About this guide
In this guide you will find supplementary readings and additional resources relevant to topics and practice areas covered in the OACAS course "Equity in Child Welfare." Use the sidebar menu on the left to browse information and find resources – such as publications, videos, and websites – to assist with your research and inspire continued learning.
Required readings
- Anti-oppression in child welfare: Laying the foundation for change [2008]This discussion paper aims to challenge our collective assumptions, shine a new lens on our thinking, and create the beginning of a shared vision for moving the delivery of Ontario child welfare services into an anti-oppression framework
- Reconciliation framework: "Sharing a good heart" [2013]This framework is intended to support Children's Aid Societies in dialoguing about where they are in terms of their relationship with the First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities they work with
- The other side of the door: A practice guide for child welfare professionals working with First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples [2014]Practice guide developed by OACAS and intended for child welfare professionals working with First Nations, Inuit and Métis families and communities
- 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
- Intersectionality as a useful tool: Anti-oppressive social work and critical reflectionArticle from Affilia: Journal of Women and Social Work
- Use of critical consciousness in anti-oppressive social work practice: Disentangling power dynamics at personal and structural levelsArticle from the British Journal of Social Work (note: you have to be authenticated by OACAS’s library databases to access)
- Critical Reflection GuideAn equity response in practice means examining our own bias, assumptions, and attitudes as we clinically intervene and assess risk. The following questions are to support and guide workers towards questions they need to ask themselves as they support families.
Equity and Indigenous child welfare
While equity and anti-oppressive practice (AOP) in child welfare are concerned with providing equitable outcomes for all children, youth, and families, OACAS recognizes that not all Indigenous communities agree with or support equity and AOP frameworks, and that distinct approaches are required when working within an Indigenous context. This is because Indigenous peoples are not just seeking equity, but also additional unique rights as described in the statement below from the Ontario Human Rights Commission:
"It is important to note that Indigenous peoples understand themselves as peoples or nations, not as racial or ethnic groups. There are many consequences that flow from this distinction, including Indigenous peoples’ rights to land and rights to self-determination, which includes rights to self-government. These rights have been recognized at the international level through the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. To respect these distinct entitlements, Indigenous peoples must be distinguished from other communities and recognized as unique. We encourage CASs, government and others to clearly recognize Indigenous peoples as distinct peoples and nations when considering data collection and other aspects of service delivery."
-From the 2018 report Interrupted childhoods: Over-representation of Indigenous and Black children in Ontario child welfare.