B.C. mother says son was returned to her care but ministry not answering questions

It has been five long months for a British Columbia mother whose son was part of a Voluntary Care Agreement with the Ministry of Children and Family Development.

Now her son is back home, but the mother told Global News that many questions remain.

Global News is not identifying the family due to their involvement with the ministry.

The mother says she was the one who reached out to the ministry for help. At the time, she was 29 weeks pregnant and her son was acting out in violent ways.

But she said the arrangement was not honoured and her child was seized from her custody.

She said that less than 24 hours after her story aired on Global News in June , two people who identified themselves as social workers came to her door.

One month later, her file went to a different agency and efforts were successfully made to reunite the family in time for the son’s birthday.

“I feel validated, but it doesn’t take away from the utter disgust I feel towards what they’ve done to my son because that trauma is going to last him a lifetime,” the mother said.

MLA Misty Van Popta said this family’s dilemma highlights a systemic issue in B.C.

“I think that the government has gotten into the position of removing children first instead of offering resources first,” she said.

“Absolutely, this is government overreach. Again, this was just a mother who reached out for resources. This was not the case of needing to have a child removed against the mother’s wishes.”

Minister Jodie Wickens did not make herself available for an interview and the ministry, citing privacy, would not answer questions about why the boy was removed in the first place.

“There needs to be better oversight to the decisions being made when it comes to young children and families facing hardship,” the boy’s mother said.

She added that since her son has been home, she is now receiving some support she had asked for.