Kawartha-Haliburton Children’s Aid Society recognizes the disparity and disproportionalities experienced by Black Canadians after coming into contact with the child welfare system. In 2016 the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) examined the involvement of racialized children and youth in the child welfare system and found:
-
- Black children were over-represented in admissions into care at 30% of agencies (8 of 27).
- The proportion of Black children admitted into care was 2.2 times higher than their proportion in the child population.
- Black children are more likely to be the subject of maltreatment-related investigations than White children.
We are committed to reducing this over-representation and are actively implementing the Practice Framework and Race Equity Principles of One Vision One Voice, a historic initiative developed by the African Canadian community with support from the Ontario Association of Children’s Aid Societies (OACAS).
KHCAS employee representatives had the opportunity to attend the inaugural ALL IN! African Canadian Child Welfare Staff Symposium hosted by One Vision One Voice, which welcomed 320 employees from across Ontario to the historic event. The symposium provided the opportunity for Black staff to talk openly about the barriers to providing culturally-appropriate services and to share their experiences working with child welfare. The KHCAS Equity Council is championed by our very dedicated employee group and continues to make recommendations to advance inclusive practices within the organization and within our service model.
Our agency is open to and welcomes all opportunities to collaborate with the Black community and all community stakeholders to eliminate inequitable treatment and outcomes often experienced by the Black community when receiving child welfare services.
Click here for more information on One Vision One Voice from OACAS.
