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This guide was created as an orientation and best practice guide for Ontario Looking After Children (OnLAC) and the Assessment and Action Record (AAR). It briefly introduces the framework, tool, and practice considerations, before describing how it is used in practice to centre the experiences, voices, and rights of children and youth in care. It explains how the AAR informs the Plan of Care and relates to associated policy, regulatory, and legislative requirements.
OnLAC is a strengths-based outcomes framework designed to promote positive development, well-being, and resilience in children and youth across key, interrelated developmental dimensions: health, education, identity, family and social relationships, social presentation, emotional and behavioural development, and self-care skills.
The primary tool of OnLAC is the AAR, available here (Note: login to myOACAS required to access). The AAR is an evidence-based questionnaire intended to support a series of conversational interviews on developmental dimensions and developmental assets. Embedded in each AAR age group questionnaire are measures selected to evaluate and monitor progress, including the Ages and Stages Questionnaire, the Casey Life Skills Inventory, and the Developmental Assets Framework (a video about this framework is available here). A full description of the AAR and included measures can be found in the User’s Manual for the AAR-C2-2016.
The AAR questionnaires are designed to be used in a conversational assessment approach, through face-to-face, semi-structured interviews led by child welfare workers with the child or youth and others involved in their care. This conversational approach supports the youth’s voice as central to the planning process, empowers them to share their experiences, perspectives, and goals to shape their Plan of Care, and also includes the voices of caregivers and other adults in planning. Tip sheets can be accessed here (Note: login to myOACAS required to access).
In addition to individual assessment and planning activities, AAR data has been used in agencies for program evaluation and quality assurance, and provincially for program and policy development. OnLAC has also made a significant contribution to the child welfare evidence-base (a recent bibliography is available here).
Mandated by Ontario Policy Directive: CW 003-20, an AAR is required for every child or youth who has been in the care of a child welfare agency, or subject to a customary care agreement* for a continuous period of 12 months. The AAR is completed annually to inform and support the development of the Plan of Care.
*There are specific practice requirements associated with the AAR for First Nations, Inuit, and Métis children and youth:
If a First Nations, Inuit and Métis child or youth is subject to a Customary Care agreement, or is a child or youth in care, the band or community representative must be notified and engaged with about the AAR, in accordance with legal requirements and OCAP principles. The First Nations Principles of OCAP® (ownership, control, access, and possession) are central to data collection. See this video for more information.
Research indicates that First Nations, Inuit, and Métis, Black, and 2SLGBTQ+ children and youth are overrepresented in the care of child welfare agencies and face disparities in outcomes, requiring efforts towards substantive equality. Youth leaving care also face disparate risks including homelessness, requiring preventative, relational, and culturally responsive supports including distinct approaches for First Nations/Indigenous youth. OnLAC and the AAR are designed to be used flexibly to take cultural and identity needs and the perspectives of families and communities into consideration.
Watch this video that highlights the importance of centring identity, family, and community in supporting the outcomes and well-being of children and youth. Check out: Project Outsiders’ video and podcasts, the #ForgetMeNot campaign, and the Relationships Matter for Youth video.
Engaging youth in assessment and planning takes time and requires building rapport and cultivating trust. The process should be youth-centred, identity-centred, trauma-informed, strengths-based, and family-based. You can find practical resources about each topic below:
Note: you have to be authenticated by OACAS’s library databases to access any EBSCO articles. To learn how to be authenticated, you can visit the EBSCOHost research databases guide. If you are an OACAS member and are having difficulty accessing these articles, please reach out to Jessica Mariano, Content & Research Librarian.
Conversational Assessment
Rapport
Child and Youth-Centered Practice
Identity-Centered Practice
Trauma-Informed Practice
Strengths-Based and Family-Based Practice
OnLAC and the AAR are requirements of Ontario Policy Directive CW 003-20. Both are used to inform the Plan of Care. Recent updates to Plan of Care requirements were introduced through Ontario’s Quality Standards Framework. Youth Plan requirements were added to support transition planning for youth aged 13+ through Ontario’s Ready, Set, Go (RSG) program under Policy Directive CW 003-23. All requirements must be considered together while completing the AAR process. Child welfare agencies should always consult the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services website for full details on all current legislative, regulatory, and policy requirements. Below are links and resources: