Application and Hearing Process
After receiving your application, the Board will take the following steps:
- Notify the children’s aid society of the application to the Board
The Board will notify the appropriate children’s aid society that the application has been filed with the Board.
If the child is an Indian or Native person, the Board will notify the representative chosen by the child’s band or native community.
Unless there is a risk of harm to the child, the children’s aid society cannot remove the child from the foster family until the Board has rendered its decision.
- Determine if the application is eligible
The Board will review the application and determine eligibility, which means that:
- the applicant must be a foster parent; and
- the child must be a Crown ward and must have lived with the foster family continuously for two years.
The Child and Family Services Review Board will review the application and send its decision regarding eligibility within 7 days of receiving the application.
- Hold a Pre-hearing Conference
If the application is eligible, the Board will schedule a pre-hearing conference with the applicant and the children's aid society within six days of receiving the application. The parties will be contacted to ask for their availability. The Board will do its best to accommodate the parties in setting a pre-hearing date.
A pre-hearing conference will be held by one Board Member in order to:
- Clarify the issues to be discussed at the hearing;
- Review the evidence to be presented and the witnesses to be called at the upcoming hearing; and
- Select dates for the hearing.
The pre-hearing conference will be held by teleconference.
Following the pre-hearing conference the Board will send to the parties a summary of the pre-hearing discussions and provide a notice of hearing.
- Hold a hearing
A hearing date will be set within 20 days from the day the applicant received the eligibility decision. All parties will be contacted to ask for their availability if their availability was not provided at the pre-hearing. The Board will do its best to accommodate the parties in setting a hearing date within the required timeframe.
A panel of up to 3 Board Members will hold a hearing to review the application. The applicant and the children’s aid society will each have an opportunity to present evidence, call witnesses on their behalf and make submissions.
The applicant will be able to ask the children's aid society's witnesses questions. The children's aid society will also be able to ask the applicant and his/her witnesses questions. The Board may also have questions.
The children’s aid society will present its evidence first, followed by the applicant.
Any party before the Board may be represented by a lawyer. If a party believes that the child subject to the application should be made a party to the proceedings and have legal representation, the party may request the Board to hear arguments and make a decision on this matter.
The duration of a hearing will vary from case to case. All hearings take place in private. The Board will make every effort to schedule a hearing in a location that is convenient for all parties.
- Issue a decision
The Board will determine what action is in the child's best interests and will confirm or rescind the decision of the children's aid society to remove the child from the foster family's care.
The Board will issue a decision within 10 days after a hearing.
The decision will include the reasons for the Board's decision.