The Child and Youth Well-Being Act: What New Brunswick Foster Parents Need to Know

For over four decades, foster care in New Brunswick was governed by the Family Services Act — a law critics said treated children as afterthoughts in disputes between parents and the state. That era ended on January 26, 2024, when the Child and Youth Well-Being Act (SNB 2022, c. 35) came into force, replacing the Family Services Act entirely.

If you're researching foster care in New Brunswick now, you're navigating a system that operates under completely new legislation. The terminology has changed, the standards have changed, and the philosophy behind placement decisions has shifted in ways that affect every stage of the foster care process.

Why the Family Services Act Was Replaced

The Family Services Act (SNB 1980 c. F-2.2) served New Brunswick for over 40 years, but it had a structural problem: it centered the rights of parents rather than the rights of children. The provincial Child and Youth Advocate repeatedly flagged that the legislation failed to provide a rights-based approach for children who were already in care — youth who had no legal mechanism to advocate for their own needs within the system.

The new Child and Youth Well-Being Act corrects this by aligning New Brunswick's child welfare law with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The shift is from "what's best for the family unit" to "what's best for this specific child, right now." For foster parents, that means working within a system that formally recognizes the child's participation in decisions about their own care — including their Service Plan.

What the New Law Means in Practice

The Child and Youth Well-Being Act is the umbrella legislation. It's supported by three key regulations that govern day-to-day foster care operations:

Child and Youth Social Services Regulation (NB Reg 2024-6) — This is the regulation most directly relevant to foster parents. It replaces the former Children in Care Services Regulation and sets out the specific standards for foster home licensing, bedroom sizes, safety requirements, and training obligations.

Adoption Regulation (2024-5) — Governs the pathway from foster care to adoption for foster parents pursuing permanency.

General Regulation (2024-4) — Provides the administrative framework for how the Department of Social Development (DSD) operates its programs.

The day-to-day administration of these regulations falls to the Department of Social Development's Child and Youth Services division, which is organized into eight regional offices across the province. Your region determines which DSD office manages your application and handles your placements.

If you're ready to start navigating this system with a step-by-step roadmap built specifically for New Brunswick, the New Brunswick Foster Care Guide compiles the current requirements under the 2024 legislation into one practical resource.

The "Child-Centered" Philosophy and What It Means for Foster Parents

Under the old Family Services Act, the goal of foster care was broadly understood as temporary shelter while the state attempted to reunify families. The new Act is more explicit: it mandates the "least intrusive" intervention possible, and it prioritizes kinship arrangements — placement with relatives or people already connected to the child — over traditional foster homes whenever safety permits.

For families interested in traditional fostering, this means you may see more placements come after kinship options have already been assessed and ruled out. It also means that if you're fostering a child who has relatives identified as potential caregivers, you may need to prepare for transitions that weren't possible under the old law.

The Act also formalizes the concept of the Service Plan — the document that governs every child's time in care. These plans are reviewed at minimum every six months and must now include the child's own views and preferences, appropriate to their age. As a foster parent, you contribute to this plan through your "Record of Care," the daily log you're required to maintain.

How DSD Is Organized Under the New Framework

The Department of Social Development runs eight regional offices. Knowing your region matters because your regional office manages intake, training schedules, and placement coordination:

• Region 1 (Moncton): Covers Moncton, Richibucto, Sackville, Shediac — 1-866-426-5191
• Region 2 (Saint John): Covers Saint John, Sussex, St. Stephen — 1-866-441-4340
• Region 3 (Fredericton): Covers Fredericton, Woodstock, Perth-Andover — 1-866-444-8838
• Region 4 (Edmundston): Covers Edmundston, Grand Falls — 1-866-441-4249
• Region 5 (Campbellton): Covers Campbellton, Kedgwick — 1-866-441-4245
• Region 6 (Bathurst): Covers Bathurst — 1-866-441-4341
• Region 7 (Miramichi): Covers Miramichi, Neguac — 1-866-441-4246
• Region 8 (Acadian Peninsula): Covers Caraquet, Shippagan, Tracadie-Sheila — 1-866-441-4149

Each region operates with some independence. Training cohort schedules, placement coordinator availability, and the pace of home study reviews can differ between regions. Applicants in Region 3 (Fredericton), which has a high concentration of public service workers, often find the process moves somewhat faster due to existing familiarity with compliance-heavy paperwork. Region 8 (Acadian Peninsula) operates primarily in French and has culturally specific support structures.

Bilingual Service Delivery — A Legal Right, Not Just a Policy

New Brunswick is Canada's only officially bilingual province, and linguistic rights in the child welfare system are not optional. Under the Official Languages Act of New Brunswick, every prospective foster parent has the right to receive their services, training, and support in their preferred official language.

This means PRIDE training (the mandatory 27-hour pre-service curriculum) is delivered in both English and French. French-speaking applicants can request a Francophone social worker for their home study and are entitled to all DSD documentation in French. For families in the Acadian Peninsula or the Edmundston region, this isn't a nice-to-have — it's how the system is designed to operate.

Francophone peer support is also available through the NB Foster Family Association (NBFFA) and the NB Adoption Support Network, including French-language groups such as "Plus forts ensemble."

Indigenous Child Welfare Under the New Act

The Child and Youth Well-Being Act incorporates changes that reflect a broader national shift in how Indigenous child welfare is handled. Under Bill C-92 (An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families), First Nations communities have the inherent right to exercise jurisdiction over their child and family services. The Supreme Court of Canada confirmed this in February 2024.

In New Brunswick, eleven delegated First Nations agencies serve the 15 Mi'kmaq and Wolastoqiyik communities. These agencies can conduct investigations and manage placements within their communities.

For foster parents caring for an Indigenous child, the new Act makes cultural continuity a legal obligation rather than a preference. This includes facilitating the child's connection to their language, community events, and relationships with Elders. The child's Indigenous Governing Body may be a formal party to the care plan — which means their involvement isn't optional.

Transitional Services for Youth Aging Out

One of the significant improvements under the Child and Youth Well-Being Act is the formalized framework for youth transitioning out of care. In New Brunswick, the age of majority is 19, but the new Act allows DSD to extend financial support and case management until age 26 for youth pursuing post-secondary education or who need additional support to achieve independence.

This matters for foster parents because you may be asked to continue supporting a young person after they legally age out of the system — not as a legal obligation, but as part of the relational continuity the new legislation encourages.

What Hasn't Changed

Despite the new law, the core structure of foster care in New Brunswick remains the same. You still apply through the DSD online portal (Community Care NB — CCNB), complete PRIDE training, undergo a home study using the SAFE (Structured Analysis Family Evaluation) model, and receive a license specifying the age range and number of children approved for your home. Licenses are reviewed annually, with full background check renewals required every five years.

The financial framework — maintenance rates, Special Needs Assessments, and supplemental allowances for medical, dental, and recreation — also operates under the same basic structure, though rates are periodically updated under the new regulation.

Getting Started Under the New Framework

The transition to the Child and Youth Well-Being Act creates a cleaner, more child-focused system, but it also means that some of the information you'll find online — particularly content referencing the old Family Services Act — may describe processes or standards that have been updated.

The New Brunswick Foster Care Guide is built on the current 2024 regulatory framework, covering everything from the CCNB portal application to the SAFE home assessment, the double background check process, and the specific bedroom and safety standards now required under NB Reg 2024-6. If you're starting your application in 2024 or later, this is the legislation you're working under.

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