Foster Parent Rights in the Northwest Territories

The 2020 letter from the Foster Family Coalition of the NWT was twenty-seven pages long. It alleged that social workers had lied to foster parents about children's behavioral histories, withheld documents that foster families had a right to access, and left caregivers without the information they needed to safely manage the children placed in their homes. It was a public document representing the grievances of an advocacy organization that normally maintains a working relationship with the GNWT.

The letter shows why foster parents in the NWT need clear information about what can be shared, how they can participate in case planning, and where to raise concerns when communication breaks down.

Understanding the supports and escalation resources available to a licensed NWT foster parent is not about becoming adversarial with the system. It's about knowing what to ask for when the system is not giving you the information or support needed to care safely for a child.

Access to Information About the Child in Your Care

This is a recurring concern in NWT foster care. Caregivers need relevant information about the child placed in their home to provide safe and appropriate care. Depending on what can legally be shared in the case, this may include:

• Behavioral history: Known patterns of behavior, including behaviors exhibited in previous placements, that are relevant to managing the child's placement in your home safely
• Medical information: Diagnoses, medications, allergies, and any chronic health conditions. You cannot manage a child's medical needs without this information
• Trauma history: General information about the nature of trauma in the child's background — without necessarily full disclosure of all case details — sufficient to inform your caregiving approach
• Court orders and legal status: What is the child's legal status? Is there an open supervision order? A Crown wardship? What are the current access arrangements with biological family?

Access to information is not absolute — there are legitimate confidentiality restrictions on some case details. But "I can't tell you about their background" may not answer the practical questions a caregiver needs to manage serious behavioural presentations safely.

If your social worker is not providing information you need to care safely for a child, ask explicitly in writing: "What information about this child's behavioral and medical history is available and can be shared with me as the caregiver?" Document the request and the response.

Participation in Case Planning

NWT foster parents can contribute useful information to the child's care plan. Plan of Care Committees are community-based groups that allow community volunteers to participate in case planning. Ask your social worker how you can provide input. This may include:

• Information for case planning: Provide observations about the child's daily functioning, needs, and cultural connections through the social worker or applicable committee
• Questions about significant changes: Ask how changes to legal status, family contact, or the permanency plan will be communicated in the individual case
• Input before placement changes: If a move is being considered, provide your observations about the child's situation and ask the social worker to explain the timing and process

The degree of foster-parent inclusion varies by the social worker, regional office, and case. Keep written observations and ask how they should be added to the child's case planning.

The Right to Raise Concerns and File Complaints

When your rights are not being respected — when information is withheld, when you receive a child without adequate preparation, when your input into case planning is ignored — you have formal channels for raising those concerns.

Step 1: Direct conversation with your social worker

The first step is always the direct conversation. Raise your concern with your assigned social worker, specifically and in writing. Email is better than phone for creating a record. State what you expected, what happened instead, and what you need resolved.

Step 2: Escalation to the regional supervisor

If the conversation with your social worker does not resolve the issue, escalate to the supervisor or service-delivery lead at the regional office. Request a meeting with the appropriate regional contact and bring your documentation.

Step 3: The regional COO or service-delivery lead

If the supervisor does not resolve the issue, ask for the regional Chief Operating Officer or service-delivery lead. The market research identifies regional COO escalation as a resource, but the responsible title and office should be confirmed for your region.

Step 4: The Foster Family Coalition of the NWT

The FFCNWT provides advocacy, peer support, and guidance for foster families. It can help you understand the available channels and connect you with other foster parents. Contact the FFCNWT at 1-866-233-0136 or [email protected].

Step 5: The NWT Human Rights Commission and Children and Youth Advocate

For systemic issues or rights concerns, the NWT Human Rights Commission can be reached at 1-888-669-5575. The Children and Youth Advocate is another resource; see advocate-nwt.ca for current information.

Step 6: The child's Indigenous governance contacts

For concerns involving an Indigenous child's cultural identity, community connection, or governing framework, ask the social worker which Indigenous governance body or community authority should be involved.

Privacy and Confidentiality Protection

You have privacy concerns regarding your own household as well as the children in your care. The scope of confidentiality for your family's personal information, home-study details, and foster-home agreement depends on applicable law and policy. Ask HSS what information can be shared and document any concern about an improper disclosure.

In small communities, privacy is challenging to operationalize — your role as a foster parent is often visible regardless of what the formal record says. If you believe confidential information about your family has been improperly disclosed by HSS, document the concern and ask the regional office or the applicable GNWT privacy channel how to raise it.

What the Oath of Confidentiality Means for Your Complaints

When you sign the foster care agreements, you sign an Oath of Confidentiality committing you to protect information about children and biological families. This oath protects the children — it does not prevent you from raising concerns about how you were treated by HSS.

The distinction matters. You should not disclose case details about a child to neighbors or other people who are not involved in the case. When raising a concern with the FFCNWT, a government oversight body, the Advocate, an Indigenous governance contact, or legal counsel, share only what the applicable process permits and ask how to protect the child's confidentiality.

The Northwest Territories Foster Care Guide includes a section on foster parent rights and the escalation pathway for grievances, including the contact information for the FFCNWT and the regional supervisory contacts for each NWT authority.

A System That Needs You

The NWT child welfare system is not designed to be adversarial with foster parents. With a 24.7% vacancy rate in child and family services and a persistent shortage of approved homes, HSS needs competent, committed foster families far more than it can afford to alienate them.

Most concerns are resolved through direct conversation. The escalation pathway described above is for situations where direct conversation fails — and those situations do occur, as the 2020 FFCNWT letter made clear. Knowing that the pathway exists, and knowing your rights before a conflict arises, puts you in a position to navigate the system professionally and to advocate effectively for both yourself and the children in your care.

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