BC Child and Youth in Care Week

Last week at a meeting, I was introduced to someone who is currently studying social work. When I introduced myself and The Federation, the person I was speaking to exclaimed, “You signed my bursary cheque my first year of university! I am a recipient of the Federation’s bursary!”

Meeting this person and hearing their story and their commitment to serving other young people was just the boost I needed in the middle of a long and trying week. I was encouraged and emboldened by this lovely example of what the future of social care work looks like. (As I have said before, The Federation’s Youth Education Bursary—and the intention and love underneath the dollar value—is one of the things I am most proud of.)

And this interaction also reminded me that BC Child and Youth in Care Week is coming up soon. This year, the week of June 3rd to 9th will be devoted to celebrating the strength, diversity, talents, and resilience of youth in and from care in our province. And once again, The Federation is proud to be part of the advisory committee helping to plan a week of events and activities that support, raise awareness, and acknowledge these amazing young people.

Like our bursary program, the events, awards, and contests that are a part of BC Child and Youth in Care Week are important and meaningful ways for us all to recognize youth in care, raise awareness about the barriers they face, and fight the stigma that can come from being a foster kid.

Celebrate youth in care

I encourage you all to consider hosting a local event, circulate information to your community members, or nominate someone for one of the various BC Child and Youth in Care Week Awards. There is a great deal of information available on the BCCYICW website including links to bursaries, entry forms for a youth art contest, and a promotional kit to help you spread the word among your networks.

The past few months have been very challenging for our sector. And the next few months will likely be the same. We are addressing a number of complex issues and a level of precarious uncertainty that makes the work we do even harder than it normally is. And I know that the young people and families that you serve are facing just as much complexity and uncertainty.

We have a lot of important work ahead of us and a scant few opportunities to celebrate and hold each other up while we do that work. That’s why I believe it is so important to grab those opportunities when they come along. I hope each of you will consider forwarding this email and spreading the word about BC Child and Youth in Care week. I hope you will be able to find a moment in your busy day—even if it’s just sharing a post on social media—to help us spread the message to our most vulnerable young people that we see them, that they matter, that we care for them and honour and respect who they are.

Rick FitzZaland
Executive Director 

Sign up for our Labour Market Strategy Focus Groups!

Over the past few months, The Federation and our partners at the Social Planning and Research Council of BC (SPARC BC) and the Community Social Services Employers’ Association of BC (CSSEA) have been conducting labour market research to address critical information gaps about our broad sector.

The goal of this project is to gain a better understanding of the issues related to organizational capacity in BC’s community social services sector—recruitment and retention of staff, workforce and labour market needs, volunteerism, training, and HR capacities.

Project Background

This initiative was developed as a direct result of the work that Federation members and sector allies accomplished at The Federation’s 2018 Social Policy Forum (an event that was focused on issues related to the strength and sustainability of our sector). Recruitment and retention challenges were a central theme that emerged at the forum. Participants recognized that these challenges, while not necessarily new, had become harder to address due to a lack of data about the sector. As a result, our members made clear that a priority for The Federation would be to develop a mechanism to understand and address these issues.

A labour market research project was identified as our first focus. And now, thanks to funding from the Canada-British Columbia Labour Market Development Agreement’s Sector Labour Market Partnerships Program (administered by the BC Ministry of Advanced Education, Skills, and Training), we are entering phase two of this project.

Creating a Social Sector Labour Market Strategy

This phase of work involves a mixed-methodology study which will collect a large amount of data through surveys (one for managers and other leadership and one for frontline staff), individual interviews, and focus groups in eight different communities across BC. (If you haven’t already completed the above surveys, please do so now!)

We are currently inviting leaders involved with BC’s social services sector to participate in focus groups and share their experiences of (and struggles with) recruitment and retention. We are encouraging people from umbrella organizations, post-secondary institutions, research bodies and think tanks, Delegated Aboriginal Agencies, and any other people (or organization) with extensive experience and knowledge of this sector.

With your help, by this time next year, we will have in hand the information we need make our case to the provincial government about why and how the complex recruitment and retention challenges facing BC’s the social care sector need to be addressed.

Focus Group Dates and Locations

Focus group sessions are being held across BC over the month of May. Find one in a community near you and use this registration form to sign up to participate. Please note: the location for the Nelson focus group has been changed.

 

DATE CITY LOCATION TIME (PST)
May 6th Kelowna The Bridge Youth & Family Services Society 11:00 AM – 1:30 PM *
May 7th Nelson Kootenay Boundary Community Services Co-op 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM
May 13th Terrace Coast Mountain College 11:30 AM – 2:00 PM *
May 16th Fort St. John Community Bridge (NPCRS) 11:30 AM – 2:00 PM *
May 21st Surrey PCRS Whalley 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM
May 27th Vancouver/Richmond Marpole Oakridge Family Place 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM
May 28th Prince George Sources 10:30 AM – 12:30 PM
May 30th Nanaimo NARSF 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM

* Sessions taking place over the noon hour will include a light half-hour lunch.

Please click here to register for your session of choice.

Street addresses for each location can be found below. Participants will also receive a confirmation email with the address and parking instructions one week before their session. Please contact Kathy Powelson at kathy@fcssbc.ca if you have any other questions about the sessions.

Travel Support

We have a small budget to support travel to attend these sessions which can include mileage and meals. Please contact Kathy Powelson at kathy@fcssbc.ca if you require this support in order to participate.

Location Addresses

Kelowna: The Bridge Youth & Family Services Society
#8 – 2604 Enterprise Way, Kelowna

Nelson: Kootenay Boundary Community Services Co-operative
125 Hall St, Nelson

Terrace: Coast Mountain College
5331 McConnell Ave, Room 200 Spruce (Upstairs in registration building)

Fort St. John: Community Bridge (North Peace Community Resources Society)
10142-101st Ave, Fort St. John

Surrey: Pacific Community Resources Society
10453 Whalley Blvd (2nd Floor) Surrey

Vancouver/Richmond: Marpole Oakridge Family Place
8188 Lord Street, Vancouver

Prince George: Sources
1596 3rd Ave, Prince George

Nanaimo: NARSF
190 Wallace Street (2nd Floor) Nanaimo

Federation Research Bulletin: April 2019

This month’s research bulletin includes articles and reports about trauma-informed care, childhood well-being, autism evaluations, family supports, childhood maltreatment, borderline personality disorder, and intimate partner violence.

  1. The impact of a statewide trauma-informed care initiative in child welfare on the well-being of children and youth with complex trauma
  2. Decision factors for community providers when referring very young children for autism evaluations
  3. Impact of supports and partnership on family quality of life
  4. Childhood Maltreatment, Borderline Personality Features, and Coping as Predictors of Intimate Partner Violence
  5. The Links between Pets and Intimate Partner Violence

For more information, additional research, and/or if you have feedback about how we can make this member service more useful, please contact The Federation’s Research and Policy Coordinator, Pam Alcorn at pam@fcssbc.ca.

1. The impact of a statewide trauma-informed care initiative in child welfare on the well-being of children and youth with complex trauma (USA, 2018)

This article is the evaluation of a statewide project investigating the effectiveness of trauma-informed treatment models in the Massachusetts child welfare system. While results differed slightly depending on the specific treatment model, overall, trauma-informed approaches were associated with significant improvements in a range of areas but especially in terms of child behaviour problems and PTSD symptoms.

Positive findings across multiple outcome factors suggest that trauma-informed treatment is very much an effective means of improving the developmental trajectories of children in the child welfare system. However, each model displayed specific strengths and weaknesses that should be taken into account when selecting a treatment model for select populations and individuals.

These findings add to a growing body of literature that strongly suggests the need for (1) more trauma-focused policies and practices, (2) trauma-focused screening upon entry into the child welfare system, and (3) more funding to support trauma-informed child welfare and mental health services.

2. Decision factors for community providers when referring very young children for autism evaluations (USA, 2018)

Practitioners know that early intervention can vastly improve outcomes when it comes to autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, treatment access depends heavily on early identification. This research paper explores how and why community practitioners should understand and address the early signs of ASD.

Despite the reliability of most autism diagnoses by the 24-month mark, the majority of children with autism do not receive comprehensive evaluations until they are 36 months or older. According to the researchers, even when clinicians and educators know what early signs of autism are, they may not fully consider the importance of specific behaviours (or the absence of typical behaviours) and social interactions that warrant a referral for an autism assessment. As a result, they may miss some opportunities to make referrals in a timely manner.

The report suggests that autism training across early childhood professional disciplines should emphasize the importance of identifying less obvious early signs(such as the significant absences of behaviours, such as low joint attention, gestures, and social reciprocity) in addition to better recognized social, verbal, and play behaviours.

3. Impact of supports and partnership on family quality of life (Spain, 2019)

In recent decades, “quality of life” has emerged as a decisive construct in terms of efforts to improve the living conditions of families of people with disabilities. It is also becoming a popular rubric for assessing the services and supports that people receive. This research paper explored the perception of the families regarding their support needs, the quality of their partnerships with service professionals, and their quality of life.

One key finding was that, often, families of young children may be more satisfied with the professionals working with their child because they are not yet familiar with what they should expect. This idea is supported by research suggesting that parent satisfaction with service professionals declines as their children get older. The researchers also identified the extent to which early childhood intervention centers and/or family-professional partnerships inform the families’ quality of life.

Overall, access to information remains the clearest need of these families. Speech and/or language services and specialized health services were the support most requested by the families for their children. Across all demographics, the researchers emphasized the need for practitioners to inform the families about their child’s actual situation and the different supports that are or are not available.

4. Childhood Maltreatment, Borderline Personality Features, and Coping as Predictors of Intimate Partner Violence (UK/Canada, 2018)

Intimate partner violence is a serious mental and physical health concern worldwide. Although previous research suggests that childhood maltreatment increases the risk for intimate partner violence, the underlying psychological mechanisms of this relationship are not yet fully entirely understood. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of childhood maltreatment severity on intimate partner violence perpetration and victimization, and its indirect effect through borderline personality features and maladaptive coping.

Researchers found that (1) a history of emotional and physical maltreatment in childhood increases the likelihood of perpetrating and re-experiencing violence in adult relationships and (2) strong associations between all forms of childhood maltreatment and borderline personality features.

According to the findings, survivors of childhood maltreatment (especially those with separation concerns and an unstable self-image) may learn to believe that violence is a normal part of close relationships and thus respond with helplessness when confronted with violence in adult intimate relationships. As such, childhood maltreatment may not only increase the risk of developing borderline personality disorder but also pave the way for a pattern of revictimization and perpetration.

In the conclusion of this article, the authors suggest a series of targeted training, education, and therapeutic strategies and approaches.

5. The Links between Pets and Intimate Partner Violence (Canada, 2018)

This literature review looks at the value of animal companions on personal well-being, the relationship between violence against pets and intimate partner violence, and the impact pets have on attempts to leave violent situations.

The key finding in this report is the fact that women with animal companions in their lives will often remain in or return to the person who is abusive because there are few options to keep their pets safe. Shelters are often unable to accommodate pets and re-homing and temporary care options also have limitations (and are just as limited in number).

To address this issue, the authors suggest ideas for how shelters, veterinarians, and community organizations can work toward identifying these situations and options to address the complicated relationship between pets and intimate partner violence.

Addressing Recruitment & Retention: Addressing Recruitment & Retention: The Social Services Labour Market Research Project

Over the past few months, The Federation and our partners at the Social Planning and Research Council of BC (SPARC BC) and the Community Social Services Employers’ Association of BC (CSSEA) have been conducting labour market research to address critical information gaps about our broad sector.

The goal of this project is to gain a better understanding of the issues related to organizational capacity in BC’s community social services sector—recruitment and retention of staff, workforce and labour market needs, volunteerism, training, and HR capacities. And we need your help in the next phase of this work.

Creating a Labour Market Strategy

As some of you may know, this project was developed as a direct result of the work members and sector allies did at The Federation’s 2018 Social Policy Forum (which was focused on issues related to the strength and sustainability of our sector).

Recruitment and retention challenges were a central theme that emerged at the forum—participants recognized that these challenges were not new, but that a major roadblock we were facing was a lack of data about the sector. As a result, our members made clear that a priority for The Federation would be to develop a mechanism to understand and address these issues.

A labour market research project was identified as our first focus. And now, thanks to funding from the Canada-British Columbia Labour Market Development Agreement’s Sector Labour Market Partnerships Program (administered by the BC Ministry of Advanced Education, Skills, and Training), we are entering phase two of this project.

Below are links to two surveys. One is for managers and one is for front-line staff. Collecting this data—the specific information these surveys will gather—is a very important step toward working with the provincial government on creating a labour market strategy for this sector. We have received strong encouragement and support for this work from multiple sector allies and other bodies concerned about the state (and future) of employment in BC’s social care sector.

The survey deadline date is May 31, 2019. I encourage you to take the time to help us collect this important information.

For Managers: SSLMRP Survey

For Front-line Workers: SSLMRP Survey

This survey will only take approximately 10 minutes to complete and your responses will be summarized along with those of others to ensure personal anonymity. With your help, by this time next year, we will have in hand the information we need make our case to the government about why and how the complex challenges of recruitment and retention facing BC’s the social care sector need to be addressed.

Rebecca Ataya Lang
Director of Programs and Services