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So far Ola has created 86 blog entries.

August 2022

Decolonizing Child Welfare Webinar Learning Series #6 – August 23, 2022

Webinar #6 of our Decolonizing Child Welfare Learning Series focuses on the services we offer when vulnerable children must be removed from unsafe circumstances and placed in alternative care. In this webinar, we address some of the most crucial questions arising from the experience of Indigenous children and families with colonial child welfare systems.

  • How do we meet the holistic needs of children and youth placed in care? What are the dimensions that guide us?
  • How do we work alongside the Alternative caregivers to guide them, in helping our children and youth who are placed in their homes?
  • How do we work to keep children connected with culture, family and community while they are in care?
  • How do we work to keep children to family, extended family and community and culture?

Please join us to explore the programs, resources we use, and the challenges we face as we work to help children to heal and stay connected to family, community and culture.

This event has passed, please find the recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M00RnANQRR0

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June 2022

Decolonizing Child Welfare Webinar Learning Series #5 – Recording

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. We discuss how our services work together and 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.

Join our host Terri Jaffe, and the following panelists:

  • Pat Green, Knowledge Carrier;
  • Daniella Robinson, Supervisor of Bekaadendang Program
  • Jennifer Gray, Supervisor of Early Years
  • Jessica Wilson, Manager of Early Years & Community Programs
  • Julianna Meawasige, Supervisor of Aboriginal Child and Family Centre
  • Siobhan McCarthy, Director of Holistic Services
  • Jeffrey Schiffer, Executive Director;
  • Mark Atanasoff, Director of Quality Assurance & Decolonization

Below is the recorded webinar available for viewing.

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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.

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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.

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May 2022

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

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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.

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April 2022

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.

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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.

This event has passed, please find the recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0wMszz6g9Q

Select here to view previous webinars

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February 2022

Open Requests for Proposals at NCFST

Strategic Planning Services

Native Child and Family Services of Toronto (NCFST) is requesting proposals from consulting firms to facilitate and prepare a strategic plan for the upcoming five years. The strategic plan will define a long-term vision for NCFST with clearly defined priorities for the period of 2022-2027.

Deadline for Submission of Final Proposal: March 2, 2022 2 p.m. (EST)

Download – RFP for Strategic Planning Services

Addendum – RFP for Strategic Planning Services

 

 

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Decolonizing Child Welfare Webinar Learning Series #3 – Recording

Thank you to everyone who joined us on February 25th for our third webinar in this learning series.

Webinar #3 focuses on the ongoing services we provide when protection concerns have been verified and when a family’s file remains open to our Child and Family Wellbeing teams.

  1. Why do cases stay open for longer-term services?
  2. How do we make decisions about whether a family’s file should remain open?
  3. Why do some cases go to court? How is the decision to go to court made?

Hear how we seek to empower families to reach their goals, how we connect families and children to external and internal supports, healing services and how we decide when a child and family wellbeing case is ready to be closed

Join our host Terri Jaffe, and the following panelists:

  • Vivian Roy, Knowledge Keeper;
  • Jamie Toguri, Supervisor, Child and Family Wellbeing;
  • Miguel Torres, Child and Family Wellbeing;
  • Jeffrey Schiffer, Executive Director;
  • Mark Atanasoff, Director of Quality Assurance & Decolonization.

Click to access the presentation files

Below is the recorded webinar available for viewing.

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