The Child, Youth and Family Services Act

The Child, Youth and Family Services Act (CYFSA) replaces the Child Protection Act. It was passed in the fall 2023 sitting of the Legislative Assembly and was enacted on September 9, 2024.

The CYFSA is about what is best for children in PEI. It requires that the best interests of the child be the most important consideration in all decisions made under the Act by the courts and anyone else involved in child protection cases. It also creates more opportunities to offer families preventative and early intervention supports through Child and Family Services.

At the core of the CYFSA are the principles in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Federal An Act Respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families, and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Key Changes and Highlights

The best interests of the child are the paramount consideration for all persons acting or making decisions under the Act;
Supports for grandparents and other alternative caregivers are enhanced by clarifying legal custody (temporarily or permanently) for children who require out of home placements for child protection concerns;
Collaborative approaches, including family group conferencing and mediation, will enable families to plan and make decisions together about the safety of children. In some situations, this can serve as an alternative to court in resolving child protection concerns;
The length of time a child can be in the temporary care of the Director of Child Protection is reduced to assist with permanency planning and increase the stability of the child’s home environment;
Youth aging out of care will be eligible to access supports until the age of 25 (up from 21) to help them transition into adulthood;
Ability to offer families more preventative and early intervention supports through Child and Family Services, such as Family Ties and the Triple P Program, helping prevent families from requiring protective services;
There is no age-limit for children to access court-ordered legal counsel;
Authority for administering the Act has changed from the Director of Child Protection to the Minister of Social Development and Seniors to align with practices in other jurisdictions and support increased transparency and accountability.
To read the CYFSA in full, click here.