The Government of Saskatchewan has made changes to strengthen The Adoption Act, 1998 and The Adoption Regulations, 2003 to better serve Saskatchewan children and their families.
“There has been a lot of work done, and a significant amount of change to both The Adoption Act and The Child and Family Services Act, along with the relevant Regulations, over the past few years,” Social Services Minister Paul Merriman said. “This work started in 2012, and is an ongoing process. The changes coming into force today will ensure that our practices and programs continue to meet the ever evolving needs of the vulnerable children and families we serve
The changes to the Act and Regulations include:
• increasing the number of days for birth parents to revoke their consent to an adoption from 14 to 21, aligning Saskatchewan with most other jurisdictions in Canada;
• providing better guidelines around how a child’s voice may be heard in court;
• ensuring requirements will now be the same for children adopted by Saskatchewan residents no matter if the child’s country of origin is a signatory to The Hague Convention or not;
• establish a mechanism to enable communication between an adopted child and their minor birth sibling(s); and
• ensuring benefits follow adoptive children with no supports disrupted in the event their adoptive parents pass away by allowing the creation of assisted adoption agreements with subsequent legal guardians.
“The amended legislation and regulations support our overall goals by increasing prevention and support for families, working with First Nations and Métis peoples and moving forward with a renewal of the child welfare system,” Merriman said.
The amended legislation and regulations are available online at www.qp.gov.sk.ca.
