Second

Session, 46th General Assembly

Elizabeth II, 2009

BILL 35

AN ACT TO AMEND THE

ADOPTION ACT, THE CHILD CARE SERVICES ACT, THE

CHILD, YOUTH AND FAMILY SERVICES ACT AND THE REGIONAL HEALTH

AUTHORITIES REGULATIONS

Received and Read the First Time ...................................................................................................

Second Reading .................................................................................................................................

Committee ............................................................................................................................................

Third Reading .....................................................................................................................................

Royal Assent ......................................................................................................................................

HONOURABLE

JOAN BURKE

Minister of Child, Youth and Family Services

Ordered

to be printed by the Honourable House of Assembly

EXPLANATORY NOTES

This Bill would amend the Adoption Act , the Child Care Services Act , the Child,

Youth and Family Services Act and the Regional

Health Authorities Regulations to effect the transfer of operational

responsibility for services provided under that legislation to the newly

created Department of Child, Youth and Family Services from the regional health

authorities where it presently lies.

The Bill would also provide that the

minister would have the power to establish an orderly transition process for

the transfer of the duties and responsibilities of the regional health

authorities to the department.

A BILL

AN ACT TO AMEND THE ADOPTION ACT, THE CHILD

CARE SERVICES ACT, THE CHILD, YOUTH AND FAMILY SERVICES ACT AND THE REGIONAL HEALTH

AUTHORITIES REGULATIONS

Analysis

ADOPTION

ACT

S.2 Amdt.

Definitions

S.4 R&S

Provincial director and directors

S.55 Amdt.

Provincial director's right to information

CHILD

CARE SERVICES ACT

S.2 Amdt.

Definitions

S.4 R&S

Directors

S.5 Amdt.

Provincial director

S.12 Amdt.

Inspectors

S.16 Amdt.

Regulations

CHILD,

YOUTH AND FAMILY

SERVICES ACT

S.2 Amdt.

Interpretation

S.3 Rep.

Responsibilities of minister

S.4 Amdt.

Directors

S.11 Amdt.

Youth care agreement

S.35 Amdt.

Financial responsibility

S.75 Amdt.

Minister's advisory committee

S.76 R&S

Custody review committees

REGIONAL

HEALTH AUTHORITIES REGULATIONS

S.4 Amdt.

Duties of regional health authorities

17. Consequential

18. Commencement and transitional

Be it enacted by the Lieutenant-Governor and

House of Assembly in Legislative Session convened, as follows:

ADOPTION ACT

SNL1999 cA-2.1

as amended

(1) Paragraph 2(d.1) of the Adoption Act is repealed .

(2) Paragraph 2(

o) of the Act is amended by

deleting the number "1" and substituting the number "2".

(3) Paragraph 2(

t) of the Act is amended by

deleting the number "2" and substituting the number "1".

Section 4 of the Act is repealed and the

following substituted:

Provincial

director and directors

(1) There

shall be appointed an employee of the government of the province to be the

provincial director of adoptions who shall be responsible for

(

a) the selection of a child for placement for

adoption and the selection of an adult or adults with whom a child being

adopted is to be placed;

(

b) interprovincial adoptions;

(

c) adoptions made in accordance with the

convention;

(

d) monitoring, reviewing and establishing

province wide policies and standards for adoptions and adoption agencies; and

(

e) reviewing and establishing standards and

qualifications for adoption agency licensing.

(2) There shall be employed, in the manner

provided by law, those directors necessary for the purpose of this Act.

3. Subsections 55(1) and (2) of the Act are

repealed and the following substituted:

Provincial

director's right to information

(1) The

provincial director has the right to information that is in the custody or

control of

(

a) a department of the government of the

province; or

(

b) a public body as defined by paragraph 2(

p) of

the Access to Information and Protection

of Privacy Act,

that is necessary to enable him or her to

locate a person for the purpose of this Act or is necessary for the health or

safety of an adopted person.

(2) A department, board, commission or other body

referred to in subsection (1) that has custody or control of information to

which the provincial director is entitled under subsection (1) shall, upon

request, disclose that information to the provincial director.

CHILD CARE SERVICES ACT

SNL1998 cC-11.1

as amended

4. Paragraph 2(a.1) of the Child Care Services Act is repealed.

Section 4 of the Act is repealed and the

following substituted:

Directors

4. There

shall be employed, in the manner prescribed by law, those directors necessary

for the purpose of this Act.

6. Subsections 5(2) and (3) of the Act are

repealed.

7. Subsection 12(1) of the Act is repealed and the

following substituted:

Inspectors

(1) A

director may appoint a person or designate an employee of the government as an

inspector for the purpose of this Act.

8. Paragraph 16(

r) of the Act is repealed and the

following substituted:

(

r) respecting the conditions, terms and manner in

which claims for funds may be made to the department and respecting the manner

in which claims for those funds are to be calculated and paid out;

CHILD, YOUTH AND FAMILY

SERVICES ACT

SNL1998 cC-12.1

as amended

9. (1) Paragraph 2(1)(

a) of the Child, Youth and Family Services Act is

repealed.

(2) Paragraph 2(1)(

f) of the Act is repealed and

the following substituted:

(f) "director" means a director of

child, youth and family services appointed under

section 4;

(3) Subparagraph 2(1)(n)(ii) of the Act is

repealed and the following substituted:

(ii) employed by the province,

Section 3 of the Act is repealed.

11. Subsections 4(1) and (1.1) of the Act are

repealed and the following substituted:

Directors

(1) There

may be appointed, in the manner provided by law, those directors of child,

youth and family services necessary for the purpose of this Act.

12. Subsection 11(4) of the Act is repealed and the

following substituted:

(4) Where a youth is provided with services, the

cost of those services may be recovered by the province and an action or other

proceeding for the recovery of the cost may be instituted in the name of the province.

13. Subsection 35(2) of the Act is repealed and the

following substituted:

(2) An order under subsection (1) shall be for the

the period the judge considers appropriate.

14. Paragraph 75(2)(

b) of the Act is repealed.

Section 76 of the Act is repealed and the

following substituted:

Custody review

committees

(1) The

minister shall establish a review committee for each region of the province which

shall review annually and report to the director of the region for which the

committee was appointed on the care of all children in the continuous custody

of that director.

(2) Each review committee shall be composed of

(

a) an employee of the department;

(

b) a parent of a child who is receiving or has

received services under this Act or a predecessor Act; and

(

c) a member of each appropriate professional discipline

employed in the region for which the committee is being appointed.

REGIONAL HEALTH AUTHORITIES REGULATIONS

NLR 18/08

as amended

16. Paragraph 4(

f) of the Regional Health Authorities Regulations is repealed.

Consequential

17. A reference to a regional health authority in

(

a) an order of a court or a director;

(

b) a licence or a variation, suspension or

cancellation of a licence; or

(

c) an agreement

issued or entered into under

an Act

amended by this Act shall be considered to be a reference to the province and

the order, licence or variation, suspension or cancellation of the licence or

the agreement continues to have the effect it had before this change of reference.

Commencement and

transitional

(1) This Act or a

section or subsection of

this Act comes into force on a day or days to be proclaimed by the

Lieutenant-Governor in Council.

(2) Notwithstanding the coming into force of this

Act or a

section or subsection of this Act, the minister may direct a regional

health authority to continue to

(

a) provide a service;

(

b) carry out a responsibility; or

(

c) administer a program

it was required or authorized to

provide, carry out or administer immediately before this Act came into force

under

an Act or regulation amended by this Act and, where the minister so

directs, the authority shall

(

d) provide the service;

(

e) carry out the responsibility; or

(

f) administer the program

until the minister otherwise directs,

and the authority has the same authority to

(

g) provide the service;

(

h) carry out the responsibility; or

(

i) administer the program

it had immediately before the coming

into force of this Act or a

section or subsection of this Act.

Earl G. Tucker, Queen's Printer