they have, and so to lose support, you know, in that role is a tough blow.”
higgins said he is worried that the changes are going to drive potential new foster families, and maybe existing ones, away.
“i’m worried that we will lose foster parents,” he said. “good foster parents that are providing a service to one of the most vulnerable groups of people in our province.”
for foster parents like richardson, the changes raise questions about who they can rely on if the funding is taken away.
when asked where support would come from without the federation, richardson said she could really only think of one option.
“other foster parents, i guess,” she said. “by taking away the federation, they’re taking away a support network that we can’t gain otherwise. “
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