How to make a complaint

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Making a complaint through the ministry

Note: How the Ministry of Children and Family Development manages complaints may not always be exactly as described here. Call your local office to get exact information on how to make a complaint in your region. You can find the phone number in the blue pages of your phone book under "British Columbia — Children & Family Development - Ministry of" or by calling Enquiry BC at 1-800-663-7867 (call no charge).

There are five steps in the ministry's complaint procedure:

Step 1: Try to work out a solution directly with the ministry worker involved.

Step 2: Contact the supervisor or team leader.

Step 3: Contact the person the supervisor reports to.

Step 4: Make a formal complaint.

Step 5: Ask for an independent review.

You have the right to ask for an interpreter if you need one at any step of the complaint process.

For more information about the complaint procedure, go to the ministry's Make a Formal Complaint Web page.

If you're a youth in care, find out how to make a complaint in the ministry's online Know Your Rights — A Guide to Rights for Young People In Care.

Step 1: Try to work out a solution directly with the ministry worker involved

Your first step should be to try to work out a solution directly with the social worker or other staff person involved. (If it's clearly impossible to resolve the complaint at this level, go directly to Step 4.)

Tips on how to work out a conflict with ministry staff

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Step 2: Contact the supervisor or team leader

If you can't resolve the problem by talking to the person involved, and you still feel you have a valid complaint, the next step is to make an appointment with the worker's supervisor or team leader. Find out who that person is by calling your local ministry office. (You can find the phone number in the blue pages of your phone book under "British Columbia — Children & Family Development - Ministry of" or by calling Enquiry BC at 1-800-663-7867).

Tips on preparing to meet with a ministry supervisor

Step 3: Contact the person the supervisor reports to

If you're still unsatisfied, you can take your complaint to the next level — to the supervisor's "boss." That person may be called the "operational manager." He or she has responsibility for all the programs and services delivered by the offices in his or her geographic area. You can find out who the right person is by calling your local ministry office. (You can find the phone number in the blue pages of your telephone directory under "British Columbia — Children & Family Development - Ministry of" or by calling Enquiry BC at 1-800-663-7867.)

Follow the Tips on preparing to meet with a ministry supervisor and add the details of your experience with the supervisor when you explain the steps you've taken to resolve the problem.

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Step 4: Make a formal complaint

If you can't resolve the problem at the local level (Steps 1, 2, and 3), you can make a formal complaint to the ministry. To start the complaint process, call your local ministry office and ask to speak to the complaints manager for your region. This manager may also be called a "quality assurance manager" or a "complaints reviewer." The complaints manager is a ministry employee who doesn't work directly with the people you're complaining about.

The complaints manager will want to help solve problems at the local level if at all possible and should make sure there's a fair process throughout.

To find the right complaints manager, call the client co-ordinator at:

250-387-7027 (Victoria)

Or call Enquiry BC at 604-660-2421 (Greater Vancouver) and ask to be transferred to 250-387-7027 (Greater Vancouver).

Or call Enquiry BC (call no charge) at 1-800-663-7867 and ask to be transferred to 250-387-7027.

Or look at the ministry's Contact Us Web page.

Tips on making a formal complaint about ministry staff

What happens next?

You'll get a letter from the complaints manager letting you know your complaint was received and explaining what will happen next. The complaints manager will arrange to speak with you at length either in person or by phone. You'll get a decision within 30 working days of when you first talked to the complaints manager. You should receive an explanation about any delays.

The complaints manager will mail the final decision to you. He or she may also discuss it with you by phone or in person.

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Step 5: Ask for an independent review

If you don't get a decision within 30 working days, or if you disagree with the decision, you can ask for an independent review. Contact the complaints manager, who will tell you what you have to do to request an independent review.

Making a complaint outside the ministry

If the ministry's complaint procedure doesn't work out, you can also make a complaint to the Board of Registration for Social Workers of BC. First find out if your social worker is registered with the board. Call:

604-737-4916 (in Vancouver)

If the social worker is registered, ask for information about complaint procedures.

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