Can My Child Attend Ceremony and Cultural Events While in Foster Care?
Your child's right to participate in ceremony, cultural events, and spiritual practices does not stop because they are in foster care. Here is the legal basis for that right and how to enforce it when MCFD or a foster family resists.
Your child has a legal right to ceremony and cultural participation during foster care. MCFD cannot allow this right to lapse because the foster family is unfamiliar or uncomfortable. Make the request in writing, name the specific ceremonies or events, and ask for a written response from MCFD. If they refuse, escalate to your lawyer.
Ceremony is not a cultural extra. It is how Indigenous law, relationship, identity, and healing are transmitted across generations. The child welfare system is legally required to recognize this.
The legal basis for ceremony access
Bill C-92 establishes cultural continuity as a core principle in all child welfare decision-making involving Indigenous children. This includes participation in ceremony, spiritual practice, and cultural events specific to your nation.
BC’s Child, Family and Community Service Act requires culturally appropriate care — which has been interpreted to include access to cultural and spiritual practices.
How to request ceremony access formally
Put the request in writing to your MCFD worker:
- Name the specific ceremony or cultural event
- Provide the date, location, and who will be present
- Explain the significance of the ceremony for your child
- Ask whether attendance can be arranged through you during a visit, or through a community cultural liaison if you are not present
Ask for a written response and give a reasonable deadline — five business days is appropriate for a non-emergency request.
If MCFD or the foster family refuses
Ask for the specific reason for refusal in writing. If the reason is the foster family’s discomfort or logistical inconvenience, challenge it — these are not valid legal grounds.
If MCFD refuses without a documented safety reason, raise it with your lawyer. A court can order that specific cultural activities be facilitated. Courts have made such orders in BC child welfare cases.
Including ceremony access in your contact plan
If you are developing or reviewing a contact plan with MCFD, request that specific cultural events and ceremonies be named in the plan. Getting it in writing — and getting it confirmed by the court — is more durable than relying on MCFD’s good faith on an event-by-event basis.
If you are an Indigenous family navigating child welfare in BC and need peer support, contact KFT-Families Society at [email protected], call Lori at 604-512-3266, or visit keeping-families-together.com. IFISC operates weekly peer support circles, connects families with culturally grounded resources, and provides guidance to parents at every stage of the child welfare process — at no cost.
Frequently asked questions
- Does my child have a legal right to attend ceremony while in foster care?
- Yes. Bill C-92 and BC's Child, Family and Community Service Act both require that an Indigenous child's cultural identity — including participation in ceremony and spiritual practice — be actively maintained during child welfare involvement. Denying ceremony access without a specific safety reason is a violation of your child's cultural rights.
- What if the foster family says they are not comfortable taking my child to ceremony?
- The foster family's comfort is not the legal standard. MCFD is responsible for ensuring your child's cultural needs are met. If the foster family cannot or will not facilitate ceremony access, MCFD must arrange an alternative — through you, through a cultural liaison, or through a community member — not simply allow the gap to persist.
- Can I take my child to ceremony during our visits?
- If ceremony attendance during your visits does not conflict with your contact order or supervision conditions, you can incorporate it. If you are unsure whether a specific ceremony conflicts with your conditions, ask your MCFD worker in writing in advance. A written confirmation that ceremony attendance is permitted is useful to have.
KFT-Families Society
You do not have to navigate this alone.
IFISC is operated by KFT-Families Society, an Indigenous-led nonprofit founded by people who have navigated the child welfare system firsthand. We run weekly peer support circles and connect families with culturally grounded resources across BC. Reach out — no paperwork, no waitlist.
[email protected] · keeping-families-together.com