The primary goal of my research is to understand how practices of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are used to mitigate the elevated numbers of children of African heritage in child welfare. The disproportionate state-sanctioned child welfare apprehensions of Black children present as policing our most vulnerable members from communities of African heritage – our children. The anti-Black state violence in Ontario has been “acknowledged” by child welfare agencies who are now required to address the racial disparities within child welfare agencies. This thesis attempts to understand the histories, complexities, and current measures aimed at mitigating disparities of African, Caribbean, and Black children involved in child protective services from the perspective of child welfare service providers of African heritage. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) are incorporated into hegemonic child welfare institutions while the provincial government has failed to publicly critique the current measures implemented to address the disparities for communities of African heritage. Five participants were recruited from the Greater Toronto Hamilton area to participate in one-to-one interviews / Thesis / Master of Social Work (MSW) / The primary goal of my research is to understand how practices of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are used to mitigate the elevated numbers of children of African heritage in child welfare. The disproportionate state-sanctioned child welfare apprehensions of Black children present as policing our most vulnerable members from communities of African heritage – our children. The anti-Black state violence in Ontario has been “acknowledged” by child welfare agencies who are now required to address the racial disparities within child welfare agencies. This thesis attempts to understand the histories, complexities, and current measures aimed at mitigating disparities of African, Caribbean, and Black children involved in child protective services from the perspective of child welfare service providers of African heritage. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) are incorporated into hegemonic child welfare institutions while the provincial government has failed to publicly critique the current measures implemented to address the disparities for communities of African heritage. Five participants were recruited from the Greater Toronto Hamilton area to participate in one-to-one interviews

Indigenous people in Canada have suffered through immense trauma since colonization, and child welfare agencies have contributed to the assimilation of Indigenous children. This research explores the stories of Indigenous people who have been in the care of Children’s Aid Society in Ontario and how they have experienced their plan of care. Every child in the child welfare system has a plan of care completed by their worker at regular intervals. This document is intended to review the child’s progress in various dimensions of their lives and facilitate goal-setting for the future. The plan of care is a standardized document that is created from a Western perspective and thus does not necessarily reflect Indigenous culture or the child’s true self. Using a mixed methods approach with a strong emphasis on Indigenous Methodologies, two Indigenous young adults shared their stories about their experiences with plans of care. In addition, an Indigenous key informant provided context from an Indigenous perspective on how plans of care can be improved for Indigenous children in care. To understand the plan of care document from a child/youth’s perspective, the author of this research asked a co-worker to complete a plan of care on their life. A critique of this experience is shared in this study. Findings suggest that experiences with plans of care can vary significantly, and depend greatly on the relationship between the young person and their child welfare worker. The two Indigenous young adults valued participation in their plan of care and found the goal setting to be useful when they were consulted. However, it is determined that the child welfare worker can bring Indigenous culture into the document in creative ways. These findings lead to recommendations for change at the micro and macro levels involving greater opportunities for relationship-building, space for young people to participate, and including Indigenous knowledge in child welfare practice. / Thesis / Master of Social Work (MSW)

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Les questions que nous avons posées à quarante parents autochtones dont les enfants avaient été pris en charge par la Société d'aide à l'enfance (SAE) entre 2000 et 2018 se situaient sur deux axes : 1) la manière dont l'intervention de la SAE prenait en compte la difficulté d'être à la fois parent et autochtone dans un contexte traumatique colonial et 2) la façon dont les cultures autochtones étaient ou non intégrées dans le processus de réajustement parental qu'entreprend la SAE. Pour aborder ces deux axes, nous sommes partie du principe que les Indigenous Studies constituaient un cadre à la fois incontournable et indépassable pour étudier toute une série de thématiques liées au domaine institutionnel de la protection de l'enfance : définition de la famille, approche de la parentalité, conception de l'intérêt de l'enfant, hiérarchie des savoirs et de leurs valeurs respectives, régulation de la précarité, etc. Malgré diverses stratégies de diversification, nous avons eu devant nous quarante expériences quasi similaires en ce qu'elles témoignaient toutes d'une impossibilité pour les parents d'être reconnus institutionnellement comme partie prenante de décisions impliquant pourtant directement leurs propres enfants. Faisant fi de l'histoire coloniale et de ses diverses conséquences désastreuses notamment sur les plans affectif, parental et économique, les intervenants apparaissent pris dans une socialisation professionnelle qui ne reconnait ni le contexte (colonial), ni leurs cultures, ni leurs points de vue, ni leurs souffrances. Pas plus que leurs efforts pour (enfin) devenir des parents. Faisant comme si rien ne s'était passé, les intervenants de la SAE imposent alors aux parents des décisions aussi absurdes qu'injustes comme seule possibilité de gagner leurs galons de bon parent. Mais l'analyse montre encore autre chose : il ne s'agirait en effet pas seulement pour les parents de se désoler du fait que les intervenants perdent de vue ce qu'être un parent aux multiples vulnérabilités veut dire. Il ne leur serait pas seulement demandé de penser, d'agir et de réagir comme un parent blanc. Leur serait également communiquée, dans une forme d'injonction contradictoire, l'impossibilité de remplir le statut et le rôle que le SAE leur demande pourtant d'endosser.

Using grounded theory methodology anchored within a life course perspective, this study explored former youth-in-care's sense of belonging and its impact on the transition to adulthood. The findings emphasized the importance of a sense of belonging to creating positive outcomes for young adults during their transition to adulthood. / Youth growing up in foster care tend to have poorer outcomes after reaching adulthood than youth in the general population, such as lower educational attainment, lower rates of employment, and more mental/emotional health difficulties than their peers. Although several factors have been suggested to explain this difference in outcomes, most studies have focused on youth’s negative experiences in-care as being the determinant factor. My study adopted an alternative approach and focused on youth who have had positive experiences during care, in hopes of learning from their experience. Using grounded theory methodology anchored within a life course perspective, this study explored how some youth developed a sense of belonging and what impact this had on their transition to adulthood. Each of the four young adults who participated in this studied shared their experiences of growing up in foster care and the impact this had on their transition to adulthood. The findings emphasized the importance of a sense of belonging to creating positive outcomes for young adults during their transition to adulthood. Five categories emerged from the data: “lack of control”, “realizing a stable, loving, and secure home”, “navigating multiple attachments”, “gaining a sense of belonging”, and “successful transition to adulthood”. These findings suggest that gaining a sense of belonging may be foundational to a successful transition to adulthood, especially when success is defined in terms of interdependence rather than independence. / Thesis / Master of Social Work (MSW)

As social workers we understand that service users are the most impacted stakeholders involved in service delivery models at various agencies. When it comes to the field of child welfare, there are added barriers and complications that impact a worker’s ability to develop relationships with service users. What do child welfare service users consider to be “good” social work practice, and what do they expect from their workers? This thesis will focus on the voices of those who have been most impacted by the system: those who are or have been in the care of a child welfare system. At McMaster University, a program is being initiated in partnership between the School of Social Work and various local Children’s Aid Societies in Hamilton and the surrounding areas, which will explore how child welfare service users can be incorporated into the education of social work students who plan to work in the field of child welfare. This thesis will explore what individuals who are or have been youth in the care of an Ontario Children’s Aid Society want to teach the students of this program before they become child welfare social workers. This expert feedback will then be incorporated into the curriculum of McMaster’s program, entitled: “Preparing for Critical Practice in Child Welfare” (PCPCW), which will be carried into practice by the students who graduate from the program to become child welfare social workers. / Thesis / Master of Social Work (MSW)

No / Prompted by findings from the Munro Review of Child Protection, this paper provides a critical analysis of the combination of changes that appear to have undermined social workers' ability to develop strong partnerships with children and their families. Here, we engage with a number of now familiar lines of critique that have exposed the negative consequences of aspects of New Labour's modernisation agenda (such as excessive standardisation). However, we challenge our readers to think more broadly about the political foundations of the New Labour project and, in particular, to consider how neo-liberal policies have in the past and are likely in the future to lead to the intensification of inequalities, thus undermining effective family work. Efforts to deal with excessive rules and procedures, or the revision of performance targets, as suggested in the Munro Review, will not mitigate the corrosive effects of rising social inequality. If we are to think systemically, as Munro suggests, then we must consider the likely regressive impact of impending public sector and welfare cuts and challenge any moves to sideline family support and restrict social work to a narrow focus on child protection.