In order to look after their granddaughter, Diane and Claude* became a local foster family affiliated with the Direction de la protection de la jeunesse (DPJ) of the Laurentians, in 2016. Seven years later, they want to move to Estrie, but to make sure everything is in order, they are asked to fill out all kinds of documents… as if they had never been a foster family.
After sending their notice to move, the grandparents received a pile of documents calling on them to provide all kinds of information to the DPJ of the Laurentians… and then the same thing to that of Estrie. Attestation of good physical and mental condition, criminal record, list of prescribed medications, bank documents, evaluation of the new physical place where the child will live… practically everything goes there.
Currently, Diane and Claude’s main residence is in Montreal. As their granddaughter was born in Sainte-Thérèse, it was the DPJ des Laurentides who initially contacted them to obtain the status of local foster family. The couple now wants to make their second home, located in Austin, in the Eastern Townships, their main residence. But we refuse to simply transfer the file.
It’s like applying to be a new family. We understand that each board is autonomous, that they all have their little peculiarities. But starting over is ridiculous.
Claude, local foster parent
On the cover of one of the forms, it is indicated that we are addressing an “applicant” as a local foster family, whereas Diane and Claude have already been there for several years. Little Flavie*, who is now 7 years old, has been living with her grandparents since she was 9 months old.
Claude, who doesn’t have a family doctor, has run out of solutions. He understands very well that the DPJ needs to update certain information and to visit the new house, but sees himself having trouble “disturbing a doctor and the police who have other things to do”. These are steps that take time.
” I called [la DPJ], I am told that “it’s the same way it works”. The problem is that it doesn’t make sense for it to work like that. I’m not blaming the front-line worker for this, I’m blaming the managers. »
bureaucratic heaviness
“Generally, when a host family moves, the documents are sent to the DYP of the region hosting the family, in order to facilitate the process. […] When the verification is recent, the documents can be transferred from one region to another. If this is not the case, the entire process has to be redone,” replies Valérie Maynard, communications advisor at the CISSS des Laurentides, when asked about this by The Press. She also says that an annual criminal background check is normally mandatory.
“We are able to say that in such situations, we do not start the evaluation of a file from scratch,” says Annie-Andrée Émond, assistant to the director responsible for communications at the CIUSSS de l’Estrie. We start, on the one hand, from the assessment of the family file made by the establishment which supervised the local foster family and, on the other hand, from the other elements brought to our attention, such as the result of the search for criminal records. [plumitif] and health check. If these documents are several years old, we will simply update them. »
The CIUSSS de l’Estrie also assures that it is “making every effort to carry out these steps in a short time in order to offer the child a living environment that is safe and as stable as possible”.
Only, since he was initially asked for his personal information in 2016, no one has contacted Claude for any update. And when he tries to get help, he hits a wall. “We ask for something at the beginning which is very good, but there is no follow-up afterwards”, he laments, attributing to the administrative errors of the DPJ the bureaucratic hole in which he finds himself.
I think a lot of potential host families don’t get it because of the bureaucracy.
Claude, local foster parent
“They don’t have to ask for the medical file. The criminal history, the Laurentians ask for it when changing the contract. It’s paperwork, yes, but a three-page document: sign up, sign down, you’re done. They tend to remember: “Oh, it’s been five years since I asked for the background”, and ask for them all of a sudden”, explains Geneviève Rioux, president of the Federation of Foster Families and Intermediate Resources of Quebec.
“Monsieur should have the right to move. Small file updates are one thing, but starting over is no, she says. In my office, I receive hundreds of situations per month because of a lack of uniformity and because each establishment manages itself. »
“We are a close family, so we will stay no matter what happens, assures Claude. But imagine a foster family who has a difficult child who is on the verge of quitting. She might say, “You’re asking me all that, so I’ll quit.” »
* Fictitious first names. For reasons of confidentiality, we are forbidden to reveal the identity of the family.