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Child and Family Services Law and Practice

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Get the guidance you need to effectively practice child and family services law

This publication is essential for: practitioners who need guidance on the substantive law and procedure for child and family services matters and the contextual issues underlying this practice area

Child and family services law poses unique challenges. Need to understand how to practice effectively in this area? Let Child and Family Services Law and Practice support you with valuable guidance on all aspects of your practice. In addition to analysis and direction on substantive law and procedure, this manual provides you with important context on the continuing impacts of Canada’s colonial history, as well as children’s rights, and insights on taking an informed approach to the issues that may arise in child and family services law.

This comprehensive manual is essential for new lawyers who need guidance to start their practice in this demanding area of law and for seasoned practitioners who need the latest information and a convenient reference for specific practice points.

With this resource, you will be able to:

  • easily access the current legislation governing child and family services matters, and quickly identify the leading case law and key principles and practice points
  • understand the relationship between Canada’s colonial history of intervention with Indigenous children and families and the current child and family services system
  • improve your practice by incorporating principles of trauma-informed practice and cultural humility

Buy today and provide vital support on family law files to your firm!

Child and Family Services Law Cover

Read a sample from the book

Features and Highlights

Highlights of the second edition include:

  • new discussion and guidance on safety plan agreements
  • updated guidance on incorporating cultural humility into practice, especially with respect to the overrepresentation of Indigenous children in the child and family services system
  • discussion of new cases, including, among others: Gitxaala v. British Columbia (Chief Gold Commissioner) on the interpretation of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act; the Neal v. Canada (Attorney General) class action and other class actions respecting the rights of children in care; British Columbia (Children and Family Development) v. R.T. regarding cultural plans; and R.R. v. Vancouver Aboriginal Child and Family Services Society on substantive equality
  • updates to the annotated legislation chapters to reflect amendments and new case law since the last edition
  • inclusion of the Provincial Court (Snuw’uy’ulhtst tu Quw’utsun Mustimuhw u’ tu Shhw’a’luqwa’a’ i’ Smun’eem [Laws of the Cowichan People for Families and Children]) Rules in the annotated legislation, and addition of the prescribed forms for those rules to the forms and precedents included with the manual
  • improved cross-referencing throughout the publication to assist practitioners in finding additional relevant information on topics

Contributors

Editorial Board
Kristine P. All — Thorpe & Company Lawyers, Vancouver
Fiona M. Beveridge — Fiona Beveridge Family Law, Vancouver
Harshada Deshpande — Parents Legal Centre, Vancouver
Katrina Harry, KC — Law Society of British Columbia, Vancouver
Agnes Huang — Saltwater Law, Vancouver
Laura Matthews — Matthews Mediation, Mission
Crystal Reeves — Mandell Pinder LLP, Vancouver

Authors
Kristine P. All — Thorpe & Company Lawyers, Vancouver
Breanna Arcand-Kootenay — Ministry of Attorney General, West Kelowna
Angela Bespflug — Murphy Battista LLP, Vancouver
Fiona M. Beveridge — Fiona Beveridge Family Law, Vancouver
Roslyn Chambers — RKC Law, Vancouver
Kelsey Corrigan — Feenie MacDonald, Vancouver
Meena H.K. Dhillon — Meena Dhillon Law Corporation, Port Coquitlam
Kate Feeney — West Coast LEAF, Vancouver
Colin Ferguson — Ferguson Family Law, North Vancouver
Katrina Harry, KC — Barrister and Solicitor, Vancouver
Agnes Huang — Saltwater Law, Vancouver
Dawn Johnson — Mandell Pinder LLP, Vancouver
Paul LeBlanc — LeBlanc Law, Prince George
Laura Matthews — Matthews Mediation, Mission
Jasmine Perhar — Feenie MacDonald, Vancouver
Crystal Reeves — Mandell Pinder LLP, Vancouver
Sarah Runyon — Marion & Runyon, Campbell River
Monisha Sebastian — Thorpe & Company Lawyers, Vancouver
Danica J. Vance Grimard — Lindsay Kenney LLP & the Child and Youth Legal Centre, SCYOFBC, Vancouver
Michael Zimmerman — Lindsay Kenney LLP & the Child and Youth Legal Centre, SCYOFBC, Vancouver

Table of Contents

Chapters

Part I: Introduction

1.  Introduction

Part II: Child and Family Services Law in Context 

2.  Governing Law and Principles
3.  Indigenous Approaches and Perspectives
4.  Rights of Children
5.  Practice with Cultural Humility
6.  Trauma-informed Practice
7.  Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder
8.  The Charter

Part III: Mechanics of a Child and Family Services Law File

9.  Reports and Investigations
10.  Services Without Removal
11. Removal of a Child
12.  Interim and Temporary Measures and Processes
13.  Permanent Measures and Outcomes
14.  Appeal and Review Processes
15.  Procedure

Part IV: Annotated Legislation

16.  An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families, S.C. 2019, c. 24—Annotated
17.  Child, Family and Community Service Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 46—Annotated
18.  Child, Family and Community Service Regulation, B.C. Reg. 527/95—Annotated
19.  Provincial Court (Child, Family and Community Service Act) Rules, B.C. Reg. 533/95—Annotated
20. Provincial Court (Snuw’uy’ulhtst tu Quw’utsun Mustimuhw u’ tu Shhw’a’luqwa’a’ i’ Smun’eem [Laws of the Cowichan People for Families and Children]) Rules, B.C. Reg. 187/2024—Annotated

Forms and Precedents

Checklists

Tables
Case Table
Statutes and Related Material Table
Index

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