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Third Session, Thirty-Ninth Legislature

This version is based on the printed bill that was distributed in the Legislature after First Reading.   It is not the official version.   If accuracy is critical, you can obtain a copy of the printed bill from Statutory Publications or view the online bilingual version (PDF).

Bill 236

THE CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES AMENDMENT ACT


Explanatory Note

(Assented to                                         )

HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, enacts as follows:

C.C.S.M. c. C80 amended

1

The Child and Family Services Act is amended by this Act.

2

The following is added after subsection 51(1):

Record of reasons for removing a child

51(1.1)

Except when it considers that the child is or might be in need of protection, an agency that proposes to remove a child from the person with whom the child was placed must

(a) prepare a written plan for the child's removal and placement with another person;

(b) before taking any steps to implement the plan, notify the person in writing of its intention to remove the child;

(c) state in the notice

(i) the details of the plan required by clause (a),

(ii) the agency's reasons for proposing to remove the child, and

(iii) the agency's assessment of the following:

(A) the impact of the removal on the child,

(B) the propriety of the removal considering the child's stage of development,

(C) the child's degree of attachment to the person with whom the child was placed; and

(d) before taking any steps to implement the plan, give a copy of the notice to the authority under whose mandate the agency operates.

Notice of final decision to remove child

51(1.2)

Without delay after making the final decision to remove the child and before removing him or her, the agency must give the person and the authority a written decision that states

(a) when the child is to be removed;

(b) the reasons for the removal; and

(c) the agency's final assessment of the matters referred to in clause (1.1)(c)(iii).

Agency to keep copies of plan and other documents

51(1.3)

The agency must keep copies of the written plan and notice required by subsection (1.1) and of the written decision required by subsection (1.2) in accordance with the requirements of this Act and the regulations for other records of the agency.

Coming into force

3

This Act comes into force on the day it receives royal assent.

Explanatory Note

This Bill requires a child and family services agency to do the following things when, in the absence of child protection concerns, it proposes to remove a child from the care of a caregiver:

  • prepare a written plan;
  • notify the caregiver in writing about its intentions and explain to him or her its reasons for the proposal and its assessment of factors relevant to determining how the proposed move may affect the child;
  • once a final decision is made to carry out the proposal, give the caregiver a written decision;
  • give the authority under whose mandate the agency operates copies of the notice and decision given to the caregiver.