FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Mar 24, 2025
KJIPUKTUK (HALIFAX, NS) – The Nova Scotia College of Social Workers (NSCSW) welcomes the thorough and thoughtful review of the Nova Scotia Children and Family Services Act (CFSA) and strongly encourages the Minister of Opportunities and Social Development to take immediate and decisive action to implement the recommendations.
The Review Committee’s final report represents critical progress in addressing gaps within the province’s child welfare system. It incorporates foundational changes that align with the NSCSW’s long-standing advocacy for reforms designed to protect and empower Nova Scotia’s children, youth, and families. The College particularly supports the report’s emphasis on essential measures such as transparent data reporting, expanded access to family group conferencing, a stronger focus on preventative services, and a reorientation of the duty-to-report framework toward supportive engagement rather than punitive measures.
“Finally, we’re seeing meaningful attention paid to the systemic issues impacting child and family wellbeing in this province,” says Robert Wright, President of the NSCSW. “The recommendations outlined in this report bring us closer to a child welfare model that is preventative, inclusive, and community-centered. But now,substantial funding and leadership to turn this vision into actionable change. Without these elements, the promise of reform will fail to materialize.”
While the NSCSW is encouraged by the report, two critical areas require urgent attention. First, the report does not sufficiently address the complexities of intimate partner violence and its intersections with child and family well-being. Recognition of the barriers to escaping abusive relationships, as well as the comprehensive and long-lasting effects of intimate partner violence on children’s well-being, is essential for crafting interventions that break harmful cycles of family instability.
The second critical issue is the lack of timely access to sufficient resources and services to meet the established timelines for children in temporary care transitioning to permanency. “The path to permanency for children must be supported by a system that is responsive, well-resourced, and accountable to ensure stability and uphold the best interests of the child,” says Alec Stratford, Executive Director and Registrar of the NSCSW. “It is not the timelines that need reassessment, but the system’s capacity to deliver the programs and supports that families rely on to prevent prolonged instability, and to ensure decisions about children’s long-term care are made effectively and compassionately.”
The success of these initiatives hinges on substantial new investments in the child and family well-being system. Meaningful reforms require dedicated resources to enhance preventative services, promote transparency, and strengthen collaboration with families and communities. This includes effective and competent oversight from the proposed Independent Office of Children and Youth, driven by a well-funded and clearly defined mandate. Without these vital elements, the proposed changes risk being aspirational rather than actionable.
“Transformative change requires bold leadership,” Stratford continues. “We urge the Minister to seize this opportunity and lead the creation of a system that emphasizes prevention over crisis and centers on the voices of children, youth, and families.”
The NSCSW remains committed to working alongside government, community organizations, and social work professionals to ensure that Nova Scotia’s children and families receive the support they need to thrive.
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About us:
The Nova Scotia College of Social Workers serves and protects Nova Scotians by effectively regulating the profession of social work. We work in solidarity with Nova Scotians to advocate for policies that improve social conditions, challenge injustice and value diversity.
For more information or to arrange interviews with NSCSW spokespersons, contact: Rebecca Faria, communication coordinator for NSCSW (902-429-7799 ext. 227, [email protected]).