The series consists of Information and Privacy Commissioner investigations resulting from freedom of information requests from citizens of BC to the Ministry of Children and Family Development and its predecessors on matters such as adoption, children in foster care, allegations of abuse in the home, and support services for children requiring additional care. The request for access to records and subsequent investigations were conducted by the Information and Privacy/Records office, Ministry of Children and Family Development (2001-) and its predecesors; the reviews were conducted by the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner (OIPC). Following the completion of the freedom of information request, the applicant may ask the OIPC to review decisions to release, not release, or sever records made by the ministry. This series of records consists of a copy of the original access request, correspondence between staff and the applicant, correspondence between the ministry and the OIPC, submissions to the OIPC, and a copy of the final report. The files often contain intake reports and packages, investigation and interview notes, acknowledgement of receipt of records forms, and copies of materials such as criminal records, social worker handwritten notes, child protection checklists, adoption files, medical records, and judicial records.
The records are arranged by applicant surname and are classified as either family support services or adoption services. The records include copies of correspondence, memoranda, reports, information packages, copies of affidavits, checklists, and legal files. The records in this series were classified as 290-20 in the BC Government Administrative Records Classification System (ARCS). Ministry staff also assigned an additional number that consisted of the year of the investigation followed by a sequential number.
British Columbia. Ministry of Children and Family Development