Yonge Street Mission and Children’s Aid Society improving service outcomes for black families

BY JONELL PANTLITZ

“We want to be an organization that serves all families but right now specifically our black families to strengthen them, affirm them… black fathers we want them to have access to their children, black mothers we want them to know that we care.” Marcia Shelton (Director of Family Services/ YSM)

It may come as a surprise that black Torontonians represent only 9% of the city’s population. Black children represent the highest percentage of children in the care of the Children’s Aid Society of Toronto (CAS of Toronto).

This is why we applaud organizations such as Young Street Mission (YSM). Since 1896, YSM has been on the front lines of service, providing help and fostering long-term change in the lives of those struggling with poverty. CAS of Toronto is one of the largest child welfare organizations in Canada. A not-for-profit agency funded by the Province of Ontario, their legal mandate is to protect children from harm. They are taking further steps to achieve positive impacts for black families served by CAS of Toronto through the Cornerstone Partnership joint service initiative.

According to Marcia Shelton, Director of Family Services, of YSM, this partnership to improve service outcomes for black families is necessary,

“The black community is important, and they are valuable and they are an integral part of our community. We serve so many in our various programs at Young Street Mission. If we have the ability to strengthen families then we have to do our due diligence in providing avenues and opportunities for those communities. This partnership is integral to breaking the cycle of our broken homes.”

There are a disproportionate number of black children in the care of CAS of Toronto. The fundamental causes point to deep-seated issues of poverty, compounded by systemic racism, and preconceived ideas about a parent’s ability to care for their child. It is the reason why the YSM and CAS of Toronto partnership has sought a shift from reactive to preventative solutions.

Mahesh Prajapat, Chief Operating Officer of CAS of Toronto noted, “The way our service works is if you are worried about the safety of a child you call CAS, and we then complete an investigation that helps us to determine whether or not the children are at risk,” He continues “We not only complete the investigation, but offer solutions so families that are experiencing real-life difficult problems: whether it is parenting oriented, whether they are dealing with housing, whether to deal with poverty, whether to deal with domestic violence or mental health all of those types of family problems require solutions.”

These reasons sum up why this initiative is in pursuit of bettering black families, Mahesh Prajapat added, “We really want to move away from investigating families to investing in families, and so we are helping families find solutions to very difficult problems.”

The leaders of this initiative are confident that together they can build the capacity of families to protect their children, instead of protecting children from their families.

“We want to help families protect their own families,” says Mahesh Prajapat. “The best way that we can serve the community is by investing in families and keeping families together. We want to help families build their capacity so families can stay united and that children can remind in their communities.”

The long-term goals of this partnership are to minimize potential trauma, disruption and distress, which can lead to multi-generational impacts on the overall well being of a family. The hope is to mitigate potential poor outcomes experienced by children involved with CAS of Toronto, including challenges with: housing, employment, education, mental health and criminal activity.

Marcia Shelton completed our discussion by sharing, “We don’t have a deadline to say that we are only working with a family for only ten sessions. We will work with a family for as long as it takes to stabilize them.”

If you would like to donate, visit www.ysm.ca or call at 416-929-9614.

“This is a call to action to all agencies. We want to see what we are doing replicated. This is not just about YSM, it’s about the city.”