My Supervised Visits With My Children Keep Getting Cancelled — What Can I Do?
Consistent contact between parents and children during foster care is a legal requirement that MCFD must actively support. If your visits are being cancelled repeatedly, here is how to document the pattern and hold MCFD accountable.
Document every cancelled visit — the date, who cancelled, and the reason given. MCFD is legally required to facilitate contact between you and your children. A pattern of cancellations is a failure of that obligation and can be raised in court. Start the paper trail today.
Cancelled visits are more than a logistical frustration. They are a disruption to your relationship with your children that the law requires MCFD to prevent.
Start documenting every cancellation now
For every cancelled visit, record:
- The date and time the visit was scheduled
- Who notified you of the cancellation (MCFD worker, foster family, supervisor)
- The reason given
- Whether an alternative was offered and when
- Your response — did you try to reschedule?
This written record is the evidence your lawyer needs to raise the pattern with MCFD and the court.
Contact your MCFD worker’s supervisor
If a pattern of cancellations is developing, escalate above your worker. Send a written email to the worker and their supervisor naming the cancelled visits, the dates, and requesting a written explanation and a plan to ensure visits proceed consistently.
A written complaint creates a record that MCFD must respond to. It also signals that you are tracking the failures closely.
Ask for a contact order
If you do not already have a court-ordered contact schedule, your lawyer can apply for one. A contact order sets specific days, times, and conditions for visits — and MCFD’s failure to comply with a court order is a more serious matter than failing an informal arrangement.
If you have a contact order and visits are still being cancelled, MCFD is in breach of a court order. Your lawyer can bring this to the court’s attention.
The effect on your children
Cancelled visits affect your children. Research consistently shows that children in care have better outcomes when they maintain meaningful contact with their parents. If your children are distressed by inconsistent contact, document that too — it is relevant to MCFD’s duty to their wellbeing.
Your frustration at cancelled visits is legitimate. Channel it into documentation and legal escalation rather than conflict with MCFD workers — the paper trail is what produces results.
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
- Is MCFD required to facilitate visits between parents and children in care?
- Yes. BC law requires MCFD to support meaningful contact between children in care and their parents unless a court has specifically restricted it. MCFD cannot passively allow visits to be cancelled without taking steps to reschedule and facilitate them.
- Can I use cancelled visits as evidence in court?
- Yes. A documented pattern of MCFD-caused visit cancellations is relevant evidence in child welfare proceedings. Courts take seriously MCFD's obligation to facilitate family contact. If MCFD is failing this obligation, your lawyer can raise it as a systemic failure in the case management.
- What if the foster family is the one cancelling visits?
- MCFD is responsible for ensuring visits happen regardless of the foster family's cooperation. If the foster family is creating obstacles to visits, MCFD must address this — it is a placement management issue that MCFD controls. Document the cancellations and report them to your MCFD worker and their supervisor in writing.
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