Latest News
2021-2022 NCFST Annual Report
Native Child and Family Services of Toronto is pleased to release our 2021-2022 Annual Report. We would like to express our deep gratitude to our partners, funders, and community members for supporting us through this past year of uncertainty, growth, and development. Please read the detailed report on the progress our agency has made during such a challenging year.
In addition to our Annual Report, we have also released our Audited Financial Statements for 2021-2022.
This year’s Annual Report and Financial Statements, as well as previous Annual Reports and Financial Statements, are also available on our Policies and Publications page.
Join us for our Virtual Annual General Meeting on June 23rd, 2022
Native Child and Family Services of Toronto cordially invites staff, community members, funders, partners,
and all our friends to join us in our Virtual Annual General Meeting on Thursday, June 23rd, 2022.
This event has passed.
Once registered, you will receive a confirmation email containing the link to attend and the option to add this webinar to your calendar of choice.
Decolonizing Child Welfare Webinar Learning Series #5 – June 28, 2022
Webinar #5 of our Decolonizing Child Welfare Learning Series focuses on Holistic Healing, Prevention and Early Intervention programs.
NCFST offers a wide array of programs available to children, youth, individuals and families open to all self-identifying community members, whether or not a child welfare file is currently open. Holistic programs seek to empower families to access resources and supports that can avert crises that may necessitate child welfare, and to support Youth in strengthening resilience and personal growth in contemporary cultural contexts.
In this webinar, we describe how our culturally grounded holistic healing and early intervention services work to provide the necessary resources and supports to families to prevent the need for Child and Family Wellbeing (child welfare) involvement or help families succeed so that time involved in child welfare services is minimized. Please join us to learn how our services can work together and can work with external Indigenous and mainstream services to strengthen parents and children at risk of involvement in child welfare services or who are already working with child welfare services as part of their healing journey.
This event has passed, please find the recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1mziO-41Uc
Red Dress Commemorative Art Project – Virtual Reveal Event
In honour of National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirit People (MMIWG2S), NCFST revealed the Red Dress Commemorative Art Project in a virtual presentation. This Art Project was created to honour the lives of MMIWG2S through the facilitation of virtual “Bead In” community engagement sessions. These “Bead In” sessions were guided with cultural teachings and beading instructions along with a variety of guest speakers who each shared their own experiences, stories, and ways of healing trauma through art.
Participants created two beaded red dresses: one red dress was beaded to keep in honour of #MMIWG2S and to memorialize a family member or friend, and the second beaded red dress was given to #NCFST to contribute towards a community art exhibit, including a photobook, that will become a living legacy of their artistic expressions.
Chi-miigwetch (Thank you) to the Women and Gender Equality Canada (WAGE) for their support with this project and many thanks to our Support Staff, Elders, Knowledge Carriers, Beading Facilitator, and all the Guest Speakers. This community art exhibit will continue to honour our lost loved ones and raise further awareness of MMIWG2S.
Watch this video to hear teachings, impact stories, ways to navigate trauma, as well as ways to increase #MMIWG2S+ awareness.
Decolonizing Child Welfare Webinar Learning Series #4 – Recording
Webinar #4 of our Decolonizing Child Welfare Learning Series focuses on our Family Finding program. At NCFST we know that the removal of children can leave a lasting legacy of trauma and the longer a child remains in care, the greater the risk of negative life outcomes. The best way to reduce harm, avoid further trauma and keep children connected to their culture and community is to keep children in the embrace of extended family.
The Family Finding model offers methods and strategies to locate and engage extended family, as well as First Nation, Metis and Inuit communities for children/youth currently living in out-of-care placements. The process identifies relatives and other supportive adults in planning for the permanency of the child and a major component of the program is to facilitate the child’s connection to their community and culture in order to promote a strong sense of cultural identity. Please join us as we share what steps we take to find extended family and community to step in to create a circle of care to support children, youth and families.
Join our host Terri Jaffe, and the following panelists:
- Vivian Roy, Knowledge Keeper;
- Mary-Ann Rice, Supervisor of Family Finding
- Tammi Ferguson, Kinship Support Worker
- Jeffrey Schiffer, Executive Director;
- Mark Atanasoff, Director of Quality Assurance & Decolonization.
Click to access the presentation file
Below is the recorded webinar available for viewing.
Decolonizing Child Welfare Webinar Learning Series #4 – April 22, 2022
Webinar #4 of our Decolonizing Child Welfare Learning Series focuses on our Family Finding program. At NCFST we know that the removal of children can leave a lasting legacy of trauma and the longer a child remains in care, the greater the risk of negative life outcomes. The best way to reduce harm, avoid further trauma and keep children connected to their culture and community is to keep children in the embrace of extended family.
The Family Finding model offers methods and strategies to locate and engage extended family, as well as First Nation, Metis and Inuit communities for children/youth currently living in out-of-care placements. The process identifies relatives and other supportive adults in planning for the permanency of the child and a major component of the program is to facilitate the child’s connection to their community and culture in order to promote a strong sense of cultural identity. Please join us as we share what steps we take to find extended family and community to step in to create a circle of care to support children, youth and families.