This research report is an ongoing endeavor in the ACB FGC project, a 2-year long enterprise, divided into 3 phases. The project is currently in Phase I, the Research Phase, that began in September 2018. This time was spent conducting a literature review and stakeholder consultations; both these activities will be ongoing and inform the development of FGC curricula for ACB individuals, families and communitiesalso assist in Phase 3, where the curricula will be implemented with our partners at Black Creek Community Health Centre (BCCHC) and Warden Woods Community Centre (WWCC).

1. CommunityAdvisory Committee
Meeting: African, Caribbean, Black
(ACB) Restorative Justice, Family Group
Conferencing
Preliminary Research Report

2. Agenda
Introductions
Project Outline
Community Partners
Review of the Literature
Stakeholder Consultations
Implications for Curriculum Development
Next Steps

3. Introduction: Project Outline
Research
Sep-Dec 2018
• Literature
review
• Stakeholder
consultations
Development
Jan-Jun 2019
• EWG
curriculum
bootcamp
• Community
consultation
Implementation
Jul-Dec 2019
• FGC
coordinator
hiring
• Service
delivery

4. Our Partners
Black Creek Community Heath Centre
Metropolitan Action Committee on Violence Against
Women
WoodGreen Community Services
University of Salford
Women’s Health in Women’s Hands
Delta Family Resource Centre

5. Background: Setting the Scene
42%
of children in
the care of the
Children’s
Aid Society
of Toronto in
2013 were
Black or had
one Black
parent.
8%
of people
under 18 in
Toronto are
Black.

6. Background: Setting the Scene
(continued)

7. Review of Literature
The literature review identified several reasons for the
overrepresentation of ACB children and families within
CAS, which includes:
• Historical and contemporary anti-Blackness
• Socio-economic status--poverty
• Social worker biases and discretionary power
• Cultural misunderstanding
• Standardized and procedural child protection policies and
practices

8. Impact of CASApprehension on
Black Children/Youth
• More than half of children in care do not graduate from high
school (Contenta, 2015)
• 68% of youth experiencing homelessness were in care while
82% had been diagnosed as having special needs (One Vision
One Voice Report, 2016, p. 37)
• Trajectory to the criminal justice system through the
surveillance, control and criminalization of Black children
and families (Clarke, 2011, p. 279)
• Culturally unsuitable homes lead to loss of identity, severed
connection to family, culture and community (Clarke, 2011,
p. 279)

9. Review of Literature
Family Group Conferencing (FGC) for ACB Families
and Communities
• FGC positions families as experts who are capable of
strategizing for the well-being of their children and family
• Children have the right to maintain their relationships with
families and their communities, which sustains
intergenerational cultural transmission
• Expanded definition of families that extends beyond the
nuclear model

10. Review of Literature (continued)
Recommendations to Address Identified Shortcomings with
Mainstream FGC
• Establishing multiple processes to address numerous complex
needs while recognizing diversities within ACB families and
communities—wraparound program is essential
• Utilizing longer and more post-conference meetings
• Greater comprehension of historical and contemporary social,
political, economical circumstances to understand Black children
and families conditions—thus, FGC coordinators cannot be
neutral

11. Stakeholder Consultations:
OurApproach
Snowball effect consultations continue on a
rolling basis
Academics, Service Providers, People with
Lived Experience
Who should we speak to? What do we want to
find out?

12. Ongoing Process of Consultations
Identify and
contact
stakeholder
Design
consultation
questions
Consultation
Gather new
contacts
from their
network

13. Findings: 4 Key Themes
Situations where
CAS is called
Role of
FGC
Coordinator
Duty to Report
Education as
intervention

14. Quotes from Stakeholders
The biggest quality is lived
experience. . . Being aware of
my own family and being aware
of my own personal healing. To
me, that’s more important than a
Masters degree.
An FGC Coordinator doesn’t
have to be a social worker.
We need someone like a
navigator to get through the
system. . .
Try case studies with
nuances. . . Then re-trace the
path to understand what got
the child where he/she is.
They put so much fear in
you. . . You have to call
CAS. It feels like you don’t
have a choice.

15. Crosscutting Themes from Literature
and Stakeholder Consultations
Child welfare system is
harmful for ACB
families
Negative stereotypes
about ACB families
circulate in education
and child welfare
systems
Anti-black racism needs
to be acknowledged and
actively addressed
Interventions are
required to stop the
practice of ACB families
being wrongfully
referred to child welfare

16. Recommendations for
Curriculum Development
FGC Coordinator should have
a solid understanding of equity
FGC should be a longer
process than one or two
sessions
Wrap-around services to
compliment FGC and maintain
success
Definitions of family should
reflect ACB communities
Key concept:
Anti-black racism

17. Next Phase
• Have began the hiring process for FGC
coordinators
• Fine-tuning the logistics to run the pilot at
Black Creek Community Health Centre
• In the upcoming future, FGC will be offered at
the other community partners throughout the
GTA

18. References
Clarke, J. (2011). The challenges of child welfare involvement for Afro-Caribbean families in Toronto. Children
and Youth Services Review, 33(2), 274-283. Retrieved from
http://journals1.scholarsportal.info.ezproxy.lib.ryerson.ca/details/01907409/v33i0002/274_tcocwifafit.xml.
Clarke, J. (2012). Beyond child protection: Afro-Caribbean service users of child welfare. Journal of
Progressive Human Services, 23, 223-257. Retrieved from
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10428232.2012.719119.
Contenta, S. (2014). Why are so many Black children in foster and group homes? The Star. Retrieved from
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2014/12/11/why_are_so_many_black_children_in_foster_and_group_hom
es.html.
Contenta, S. (2015). Black kids stay longest in care, CAS study shows. The Star. Retrieved from
https://www.thestar.com/news/cas/2015/08/26/black-kids-stay-longest-in-care-cas-study-shows.html.
Contenta, S. (2016). CA study reveals stark racial disparities for Black, Aboriginals. The Star. Retrieved from
https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2016/06/23/cas-study-reveals-stark-racial-disparities-for-blacks-
aboriginals.html.
Gosine, K., Phillips, K. & Pon, G. (2011). Immediate response: Addressing anti-Native and anti-Black racism in
child welfare. International Journal of Child, Youth and Family Studies, 3 & 4, 385-409. Retrieved from
http://journals.uvic.ca/index.php/ijcyfs/article/view/7763.
Gosine, K., & Pon, G. (2011). On the front lines: The voices and experiences of racialized child welfare workers
in Toronto, Canada. Journal of Progressive Human Services, 22(2), 135-159. Retrieved from
http://journals2.scholarsportal.info.ezproxy.lib.ryerson.ca/details/10428232/v22i0002/135_otfltvcwwitc.xml.

19. ReferencesHasford, J. (2015). Pathways and prevention of African-Canadian disproportionalities and disparities in the child
welfare system: A position paper. Black Community Action Network of Peel. Retrieved from
http://www.bcanpeel.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/BCAN-Position-Paper_2015-12-08.pdf.
Hill, R. B. (2004). Institutional racism in child welfare. Race and Society, 7(1), 17-33. Retrieved from
http://journals2.scholarsportal.info.ezproxy.lib.ryerson.ca/details/10909524/v07i0001/17_iricw.xml.
King, B., Fallon, B., Boyd, R., Black, T., Antwi-Boasiako, K. & O’Connor, C. (2017). Factors associated with
racial differences in child welfare investigative decision-making in Ontario, Canada. Child Abuse & Neglect, 73,
89-105.
One Vision One Voice: Changing the Ontario Child Welfare System to Better Serve African Canadians: Practice
Framework Part 1: Research Report. (2016). Toronto: Ontario Association of Children’s Aid Societies. Retrieved
from http://www.oacas.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/One-Vision-One-Voice-Part-1_digital_english.pdf.
Kalinowski, T. (2016). In the child welfare system, Black youth experience isolation and internal hate. The Star.
Retrieved from https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2016/10/24/black-youth-share-their-experiences-of-cultural-
isolation-in-the-child-welfare-system.html.
King, B., Fallon, B., Boyd, R., Black, T., Antwi-Boasiako, K. & O’Connor, C. (2017). Factors associated with
racial differences in child welfare investigative decision-making in Ontario, Canada. Child Abuse & Neglect, 73,
89-105.
Teklu, M. (2012). Canada’s forgotten children: Written submissions to the committee on the rights of the child on
the third and fourth reports of Canada. African Canadian Legal Clinic. Retrieved from
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