Fostering, Adoption & Alternative Family Care
Alternative Family Care
Alternative Family Care will help prevent children from coming into the care of the province by providing financial assistance to extended family members and other caregivers to support the children’s needs. The goal is to keep a familiar connection until the children can be reunited with their parents
- Temporary placement for 12-18 months
- financial assistance of $500 as set up (once) and $250 per child every month
About the AFC Program in Nova Scotia
- The goal is to provide support for these children in a familiar place and home and to maintain their existing family relationships until they can be reunited with their family.
- The program also helps to reduce the stress on a parent, so they can focus on getting help and addressing the problems that necessitate their child to leave their care.
- Income through the AFC Program is not taxable by the CRA, does not affect Guaranteed Income Supplement, and does not impact the child or caregiver’s eligibility for other social programs such as Income Assistance.
Foster care
involves the placement of a child with a trained caregiver, also known as a foster parent, who is not related to the child. Foster care is typically a temporary solution to provide a safe and supportive home for the child while their biological parents work towards addressing the issues that led to their removal from the home. Foster care can also provide a permanent alternative to being with their biological family, through guardianship or adoption.
Adoption
is a legal process that establishes a permanent, lifelong relationship between a child and their adoptive parents, who become the child’s legal parents. Adoption severs the legal ties between the child and their biological parents, and the adoptive parents assume all legal and financial responsibilities for the child.
