Considering Secure Care in BC

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The need for, and appropriateness of, safe or secure care has been discussed and debated in British Columbia for nearly two decades. The current overdose crisis has once again brought attention to this ongoing debate. The Federation is tracking and analyzing a lot of different issues and this is definitely one of them. In Mar ...Read More

Conversation & Collaboration: Engaging with the BC’s social care ministries

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Last week’s ‘Building on Success’ conference was a big success. Over two days, The Federation and MCFD brought together practitioners and leaders from across the province—and across the sector—to examine and explore some of the promising practices emerging in BC’s child, family, and communi ...Read More

2017 Select Standing Committee Presentation

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Below is the full text of the 2017 Select Standing Committee Presentation submitted by The Federation of Community Social Services of BC.   2017 Select Standing Committee Presentation Thank you for the opportunity to address the committee today. My name is Rick FitzZaland and I am the Executive Director ...Read More

Advocating for sustainable social services

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Earlier this week, I stood before the Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government services on behalf of all Federation members. I explained to them the importance of community social services in BC and I told them that well-funded community social services are a necessity if BC’s communities are to prosper ...Read More

Making our voice heard: Engaging with BC’s new government

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Earlier this month, BC’s NDP government released their first budget which mapped out an initial financial plan for our province. I was, like many of you, happy to see new social spending (even though some bigger promises were noticeably delayed) and the overall reaction to the budget has been mainly positive. Importantly, it also pro ...Read More

Supporting our youth: Tuition waivers and the Youth Education Bursary

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Last Friday, like so many of you, I was thrilled to hear that the Provincial Government has expanded it’s tuition waiver program to include all 25 of BC’s public post-secondary institutions. It is a step in the right direction to provide meaningful support to young people who have bee ...Read More

Insuring a strong and sustainable social services sector: Some benefits of being a Federation member

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We are a sector that takes care of people. In order for us to do that job well, we need to also take care our organizations and the people that make up those organizations—it’s one of the most important things that we do. And The Federation has a number of programs and produc ...Read More

The NDP government’s mandate and The Federation’s next steps

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Last week, BC Premier John Horgan released the mandate letters sent to each newly appointed Cabinet Minister as well as select Ministers of State. These letters (and additional information about each minister) can be found here. While there are many significant and promising objectives, there are also some ...Read More

Leadership 2020 updates: new cohort, new program, new website

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Last week in this space I briefly touched on some new developments with the Leadership 2020 program. This week, I want to go into more detail about what the future holds for The Federation’s custom-built leadership development program. Program Background The Leadership 2020 program began over f ...Read More

Project Updates: MCFD Contracting, CLBC Funding Guide, Caregiver Screening Standards, and the Leadership 2020 Program

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This space is often devoted to The Federation’s goals, our strategic priorities, and our responses to the news and issues that affect our members. And many of these goals and priorities involve shifting attitudes—the attitudes of our political leaders, government staff, the general public, and those we work with in the social ...Read More