February 2023
September 2022
National Day for Truth and Reconciliation: Calls to Action
September 30th is Canada’s National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (NDTR). On this day, we honour the children who never returned home from Canada’s residential schools along with the Survivors, as well as their families and communities. Remembering the painful and tragic history and acknowledging the ongoing impacts of residentials schools is a vital component of the reconciliation process with Indigenous peoples.
On Canada’s first NDTR, Native Child and Family Services of Toronto (NCFST) announced new commitments dedicated to continuing our journey to decolonize Indigenous child welfare services in the city of Toronto. Over the past year, NCFST went through a critical examination of our child and family well-being services, including standards, service eligibility criteria, assessment tools, and current practices.
NCFST invites you to join us on Friday, September 30th at 10 AM – 12 PM where we will provide a report back to community addressing the priorities for redesigning child welfare to help reduce the number of Indigenous children in care. During this virtual event we will have special guests join in the conversation around the importance of this report and we will share some exciting new announcements.
This event has passed, please find the recording: https://youtu.be/-QNmN1jxlcg
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
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.
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
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.
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.