OAG - Oversight of Contracted Services for Children and Youth in Care

There is nothing more important than the safety and well-being of the children and youth in our care.

The ministry is transforming its network of care with progress well underway to create the new Specialized Homes and Support Services (SHSS) model to better meet the needs of the children in our care. The SHSS model is about placing children at the centre of any decision-making about their care, and to make sure there is strong oversight of, and accountability for, care providers.

The implementation of the SHSS model involves transferring contracts with hundreds of service providers. As part of an overall provincial rollout, the ministry is working closely with partners to implement the SHSS model through a phased approach.

The ministry continues to provide regular updates to the Auditor General about progress and key actions taken to implement all four of the report recommendations as it moves forward with this large scale, complex, system wide shift to how we provide care through contract services. The ministry has made significant strides in responding to all recommendations from this report and we are on track to complete the work in 2025.

A few examples of the benefits being seen from early implementation of SHSS include:

• The North Okanagan Youth and Family Services (NOYFSS) has transitioned two contracts from the former model of care to the SHSS model. This includes Mara House, a 3 bed Low Barrier Short Term Stabilization home and Sage House, a 3 bed Respite Home. NOYFSS has also established, Cedra House, a new 3 bed Emergency Care home on the same property. These co-located services have been a decades long dream for the Service Provider and allows for the children and youth to have access to the best, and most appropriate, type of care to meet their individual and situational needs through enhanced specialization and oversight both at time of initial placement and as their needs and circumstances change. 
• A new Specialized Long-Term Care resource stood up in Haida Gwaii/Prince Rupert created an opportunity for a youth with long term complex care needs to return to their community after previously needing to be in a placement far from home in order to meet the youth’s needs.
• A respite home stood up in Cariboo is now providing parents and caregivers with temporary relief from the emotional and physical demands of caregiving for their children with support needs and vulnerabilities.
• Emergency care homes that have been established in Vancouver/Richmond, Kelowna, and Penticton are now better able to serve vulnerable at-risk children/ youth who come into care under urgent circumstances and whose particular needs make them unsuitable for immediate placement in family foster homes or with extended family.
• A Low-Barrier Short Term Stabilization stood up in Kelowna will provide a safe environment for children/youth who are experiencing a crisis and/or breakdown in their living environment.

Progress on recommendations includes:

• SHSS implementation began in 2023, and the new procurement and contract management functions are being tested to ensure a seamless province-wide rollout. Transition of current contracted services to the new contract standards is underway. 
• The transition of current contracted services began with existing service provider contracts in two early implementation areas (North Fraser Service Delivery Area and Okanagan Service Delivery Area). As of May 2024, all contracted services in the four service types within the two early implementation areas have moved to new SHSS contracts. In total, there were 49 (existing) contracts updated to SHSS contracts in the early implementation areas. Province wide implementation will proceed in phases.
• Engagement sessions were held in May 2024 with ministry staff and service providers in both early implementation areas to gather feedback on the updated model. This information will be used to inform implementation across the province.
• Throughout this work, the ministry is upholding its commitment to the First Nations Leadership Council on an engagement and co-development approach for policy development that is accessible, predictable, and transparent. SHSS was developed and continues to be refined with this approach to ensure that Indigenous child and family services are built with an Indigenous worldview.
• Ongoing outreach to ICFS Agencies, including information sharing and orientation on the new SHSS model, continues. In the past year, the ministry has provided information on the SHSS service model to all 24 ICFS Agencies and has provided in person or virtual information sessions to 23/24 ICFS Agencies, with the intent to collaboratively determine if and how ICFS Agencies will choose to use specialized homes and support services in their communities.
• A Procurement Contract Management System (IM/IT system) has been launched and is being used to administer SHSS contracts, ensure clear and measurable deliverables, and provide accurate and centralized contract data. The updated SHSS contracts and IM/IT systems include a new oversight process for monitoring the safety and wellbeing of children. This oversight includes the perspectives of the children and youth. 
• A continuous intake to prequalify service providers has been established and posted on BC Bid. This aims to increase the network of service providers delivering specialized homes and support services. It is open for ten years, with quarterly intakes occurring. New contracted services across the province for all four SHSS streams have been awarded with 26 SHSS new contracts signed as of May 2024.
• A consistent process for families to access supplemental funds for individualized supports to meet the unique needs of children and youth has been implemented.
• An on-line Specialized Service Portal for service providers to document, report and share information with the ministry on the care of individual children and youth in their care has been implemented.

The SHSS model is designed to:

• strengthen family preservation, support children, youth and families in crisis, provide specialized living arrangements for children and youth with complex needs, support connections to their culture and enable them to remain in their community. 
• respect and uphold the inherent rights of Indigenous peoples to connect with their cultures, languages, and traditions.
• place children and youth based on their specific needs in services such as respite care, emergency care, low barrier short term stabilization and long-term specialized care.
• connect each child with individualized care and ensure service providers are accountable for the quality of this care and meeting the needs of that child. 
• include clear performance indicators and enhanced information management and technology systems to allow for strong oversight of child safety and wellbeing and outcomes-based monitoring.

SHSS features include:

• an individualized, child-centred approach to care planning – so the voices, interests and goals of children and youth are reflected in their plans of care.
• new contract templates, information management/information technology (IM/IT) systems, and policies that set clear standards of care and enhanced oversight for service providers.

The ministry has made significant progress in responding to all recommendations from this report. It continues to provide regular updates to the Auditor General on progress and key actions taken to implement all four of the report recommendations as it moves forward with a complex, large scale, systemic shift that encompasses:

• Consultation and engagement with Indigenous Peoples children, youth and families, caregivers, contractors and service providers and community partners to redesign the province’s systems of support and help address the colonial legacy of BC’s child welfare system.
• The creation of the Specialized Homes and Support Services service model – including four service types: emergency care, respite, low-barrier short term stabilization and long-term specialized care -- to address the short and longer term needs of children, youth and families needing intensive support, including those who may be in crisis. The new model, which has begun early implementation in the North Fraser and Okanagan service delivery areas, features:
  • an individualized, child-centred approach to care planning – so the voices, interests and goals of children and youth are reflected in their plans of care;
  • defined outcomes, indicators and performance standards built into contracts with service providers, and
  • standardized roles, responsibilities, qualifications and staffing models.
• Ongoing outreach to Indigenous Child and Family Services Agencies (ICFS Agencies), including information-sharing and orientation on the new SHSS model.
• Continuous, province-wide intake of pre-qualified and vetted new and existing service providers for the new outcomes-based model, allowing the ministry to expand service and better meet the unique needs of children and youth throughout the province, as, when and where needed.
• Beginning in July 2023, the introduction and implementation of standardized, enhanced contracts for service providers, with clear outcomes and indicators, with provincial rollout beginning in fall 2023.
• The creation and establishment of an information management/information technology (IM/IT) system which supports the SHSS model and strengthens BC’s Network of Care for children, youth and families through:
  •  outcomes-based monitoring of services provided to children, youth and families;
  • a Service Portal, connected to the Integrated Case Management (ICM) system, that supports real time vacancy tracking and reporting on the care of individual children and youth, and forms the foundation of contract accountability and oversight;
  • a robust procurement and contract management system – also integrated with ICM -- to ensure consistency across core policies related to procurement and contract management, and
  • the inclusion of all IM/IT relevant reviews including Threat and Risk Assessments, Privacy Impact Assessments and Financial Risk and Controls reviews.
• A consistent process to access supplemental funds to allow for individualized supports to meet the unique needs of children and youth – and technology updates that will allow for the consistent monitoring of those supports, as well as resulting outcomes.
• The introduction, in February 2023, of enhanced out-of-care support agreements to ensure caregivers are able to meet the unique needs of children and youth with disabilities or complex needs that may affect their well-being, or their ability to participate fully in their schools or communities.
• The harmonizing, in 2019, of foster and extended family care rates and, in April 2023, an increase of as much as 47 per cent for foster, kinship and out-of-care providers – and an increase of up to 36 per cent for caregivers providing respite and relief care.

Supporting Documents

• SHSS Update and Contract Overview - January 2023
• SHSS Contract Overview and Implementation Timeline - February 2023
• SHSS Development Process Summary 2018 to 2022

Ministry Progress to November 30, 2022 [298KB](PDF)

Supporting Documentation:

1.0 – Overview of SHSS Model Development Process [2.5MB](PDF)

This presentation is an overview of the process, design, and development of Specialized Homes and Support Services as part of the Network of Care.

 2.0 – Draft SHSS Service Model Overview [345KB](PDF)

This document is an overview of the new Specialized Homes and Support Services (SHSS) service model, as defined in the contracts for each of the four service types: Specialized Long-Term Care, Emergency Care, Low-Barrier Short-Term Stabilization Care and Respite Care.

 3.0 – SHSS Timeline [117KB](PDF)

This document is a high-level timeline of Specialized Homes and Support Services, from Fall 2022 leading into 2023/24.

 4.0 – Outcomes Architecture and Performance Roadmap [1.3MB](PDF)

This document is a framework for performance indicators and intended outcomes of Specialized Homes and Support Services.

 5.0 – Enhanced Out of Care Policy [1MB](PDF)

This document details enhanced supports that a child/youth in an out-of-care arrangement, and their care provider may be eligible for in addition to supports described in the Out-of-Care Policy.