Kinship Care Help Line: 604-558-4740 • 1-855-474-9777
Kinship Care Help Line Province-Wide Service
(Formerly Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Support Line)
About the line
The Kinship Care Help Line provides support, advocacy and resource information to grandparents and other relatives raising a family member’s child as well as to service providers and allies. The Help Line serves callers from across the province and is staffed by two part-time advocates trained in advocacy, social work, family law, and government services related to child welfare and kinship caregiving. Our services to kinship caregivers are confidential and ongoing.
Call the Kinship Care Help Line for assistance to:
- Navigate complex service systems such as the Ministry of Children and Family Development
- Overcome information barriers; to find the answers, assistance, and resources needed to prevent or solve problems
- Identify benefits and services that will support the whole family.
To book an appointment Mon & Tues 10-2, Thurs 9:30-3 click here
To book an appointment Mon, Tues, Thurs & Fri 10am – 1pm & 4pm – 5 pm, click here
Contact the Help Line by email or phone to see if it’s possible to arrange an appointment outside of the Help Line hours.
Contact Us
Call: 604-558-4740 (Greater Vancouver)
Call: 1-855-474-9777 (Toll-Free: call for no charge outside of Greater Vancouver)
Leave a message at any time, and an advocate will get back to you as soon as possible.
Email: kinshipcare@parentsupportbc.ca
Hours of Operation: Monday, Tuesday 10AM – 2PM & Thursday | Friday from 9AM – 5PM
New: You can meet with our advocates on Zoom, in addition to the phone.
**Help Line advocates can provide fulsome legal information but cannot provide legal advice.
Join to connect with our Kinship Care Help Line Advocates via Messenger Chat and received updates on relevant news, events, and resources. Join Now
Drop-in Indigenous Child Welfare Group
The Kinship Care Help Line advocates hold space for a Cross-Nation group discussion on child welfare matters on the last Wednesday of each month.
This is an opportunity for Indigenous community leaders engaged in the child welfare to learn, inspire and support one another.
Contact our Advocates to find out more info.
Kinship Care updates are a place for the Kinship Care community to learn about and stay updated on advocacy efforts and relavant developments within government, as well as community. Sign-up today to start receiving email updates!
- Kinship Care Update | August 2024
- Kinship Care Update | November 15, 2023
- Kinship Care Update | November 2023
- Kinship Care Update | August 2023
- Kinship Care Update | May 2023
- Kinship Care Update | March 2023
Kinship Care Events
Our advocates
Christina Campbell (she/her)
Advocate Social Worker – to book an appointment with Christina click here.
Christina is a UBC graduate with a Masters Degree in Social Work and over 25-years of community development experience. She joined Parent Support Services Society in 2011 to focus on child welfare. She works on the traditional and unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Nations. She has significant expertise in child protection policy, family law and kinship care. Christina is also the busy parent of two school-aged children.
Cassandra Strain (she/her)
Advocate Social Worker – to book an appointment with Cassandra click here.
Cassandra is a Metis woman with roots in the Lac La Biche area of Northern Alberta, and has ancestors who came from the Red River Valley. Currently, she resides on the traditional and unceded territory of the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc People. She has also been a kinship care provider for her three nieces for a total of 14 years. Cassandra has a Bachelor of Social Work Degree which she completed at NVIT in Merritt, BC.
Cassandra began as a volunteer with Parent Support Services Society of BC in 2018 where she co-facilitated a Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Support Group in Kamloops. Cassandra is now the Program Coordinator for the Interior Region and part-time Advocate Social Worker.
“Being a kinship care provider has been rewarding, yet it has its very unique struggles. Not only are you parenting a child who likely has some trauma or special needs, but you have to navigate very big systems at the same time. It can be overwhelming and isolating. Finding the right supports and learning to be a strong advocate for myself and my nieces has helped me on this journey.”
Our Research
The State of Kinship Care in British Columbia – PSS & University of Northern British Columbia.
What is Advocacy?
At Parent Support Services Society we work to give parents, grandparents, and other kinship caregivers the tools they need in order to advocate for themselves. We do this through our Support Groups and our Kinship Care Help Line. This is individual advocacy.
PSS also participates in systemic advocacy. We are part of larger coalitions such as the First Call: BC Child and Youth Advocacy Society We also sometimes share the concerns we hear from our families – such as the Barriers to Kinship Care, Family Poverty, and the Rights of all children to attend school. We also work with kinship care families as they raise the challenges they face in providing their children with the support they need. Kinship Caregivers have come together and formed their own independent organization that is working for change – Fairness for Children Raised by Relatives.
If you are interested in learning more about PSS’s systemic advocacy contact:
Jane Bouey
604-669-1616 ext. 4
jane.bouey@parentsupportbc.ca
Kinship caregivers advocating for change
Fairness for Children Raised by Relatives
fairness4crr@gmail.com
Advocacy for Indigenous Kinship Care
All Our Relations: Equality for Relatives Raising Relatives
List of advocates
povnet.org