Component: provincial initiatives

Legislation: Child, Youth and Family Services Act, 2017 (CYFSA)

Service objectives

  1. To provide support to children, youth and families who are receiving/have received child welfare services and are experiencing unresolved immigration, settlement or border-related issues
  2. To provide support to child welfare workers that require assistance with resolving immigration status and settlement issues for children, youth and families receiving child welfare services
  3. To build capacity in the child welfare sector by increasing knowledge and understanding of the intersection of child welfare and immigration, settlement and border-related issues

Service description

The Recipient will:

  • Provide a range of direct services for children, youth and families who are receiving/have received child welfare services and have unresolved immigration, settlement and border-related issues in Ontario
  • Build capacity in the child welfare sector by providing knowledge, guidance and services to child welfare workers and societies in Ontario regarding the intersection of child welfare and immigration, settlement and border-related issues

Target population

The Recipient responds to referrals regarding unresolved immigration, settlement and border-related issues for children and youth who are

  • under 18 years of age and receiving child welfare services in Ontario including children in care or receiving kinship service
  • receiving Continued Care and Support for Youth (CCSY)
  • over 18 years of age that were in Extended Society Care (Former Crown Wards); and
  • children and youth not currently involved but in need of child welfare services

Program services

The Recipient will provide the following services

  • Centralized consultation centre for children’s aid societies (societies) managing complex child protection and immigration cases, including
    • Short term interventions to assist children, youth or families with unresolved immigration, settlement, or border-related issues
    • Aid in filing citizenship and immigration documentation Connections to lawyers and federal partners
    • Consultation on child protection investigations involving immigration challenges
    • Referrals to resources in the community to support families caring for children without status
    • Consultation on settlement issues that assist with integration into society and the intersection of child protection and immigration
  • Raise awareness on the scope and importance of immigration status issues for children accessing services from societies, including
    • Deliver presentations that highlight early intervention
    • Provide guidance and encouraging societies to enable and identify children with immigration issues
    • Developing a social media presence and online pathways to enable societies to access to resources
  • Identify and develop partnerships and protocols with local, provincial and federal partners to resolve immigration issues, including
    • Identify opportunities for expediting processes/protocols and Memorandums of Understanding
    • Streamline and improve access to federal government services Maintain up-to-date contacts with priority partners
  • Collect data and facilitate research to promote an improved understanding of the scope of immigration issues across the child welfare sector, including
    • Collect data and information from societies
    • Conduct research with partners such as universities
    • Connect and collaborate with institutions offering similar services
    • Track and maintain information on immigration status issues
  • Develop resources that can be used by societies, families, children and youth, including
    • Create and maintain a resource directory of providers g., legal, counselling, settlement
    • Create and maintain FAQs and how-to guides

Program/service features

The Recipient will provide services in the functions described above.

Program goals

The Recipient will

  • Support children, youth and families with involvement in the child welfare system resolve immigration status and settlement issues
  • Support child welfare workers that require assistance with resolving immigration and settlement issues for children, youth and families receiving child welfare services
  • Build awareness of the intersection between child welfare and immigration Research the impact of services delivered
  • Maintain a focus on data intelligence
  • Promote equitable outcomes for children, youth, and families
  • Commit to diversity, equity and inclusion practices consistent with the society’s DEI accomplishments to date, as well as their Anti-Racism Strategy and Action Plan

Services will be

  • Reflective and responsive to child/youth, family, including community strengths and needs
  • Accountable to children and youth served, to their families and their communities
  • Staffed by individuals with the appropriate skills and abilities necessary to respond effectively to the needs of children and youth experiencing immigration status issues
  • Based on the assessed needs and preferences of the eligible children and youth who receive services, and available society, community and contracted ministry resources

Ministry expectations

The Recipient is responsible for the following activities

  • Overall administration and delivery, including agreed upon program deliverables, including providing consultations to societies in meeting new citizenship and immigration requirements (Reg. 156/18, s. 48.1 - 48.3, 48.5 and 48.10) that will be in effect on July 1, 2023, to support societies in addressing concerns in a timely manner and in the best interests of the child
  • Financial and service performance reporting, including submission of required and requested reports within established time frames
  • Developing appropriate policies and procedures for protecting the privacy of personal information collected from eligible children and youth The policies and procedures that are developed by the Service Provider shall comply with the confidentiality provisions relating to children who are the subject of a child welfare proceeding under the Child, Youth, and Family Services Act, 2017 and the Youth Criminal Justice Act, including Part 6, when the information and records relate to young persons as defined by the Youth Criminal Justice Act

Reporting requirements

At each reporting period, provide to the ministry an executive summary on

Program description

  • Briefly describe the program as it relates to your This section can include community characteristics, profile of eligible children and youth served (e.g., main sub-populations by continent of origin and immigration status), sector response to the program; changes in access to immigration pathways and supports for eligible children, youth and families; results from inter-agency and sector collaborations
  • Describe direct services provided to children, youth and families who are experiencing immigration and settlement issues and receiving/have received child welfare services
  • Describe how the Recipient has supported societies in implementing the immigration and citizenship requirements (O. Reg. 156/18, s. 48.1 - 48.3, 48.5 and 48.10) (e.g., emerging trends and needs related to consultations offered to societies)
  • Describe the emerging trends and needs of children, youth and families who are receiving/have received child welfare services and the intersections with immigration/settlement services
  • Describe how the Recipient develops partnerships between other societies, the federal government and immigration/settlement organizations in the province
  • Describe capacity building services provided to society staff to increase their knowledge of the immigration system and strategies for promoting proactive and responsive service to address children, youth and families experiencing immigration and settlement issues

Summary and interpretation of performance measures:

Provide an overview and analysis of the annual results and outcomes achieved on the performance measures outlined below.

Successes

Describe what makes Recipient work well, including examples of successful service delivery to help children, youth and families, capacity building to support society workers and partnerships formed in the immigration and settlement sector, the federal government and other community resources. Examples could include quotes and/or anecdotes (with identifying information removed).

Challenges

Describe the challenges encountered in planning and delivering services and the strategies employed, or planned, to overcome the challenges.

Recommendations

Describe recommendations for non-financial supports the ministry could provide to support the Recipient.

Summary

Briefly summarize the key information in the report. This section could include the service provider’s reflections/learning from planning and delivering the program.

The following service data will be reported on at an Interim and Final stage. Please refer to your final agreement for report back due dates and targets.

Service Data Name Definition

# of child welfare workers participating in CWICE capacity building activities

Total number of child welfare workers that participated in training and awareness activities provided by CWICE.

# of client referrals received by CWICE service type: Other – Please explain

The total Number of client referrals received by CWICE service type: Other.

# of client referrals received by CWICE service type: Cases Abroad

The total Number of client referrals received by CWICE service type: Cases Abroad.

# of client referrals received by CWICE service type: Citizenship Inquiries

The total Number of client referrals received by CWICE service type: Citizenship Inquiries.

# of client referrals received by CWICE service type: General Services

The total Number of client referrals received by CWICE service type: General Services.

# of client referrals received by CWICE service type: Immigration Inquiries

The total Number of client referrals received by CWICE service type: Immigration Inquiries.

# of client referrals received by CWICE service type: Newcomer/Settlement

The total Number of client referrals received by CWICE service type: Newcomer/Settlement.

# of client referrals received by CWICE service type: Referral to community services

The total Number of client referrals received by CWICE service type: Referral to community services.

# of client referrals received by CWICE service type: Resource services

The total Number of client referrals received by CWICE service type: Resource services.

# of client referrals received by CWICE service type: Urgent status issues

The total Number of client referrals received by CWICE service type: Urgent status issues.

# of client referrals received by referral source: Children’s aid societies in Ontario

The number of client referrals received by referral source: Children’s aid societies in Ontario.

# of client referrals received by referral source: Client/self-referrals

The number of client referrals received by referral source: Client/self-referrals.

# of client referrals received by referral source: Community Agencies

The number of client referrals received by referral source: Community Agencies.

# of client referrals received by referral source: Education/Schools

The number of client referrals received by referral source: Education/Schools.

# of client referrals received by referral source: Federal/Immigration Partners

The number of client referrals received by referral source: Federal/Immigration Partners.

# of client referrals received by referral source: Health

The number of client referrals received by referral source: Health.

# of client referrals received by referral source: Justice/police

The number of client referrals received by referral source: Justice/police.

# of client referrals received by referral source: Other professionals

The number of client referrals received by referral source: Other professionals.

# of client referrals received by referral source: Settlement sector

The number of client referrals received by referral source: Settlement sector.

# of client referrals received by source: Child welfare agencies across Canada/Internationally

The number of client referrals received by referral source: Child welfare agencies across Canada/Internationally.

# of clients at time of closing by immigration status type: Canadian citizen

The number of clients at time of closing by immigration status type: Canadian citizen.

# of clients at time of closing by immigration status type: Convention refugee

The number of clients at time of closing by immigration status type: Convention refugee.

# of clients at time of closing by immigration status type: Denied Refugee Claimant

The number of clients at time of closing by immigration status type: Denied Refugee Claimant.

# of clients at time of closing by immigration status type: No Status (incl foreign national)

The number of clients at time of closing by immigration status type: No Status (incl foreign national).

# of clients at time of closing by immigration status type: Other – Please explain

The number of clients at time of closing by immigration status type: Other.

# of clients at time of closing by immigration status type: Permanent Resident

The number of clients at time of closing by immigration status type: Permanent Resident.

# of clients at time of closing by immigration status type: Refugee Claimant (Asylum Seeker)

The number of clients at time of closing by immigration status type: Refugee Claimant (Asylum Seeker).

# of clients at time of closing by immigration status type: Temporary resident - Student visa

The number of clients at time of closing by immigration status type: Temporary resident - Student visa.

# of clients at time of closing by immigration status type: Temporary resident - Visitor visa

The number of clients at time of closing by immigration status type: Temporary resident - Visitor visa.

# of clients at time of closing by immigration status type: Temporary resident – Work permit

The number of clients at time of closing by immigration status type: Temporary resident – Work permit.

# of clients receiving CWICE services by immigration status type: Canadian citizen

The total number of clients receiving CWICE services, by immigration status type: Canadian citizen.

# of clients receiving CWICE services by immigration status type: Convention refugee

The total number of clients receiving CWICE services, by immigration status type: Convention refugee.

# of clients receiving CWICE services by immigration status type: Denied refugee claimant

The total number of clients receiving CWICE services, by immigration status type: Denied refugee claimant.

# of clients receiving CWICE services by immigration status type: No Status (incl foreign national)

The total number of clients receiving CWICE services, by immigration status type: No Status (incl foreign national).

# of clients receiving CWICE services by immigration status type: Other – Please explain

The total number of clients receiving CWICE services, by immigration status type: Other – Please explain.

# of clients receiving CWICE services by immigration status type: Permanent resident

The total number of clients receiving CWICE services, by immigration status type: Permanent resident.

# of clients receiving CWICE services by immigration status type: Refugee claimant (asylum seeker)

The total number of clients receiving CWICE services, by immigration status type: Refugee claimant (asylum seeker).

# of clients receiving CWICE services by immigration status type: Temporary resident - Student visa

The total number of clients receiving CWICE services, by immigration status type: Temporary resident - Student visa.

# of clients receiving CWICE services by immigration status type: Temporary resident - Visitor visa

The total number of clients receiving CWICE services, by immigration status type: Temporary resident - Visitor visa.

# of clients receiving CWICE services by immigration status type: Temporary resident – Work permit

The total number of clients receiving CWICE services, by immigration status type: Temporary resident – Work permit.

# of CWICE capacity building activities

Total number of training and capacity building sessions or presentations provided by CWICE.

# of referral requests received: VYSA

Total numbers by referral requests to CWICE for services /resources. The list of referral requests by child welfare case: VYSA.

# of referral requests received: Adoption

Total numbers by referral requests to CWICE for services /resources. The list of referral requests by child welfare case: Adoption.

# of referral requests received: Child in care – Extended society care

Total numbers by referral requests to CWICE. for services /resources. The list of referral requests by child welfare case: Child in care – Extended society care.

# of referral requests received: Child in care (exclude extended society care)

Total numbers by referral requests to CWICE for services /resources. The list of referral requests by child welfare case: Child in care (exclude extended society care).

# of referral requests received: Child in kinship service placement

Total numbers by referral requests to CWICE for services /resources. The list of referral requests by child welfare case: Child in kinship service placement.

# of referral requests received: Family in need of ongoing services

Total numbers by referral requests to CWICE for services /resources. The list of referral requests by child welfare case: Family in need of ongoing services.

# of referral requests received: Investigation

Total numbers by referral requests to CWICE for services /resources. The list of referral requests by child welfare case: Investigation.

# of referral requests received: Not a current client of CW

Total numbers by referral requests to CWICE for services /resources. The list of referral requests by child welfare case: Not a current client of CW.

# of referral requests received: Youth formerly in care (exclude CCSY)

Total numbers by referral requests to CWICE for services /resources. The list of referral requests by child welfare case: Youth formerly in care (exclude CCSY).

# of Societies participating in CWICE capacity building activities:

Number of unique societies participating in CWICE capacity building activities.

Children in and Transitioning from Care – Addressing Immigration Status Issues: Ministry-funded agency expenditures

Total ministry-funded expenses for the transfer payment recipient to administer and/or deliver this service in the reporting year (cumulative).