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HALIFAX — The organization that has trained and advocated on behalf of Nova Scotia foster parents for five decades says the provincial government plans to cut all its funding next year.
The Federation of Foster Families Nova Scotia says the government slashed 52 per cent of the foundation’s $1.1-million funding as part the deficit budget, passed in March. It says the Opportunities and Social Development Department then disclosed in June that it plans to scrap the remaining funding next year.
“It will certainly weaken the voice of the (foster) parents, for sure. Whether or not it weakens the whole system, it depends on how they go about training,” foundation board chair Christopher Higgins said in an interview Tuesday.
Some of the federation’s training programs will now be delivered by the government, but Higgins said the cuts will still hurt recruitment. He said the foundation was working with the department on a program to connect foster parents with potential recruits, but it was cancelled when the first budget reduction was announced. The department said Thursday it now plans to offer the program itself.
Premier Tim Houston’s government came under fire this year when it announced more than $300 million in program cuts as part of a $1.2-billion deficit budget. Programs relating to the arts, First Nations, African Nova Scotians and people with disabilities were all targeted. Funding was partially restored after weeks of protests and public outcry but cuts to the foundation remained.
Higgins said the 50-year-old organization has traditionally had annual meetings with the minister to advocate on issues, such as a lack of an inflationary increase in direct foster parent funding last year. He said its request to speak about the cuts with minister Susan Corkum-Greek was rejected. Department spokesperson Nicole MacDonald said in an email that the government has spent more than $34 million redesigning the foster care system since 2022. She said direct funding to foster parents has increased from $570 per month to more than $3,000 currently and that the amount will not be reduced.
MacDonald said the work of the foundation has increasingly been handled by small regional groups of foster homes that support each other with one “hub home” acting as a central resource.
“A transition of services and supports from the federation to the department is underway to ensure foster caregivers continue to receive the critical services and supports they need,” she wrote.
Higgins said the department is now counting on smaller regional groups to bring foster parents’ concerns forward, but they currently only exist in the Halifax and Sydney areas.
He said he’s also concerned about a lack of support for foster parents during investigations into possible abuse. The foundation employs an allegation support worker who can help foster parents navigate the system and can arrange legal services if needed.
He said there were 21 such cases last year, all of which the department found were without merit.
“For 21 families that were found to not be in that abusive situation, that would be a huge loss of support for them,” said Higgins.
MacDonald said support services for foster parents facing allegations would move to the government. She did not address a question about potential conflicts of interest as the department acts as both investigator and support contact for foster parents.
Liberal Iain Rankin said he expects the public will see more cuts involving vulnerable populations in the future and worries about who will be in the corner of foster families with their independent advocate gone.
“It’s not going to be the only organization that’s being cut to nothing. So funding for an organization like this is needed to provide that independence,” he said in an interview.
NDP critic Lina Hamid said in a statement that foster families are upset they’re being asked to do more with less, calling the cuts shocking, distressing and cruel.
“Telling families this work will now be handled by the department isn’t good enough,” she said.
Higgins says being a foster parent is a tough job, with children often coming into a new home with their own trauma.
“Some days are amazing and we see great strides with the kids who come into our care,” he said.
“Other days are challenging and we see some behaviours that shock us as well.”
Nova Scotia has been trying to improve the foster care system for more than a decade. In 2013, the auditor general found foster children were not being adequately monitored and social workers were missing deadlines to contact them in 74 per cent of cases.
In 2015 the province stepped up efforts to recruit LGBTQ+ families, along with members of the African Nova Scotian and Mi’kmaw communities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 28, 2026.
Devin Stevens, The Canadian Press
