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Virtual & Day Camp Registration is open for youth 6-16 years of age.
The deadline to apply for both camps is JUNE 15, 2021
VIRTUAL CAMP (6-16 years)
Virtual Camp will be offered to 3 age groups: 6-9, 10-12, and 13-16
DAY CAMP (6-12 years)
Day camp programs will be offered on the land in alignment with the Government of Ontario, Toronto Public Health, and Ontario Camps Association safety provisions. A guide will be provided to families in their welcome package with further details.
Campers will be placed within small groups between the age of 6-12.
We will offer a SCARBOROUGH (Joseph Brant PS*) and DOWNTOWN (Queen Alexandra*) location.
*Permits are pending for both locations.
APPLICATION PROCESS (BOTH CAMPS)
- Campers are only to apply for one opportunity VIRTUAL OR DAY CAMP (as they run at the same time).
- Applications must be completed by Camper’s Legal Parent/Guardian. For children who are in the care of NCFST, this means the NCFST Worker must complete the application/consent for the child (not the Resource Home).
- An application must be completed for each Camper. The deadline to apply for both camps is JUNE 15, 2021
- Applications submitted may not be all accepted due to numbers, selection criteria. Parent/Guardian/Resource will be notified of application status via email by June 18.
Submit a camper application for VIRTUAL CAMP (ages 6-16)
Submit a camper application for DAY CAMP (ages 6-12)
For more info email: [email protected]
GRUNDY LAKE OVERNIGHT CAMP (FAMILY CAMPS)
We are still in the process with solidifying our plans for Grundy Lake Overnight Camp, which due to COVID19 we hope to offer as a Family Camp this year. By offering small, family-cohort camps, we can ensure camper safety and compliance to all Ministry directives.
We will be asking that families submit an expression of interest (starting June 15) for this year’s very limited-space Family Camp (should we be able to offer). The link will be posted June 15th for families to add their name to the list. Stay tuned!
You’re Invited to attend a Virtual Grand Opening of the new Mount Dennis Aboriginal Child and Family Centre
Native Child and Family Services of Toronto is excited to celebrate National Indigenous Peoples Day with a Virtual Grand Opening of the new Mount Dennis Aboriginal Child and Family Centre. This intergenerational and multi-service centre will include an Aboriginal Head Start and an EarlyON that will provide children and families with a place of health and wellness in the city of Toronto for years to come.
We are delighted to invite you to attend this virtual event on Monday, June 21st at 10 AM where you will learn more about the culture-based programs and services developed to support Aboriginal children and their families. Please join us and meet the dedicated staff, experience a virtual walk-through of the new site, and celebrate with our staff and community.
We would be honoured to have you as our guest.
REGISTER HERE
*Alternatively, you can copy and paste this link: https://kastio.com/ncfstmtdennis into Chrome, Microsoft Edge or Safari to register*
NCFST Statement on the 215 Indigenous Children found buried at an Indian Residential School in Kamloops BC.
It is with tremendous grief that Native Child and Family Services of Toronto (NCFST) expresses our deepest condolences and prayers to the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc community and all the West Coast Nations for the 215 Indigenous children found buried at the Kamloops Indian Residential School in British Columbia.
For the 215 kids, 430 parents, 860 grandparents, and for the innumerable aunties, uncles, cousins, friends, and relatives NCFST) stands in unity with all our relations during this time of immense loss and healing. Children are the root of our culture; they are our sacred bundles and gifts from Creator. As we walk in solidarity with the community, we recognize the tremendous weight of these losses and the importance of creating space for folks to come together to grieve, heal, and honour the lives of those who have moved onto the Spirit World. NCFST will be providing sacred fires and other ceremonies and supports at several of our locations that span the North, South, East, and West locations of the City over the next nine days to ensure staff and community can safely offer tobacco and prayers.
The discovery of the mass grave is a reminder of the genocide perpetuated by Indian Residential Schools and has triggered deep emotional responses across Turtle Island. The intergenerational trauma caused by the Residential Schools, with the stated policy to “Kill the Indian to save the Child”, is a stark reminder that more action is needed to fully address current and past injustices committed against Indigenous peoples, communities, and nations.
Now is the time to act on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 Calls to Action. Now is the time for accountability and concrete action to achieve true reconciliation and devolution of services to Indigenous organizations and communities. Moreover, the TRC made six recommendations regarding missing children and burial grounds, including a call for the federal government to work with churches, Indigenous communities, and former residential school students “to establish and maintain an online registry of residential school cemeteries, including, where possible, plot maps showing the location of deceased residential school children. NCFST supports these calls to action including searching the grounds at other former residential schools to continue the journey of truth and reconciliation and support the healing journey that many families will need.
NCFST was founded by the urban Aboriginal community of Toronto to address the aftermath of Indian Residential Schools and mainstream child welfare. Over more than three decades we have grown into Canada’s largest multi-service urban Aboriginal agency providing holistic, culture-based programs and services and child protection for Aboriginal children and families. An Elder once asked, if it takes three days to walk into the bush, how many days will it take to walk back out again? The answer, of course, is three days. Canada’s colonial legacy runs deep, and we know it will take many years to address it. We must walk together at a brisk pace not only for all the children we have lost walking into the bush, but for all of those who have and will be born as we walk out again.
With our deepest respect and love.
All my relations
If you need support call 1-866-925-4419
The Indian Residential Schools Crisis Line is available 24-hours a day for anyone experiencing pain or distress as a result of his or her Residential school experience.
Let the children play! Getting children and youth outdoors now for an active recovery.
Native Child and Family Services of Toronto, SickKids and researchers from the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work at the University of Toronto are sending a call to action to prioritize children’s health and development during the COVID-19 pandemic
As Ontario strives to rebuild and recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, action is needed now to prioritize our children’s optimal health and development. By applying Indigenous tools and approaches to well-being through access to the outdoors and physical activity, we can help to reduce the consequences of the pandemic and shape the future trajectories for a generation at risk. This call to action was created in partnership between Native Child and Family Services of Toronto (NCFST), The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) and researchers from the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work at the University of Toronto.
Read More Here: https://www.sickkids.ca/en/news/archive/2021/let-children-play/
#paediatrics #pediatrics #childhealth #childrensmentalhealth #NCFST #IndigenousCommunity #MentalHealthSupport
Press Release: New study is a step in the right direction to help reshape child welfare in Ontario
Monday, May 3, 2021
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
New study is a step in the right direction to help reshape child welfare in Ontario
The official release of the first study to examine child welfare investigations involving First Nations children in Ontario.
[Toronto, ON]: A new study seeks to understand the differences between child welfare investigations involving First Nations children and non-Indigenous children.
The Canadian Child Welfare Research Portal (CWRP) and the Association of Native Child and Family Services Agencies of Ontario (ANCFSAO) release the first report of the First Nations Ontario Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect-2018 (FNOIS‑2018), a study of child welfare investigations involving First Nations children. The FNOIS is embedded within the larger provincial study: the Ontario Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (OIS), which released its sixth provincial study last year.
The sample includes 7,115 child maltreatment-related investigations reported by 18 child welfare agencies (15 Children’s Aid Societies and 3 Indigenous Child and Family Well-Being Agencies) across Ontario in 2018.
From the rates of investigations to the categories of maltreatment to ongoing services and child placements, the report seeks to explore the full spectrum of the child investigation lifecycle. “Understanding the reasons why our children come into the child welfare system is critical in reshaping a system that struggles to collectively meet the needs of our people.” Amber Crowe, ANCFSAO Board President.
Researchers, led by Professor Barbara Fallon from the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social, University of Toronto funded through a Social Science and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Chair in Child Welfare, note that the differences between First Nations and non-Indigenous children “must be understood within the context of colonialism and the legacy of trauma,” two considerations that perpetuate the overrepresentation of First Nations children in the child welfare system.
“The research speaks to the stories of First Nations children and families connected to the child welfare system. Their stories continue to enrich us with the knowledge that we can do better.” Jeffrey Schiffer, Executive Director of Native Child and Family Services Toronto.
The FNOIS-2018 was gifted the name Mashkiwenmi-daa Noojimowin: Let’s Have Strong Minds for the Healing from Elder Danette Restoule, the Elder-in-Residence at the ANCFSAO. The name speaks to the hard work that must be done to address the intergenerational effects the child welfare system has had and continues to have on First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families.
This report excludes data involving Métis and Inuit children, analyses concerning their intersection with the child welfare system will be guided by Métis and Inuit communities.
Copies of the First Nations Ontario Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect-2018 can be viewed and downloaded from the Canadian Child Welfare Research Portal at www.cwrp.ca and the Association of Native Child and Family Services Agencies of Ontario at www.ancfsao.ca.
About the Canadian Child Welfare Research Portal
The Canadian Child Welfare Research Portal (CWRP) provides access to up-to-date research on Canadian child welfare programs and policies. The Portal is a partnership supported by McGill University’s Centre for Research on Children and Families (CRCF), the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work at the University of Toronto, the Faculty of Social Work at the University of Calgary, PART (Practice and Research Together), and PolicyWise for Children and Families.
About the Association of Native Child and Family Services Agencies of Ontario
The Association of Native Child and Family Services Agencies of Ontario (ANCFSAO) was established in 1994 and is mandated to “build a better life for all Indigenous children through promoting the delivery of culturally-based services to Indigenous children, families, and communities.” Combined, these agencies serve 90% of on-reserve communities in Ontario. Through ANCFSAO’s leadership, they support 11 designated and one pre-mandated ICFWBA who provide decolonized child welfare services to their communities.
Media Contacts
Amber Crowe [email protected]
Jeffrey Schiffer [email protected]
Barbara Fallon [email protected]
Malvern Aboriginal Child and Family Centre – Virtual Grand Opening
Toronto, Ont. – April 12, 2021 – Today, Native Child and Family Services of Toronto (NCFST) celebrates the opening of the new Malvern Aboriginal Child and Family Centre, located at 31 Tapscott Road in Scarborough. This new multi-service centre will provide a new EarlyON Centre, as well as holistic, culture-based programs and services for Aboriginal children, their families and caregivers.
The virtual grand opening includes a virtual walk-through of the new site, a traditional opening, video statements from Minister of Education Stephen Lecce, Mayor John Tory and Native Child and Family Services of Toronto’s Executive Director, Dr. Jeffrey Schiffer, with an overview of the child-centred, family focused and community driven supports that will be delivered at this new centre.
EarlyON Child and Family Centre offers free programs to parents and caregivers and their children from birth to six years of age. The centre welcomes families to participate in programs that strengthens adult-child relationships, supports parent education and fosters healthy child development. Qualified professionals help families and caregivers find support, get advice, make personal connections and access a network of resources.
Funding for this initiative was provided by the Ministry of Education as part of the Journey Together Initiative – a response to the Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action report. The projects were designed by the community through a needs assessment led by Toronto Aboriginal Support Services Council (TASSC).
As EarlyON Centres are currently under a provincial closure order due to COVID-19, Native Child and Family Services of Toronto will continue to offer virtual and remote services from these new locations and continue to offer land-based programming in City of Toronto parks until they are permitted to open.