Prince Edward Island launched a program today to improve services to children in care.
The Looking After Children program is a national program which requires social workers and foster families to do annual assessments of children in care to ensure that children in foster and group homes are having their needs met, and meeting their developmental targets.
The program was officially launched today by Health and Social Services Minister Mildred Dover.
Minister Dover said that the Looking After Children Program will enable the health system and its partners to be more accountable, " As good parents we know how our children are doing and what they need to achieve their potential. This program will enable us, collectively as personal guardians of these children under the Family and Child Services Act, to pinpoint on an annual basis their strengths and weaknesses, and improve the parenting exercise of some of our most vulnerable children"
The Looking After Children program will provide a tool for foster families and social workers to annually assess the child's development in such areas as health; education; identity; family and social relationships; social presentation; emotional and behavioural development; and self-care skills.
PEI has been chosen as one of six provinces to pilot the program which is being coordinated nationally by Dr. Kathleen Kufeldt of the Memorial University School of Social Work. Together, the provinces are attempting to develop national standards and outcome measurements for children in care.
Implementation of this project was recommended under the Prince Edward Island Minister's Foster Care Review Report of 1994.
The program partners are the Department of Health and Social Services, Human Resources Development Canada and the PEI Federation of Foster Families. Funding for the program is provided by Human Resources Development Canada.
For more information contact Jean Doherty, Marketing and Communications Coordinator of the Department of Health and Social Services at 368-6257