PROGRAM GUIDE - American Humane Association

Honouring the Circle, Connections and Wisdom
10:30 – 10:45 A.M.
Break
10:45 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
Workshops and
Discussion Groups
Enhancing Connections,
Belonging and Permanence
for Youth
TRACK 2
Youth and Family Engagement
LEVEL
Foundational
Darlene Sykes, Children’s Aid Society of Simcoe County, Barrie, ON, Canada;
and Julie Boivin, The Children’s Aid Society of Sudbury-Manitoulin,
Sudbury, ON, Canada
Research clearly shows that youth raised in the system are: less likely
to complete high school, and even fewer will complete post-secondary
education; less likely to find full time employment; more likely to live
in poverty; more likely to become single parents; and more likely to
experience some form of addiction and/or mental health problem.
FGC/FGDM is one approach that has shown favorable outcomes with
and for youth by developing a plan that focuses on the youth’s needs,
wishes and possibilities, which can help pave the way to a more positive
and successful future. This workshop will encourage participants
to consider using FGC/FGDM as a way to develop and/or enhance
lifelong connections for disenfranchised youth in the child welfare
system in Ontario and throughout Canada, so that they can become
happy, confident, well-adjusted and supported adults. The facilitators’
experiences working with youth moving onto independence through
FGC/FGDM will be shared with the hope of having active participation
from the audience about their experiences and concerns/worries as well.
Together, the workshop group will develop some solutions, ideas and
directions for participants to take back to their home communities.
The Impact of Family Group
Decision Making on First
Nation Families
TRACK 6
Aboriginal Practices
LEVEL
Foundational
Chris McKay, Blue Hills Child and Family Centre, Courtice, ON, Canada;
and Cynthia Trudeau, Wikwemikong First Nation, Wikwemikong, ON,
Canada
This workshop will provide an opportunity for participants to explore
and discuss how bias and power have uniquely impacted the dynamics
of engagement and decision making between First Nation communities
and service providers. What are First Nation communities and service
providers doing to remedy the historic imbalance of power between
First Nation families and child welfare agencies? This workshop will
look at identifying the causes for the imbalance; institutional racism
and colonization; and how FGDM can be a catalyst in identifying the
remedying issues of bias and institutional racism.
1 st Canadian Conference for Family Group Conferencing 18