Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Centred Content
Over the last several years, we have made a commitment to provide culturally responsive, anti-oppressive services for the families we serve.
Children’s Aid Societies across Ontario are dedicated to continually learning and to ensuring that we provide services that are inclusive and are respectful of the unique needs of each family. We are committed to acknowledging the role that systemic racism has played in child welfare, and to dismantling that very system has had devastating impacts our communities.
As part of our commitment, we are continuing to consult with members of communities throughout Durham Region to ensure that our services evolve to meet the diverse needs of all the families we serve. We have conducted several community consultations over the past years, and we have implemented a number of changes resulting from what we learned during those sessions.
PATH: Public Accountability Town Hall
We are now hosting a series of public consultations, a series of consultations called ‘PATH’ — Public Accountability Town Hall — throughout Durham Region. We invite everyone to join us to be a part of the conversation. Please watch for details on upcoming consultations.
We are excited to share the changes we’ve made using feedback we’ve received, and want to hear more from our community as we continue to evolve with a more culturally-relevant and holistic lens.
Each session will:
- Utilize focus-groups, so there’s more space for discussion.
- Be hybrid, in-person and virtual to ensure everyone can participate.
- Feature different topics of discussion.
- Include community service partners who will provide information on their services.
- Reinforce our accountability commitment
For more information, please contact Shailene Panylo, Diversity Initiatives & Community Engagement Lead.
Centred Content
Equity Strategy
As part of our commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion we have established a 3-year Equity Strategy.
Resources
As the child welfare sector, we know there is an over representation of Black and Indigenous children in care and a disparity in service. It is our commitment that service delivery ensures that children, youth and families with diverse identities are aware of, and have access to, diverse community services and resources that will support their intersecting needs and identities.