Foster parents cannot be prohibited from working outside the home!

Le Devoir recently published an article on this subject. The news was picked up by several media outlets. Our president, Mélanie Gagnon, was invited to several forums, including Le Devoir and Patrick Lagacé's radio show, to respond to this unauthorized practice.

The institutions that apply this requirement are located in the Montérégie-Est, Outaouais, Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, and Chaudière-Appalaches regions. These institutions justify their decision by citing a lack of daycare space and the well-being of the child.

An unjustifiable practice and explanation

Although this situation is not observed in most of the regions represented by the FFARIQ, the latter is defending all children in foster care in Quebec. In an interview, Ms. Gagnon reiterated that the FFARIQ has been denouncing this practice for some time to the appropriate authorities, fearing in particular that such a measure could contribute to a shortage of foster families.

Of course, some children have specific needs that require an environment appropriate to those needs. Sometimes, one of the parents must be at home full-time. Some foster families already operate this way. It is therefore possible for an agency to make a match that is better suited to the child's needs and family situation.

The best interests and stability of a child depend on several factors, not just the fact that a parent stays home full-time. A foster family is a family like any other, balancing work and family life. A child in care should have as normal a life as possible and also enjoy the benefits of socialization by attending daycare.

Among the concrete solutions put forward by Ms. Gagnon are reserving daycare spots for children in foster care and providing access to parental benefits for all foster families.

You can read the article in Le Devoir or listen to Ms. Gagnon's interview on Patrick Lagacé's show by following this link.