Person of Sufficient Interest Saskatchewan: What It Means and How It Works

Saskatchewan's child welfare system uses the term "Person of Sufficient Interest" (PSI) for something that rarely gets explained clearly to the people it affects most. If you're a grandparent, aunt, uncle, or close family friend who has had a child placed with you through the courts, you may already be navigating a PSI order without fully understanding what it means legally — or what financial and legal rights it gives you.

What a PSI Order Is

A PSI order is a custody order issued by a court. When reunification with birth parents is not possible but making a child a permanent Crown ward (ward of the state) is also not appropriate, the court can place the child in the long-term care of an individual who has a meaningful connection to the child. That person is recognized as a "Person of Sufficient Interest."

The legal basis is the Child and Family Services Act (SS 1989-90, c. C-7.2). Under this framework, the PSI is granted legal custody of the child without the child becoming a Crown ward. The birth parents' rights are limited or suspended, but the relationship exists between the child and an individual caregiver — not between the child and the Ministry.

How It Differs from Traditional Foster Care

This is where confusion is common. In traditional foster care, the Ministry or a First Nations delegated agency holds guardianship of the child. A licensed foster parent provides care, but the agency holds the legal authority to make decisions about placement, medical treatment, and schooling.

In a PSI arrangement:

• The PSI caregiver holds custody — not the Ministry
• The PSI caregiver has more legal autonomy in day-to-day decisions
• The child is not a Crown ward — there's no ongoing Ministry guardianship
• The PSI caregiver still receives financial support similar to foster care per diems
• Annual reviews still occur, but the legal structure is fundamentally different

In practical terms, a PSI caregiver has more control. They don't need to check with a caseworker before taking a child out of province or making significant medical decisions the way a foster parent would.

Who Becomes a PSI Caregiver

PSI orders most commonly involve kinship placements — relatives or people with close ties to the child who step in when parents cannot care for them. Common scenarios:

• A grandmother caring for a grandchild after the parents entered addictions treatment or were incarcerated
• An aunt or uncle caring for children following a parental death or serious injury
• A long-term foster parent who has cared for a child for years and for whom permanent placement is appropriate but adoption isn't
• A family friend or community member with a documented significant relationship to the child

The court determines who qualifies as a "person of sufficient interest" based on the strength and nature of the existing relationship with the child.

Financial Support for PSI Caregivers

PSI caregivers receive ongoing financial support at rates similar to foster care per diems. In Saskatchewan, the basic maintenance rates depend on the child's age and whether the placement is in a southern or northern community:

• Ages 0–5 (southern): approximately $573/month
• Ages 6–11 (southern): approximately $603/month
• Ages 12–15 (southern): approximately $680/month
• Ages 16+ (southern): approximately $767/month

Northern rates are higher, reflecting the elevated cost of living in communities like La Ronge, Buffalo Narrows, and northern Saskatchewan generally.

Unlike traditional foster care, PSI caregivers have more autonomy but they are also not part of the PRIDE Levels of Pay system in the same way — meaning they generally don't access the higher supplemental service fees that specialized foster parents earn for complex cases. However, additional funding for extraordinary medical, educational, or therapeutic needs can still be requested through the Ministry.

PSI vs. Kinship Foster Care: The Overlap

Saskatchewan uses kinship care (also called extended family care) as the preferred placement type under both provincial law and Bill C-92 federal legislation. In many cases, kinship placements begin as foster arrangements — the relative is licensed as a kinship foster caregiver — and transition to PSI status as the situation stabilizes and it becomes clear that long-term legal placement with the relative is appropriate.

The distinction matters practically:

• Kinship foster care: Ministry or First Nations agency holds guardianship; relative provides care; PRIDE training and home study still required
• PSI order: Court grants custody directly to the individual; Ministry plays a monitoring role but not a guardianship role

57% of Saskatchewan children in out-of-home care are now in kinship or PSI placements — a figure that reflects both the preference for family-based care and the province's push to reduce Crown wardship wherever possible.

Rights and Responsibilities of PSI Caregivers

PSI caregivers have most of the rights of a legal guardian while the order is in effect:

• Enrol the child in school
• Consent to routine medical and dental treatment
• Travel within Canada without seeking Ministry approval
• Make day-to-day decisions without caseworker sign-off

They also have obligations:

• Notify the Ministry of significant changes (new household members, changes in living situation)
• Facilitate the child's contact with birth family unless the order specifies otherwise
• For Indigenous children, actively support cultural connections to the child's community, language, and First Nation or Métis community

Accessing Support as a PSI Caregiver

One challenge PSI caregivers face is that they fall somewhat between systems. They aren't traditional foster parents in the Ministry's support infrastructure, and they aren't the child's legal parents under a formal adoption. The SFFA (Saskatchewan Foster Families Association) does provide support to kinship and PSI caregivers through its regional support groups and advocacy services.

The Saskatchewan Foster Care Guide covers the PSI framework in detail alongside traditional foster care pathways — useful if you're navigating a kinship situation that may transition from Ministry placement to PSI status, or if you're trying to understand your legal standing as an existing PSI caregiver.

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