One Vision One Voice (OVOV)
One Vision One Voice is an Ontario child welfare program led by the African Canadian community. It is funded by the Ontario Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services through OACAS and addresses the overrepresentation and experiences of disparities faced by African Canadians after coming into contact with the child welfare system.
Practice framework
- One Vision One Voice: Changing the Ontario child welfare system to better serve African Canadians – Practice framework part 1 [2016]Part one of a practice framework which calls for sweeping reforms to the Ontario child welfare system to address systemic racism and to reduce the overrepresentation of African Canadian children in care. Part one includes a literature review looking at the systemic forces that bring families of African descent into contact with child welfare
- One Vision One Voice: Changing the Ontario child welfare system to better serve African Canadians – Practice framework part 2 [2016]Part two of a practice framework which calls for sweeping reforms to the Ontario child welfare system to address systemic racism and to reduce the overrepresentation of African Canadian children in care. Part two identifies and recommends race equity practices to ensure systemic change occurs throughout all aspects of child welfare
- One Vision One Voice: Changing the Ontario child welfare system to better serve African Canadians – Practice framework part 3 [2020]Part three of a practice framework which calls for sweeping reforms to the Ontario child welfare system to address systemic racism and to reduce the overrepresentation of African Canadian children in care. Part three outlines promising practices, and includes an implementation toolkit.
Sector wide anti-Black racism assessment
A sector wide anti-Black organizational self-assessment of policies and practices leading to disparities, as well as the steps being taken to address them, was a foundational piece of Phase II of OVOV's work. To support member agencies in moving forward, the OVOV project team completed individualized reports for agencies to support the development of work plans.
- One Vision One Voice anti-Black racism assessment: Ontario child welfare sector report card [2019]Provides results from the first anti-Black racism self-assessment provincial report card based on completion by 33 agencies
- One Vision One Voice needs assessment: Grading methodology [2019]Outlines the grading category for assessing the level of action taken in the work towards eliminating anti-Black racism in various areas of child welfare work
Work supporting African Canadian child welfare staff
- A guide to surviving and thriving in child welfare for African Canadian staff [2018]Poster offering support and uplifting messages for all African Canadians working in child welfare
- All In: African Canadian Child Welfare Symposium event wrap-up report [2018]Report providing event attendee statistics and recurring themes relating to the experiences of African Canadian child welfare staff
Work supporting African Canadian youth in care
- First ever gathering of African Canadian Youth in Care marks a turning point for child welfare [2018]Blog post about the first ever symposium for African Canadian youth in care held in the province of Ontario
- Symposium for African Canadian youth in care: Post event wrap reportNote: login to myOACAS required to access
Work supporting African Canadian service users and service providers
- One Vision One Voice community engagement workers report [2019]Reports on the OVOV Community Engagement Worker (CEW) pilot that ran from November 2018 to March 2019
- Navigating the child welfare system: A guide for Ontario's Black community [2021]This resource was created through the One Vision One Voice (OVOV) program to inform African Canadian families of how anti-Black racism can operate in child welfare. It offers African Canadian families support and guidance about how to navigate and interact with the system
Over-Representation of Black Children in Ontario Child Welfare Services
- Understanding the Over-Representation of Black Children in Ontario Child Welfare Services [2022]These analyses present data from the Ontario Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect 2018 (OIS-2018). The report describes maltreatment-related investigations conducted in Ontario in 2018 that involved Black children and compares these investigations to those involving white children. The report was prepared by the OIS-2018 Research Team at the request of One Vision One Voice.