Annual Report2015-2016

Sarnia-Lambton CAS 2015-16 Annual Report www.slcas.on.ca Page 2

Sarnia-Lambton Children’s Aid Society is a trusted ally to families, communities & cultures in creating safe, nurturing environments for children and youth to grow and succeed.

1. Welcome – Gayle Montgomery, Board President2. First Nation Welcome3. Youth in Care – Icebreaker 4. Youth Presentation5. Greetings from Ontario Association of Children’s Aid Societies –

Morag Demers6. Annual Report – Dawn Flegel/Gayle Montgomery7. Business Meeting – Gayle Montgomery8. Recognition of departing Board members9. Staff Long Service Recognitions10. Guest Speaker – Brian Maxfield11. Family Awards12. Youth in Care Awards13. Closing Remarks – Mark Horrocks, MCYS Program Supervisor14. Adjournment

President: Gayle Montgomery Past President: Jamie Bibby Vice President: Michelle Shelswell Vice President of Finance: Angela Edlington Secretary: Lynda Donovan Directors: Charlene McMahon, Johann Lewis, Ron Geerts, Sondra Gilbert, Ryan Bell, Julie George

ANNUAL MEETING AGENDA

Wednesday, September 21st, 2016

2015/2016 Board of Directors

“Come Together”

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We celebrate our year and all the people who have come together to make amazing things happen. The dedication and meaningful work of our staff, Board members, foster parents, volunteers and community partners is humbling and we are grateful to have been part of it. Motivation and inspiration continues to come directly from the children, youth and families we serve. Much progress was made with our strategic plan. Highlights include:

Our dream is that all children and youth grow up safer with families. To help us get there, all staff was trained in the Signs of Safety philosophy and framework and we continue to implement it. This model encourages the inclusion of families in all aspects of our work and ensures that everyone’s voice can be heard. There are fewer children and youth coming into foster care and fewer remaining in foster care. There are fewer children and youth who are permanent Wards of the agency.

For 90% of the 131 facilitated case conferences that were held to plan for children and youth, their families were there and actively participating. The Family Feedback project began where we are actively engaging with families to figure out with them the best way to get ongoing and meaningful feedback from families we serve. We hosted a consultation locally to provide input for the One Vision One Voice provincial project about the over-representation of black families in child welfare. Board members and foster parents participated in anti-oppressive training.

We finalized a joint protocol with Mnaasged Child and Family Services and Aamjiwnaang First Nation. We presented twice with our partners at the Association of Native Child and Family Services Agencies of Ontario Annual Conference held in Sarnia about our work together. With the Native Friendship Centre, we hosted a successful Our Dreams Matter Too walk. We piloted the Heart and Spirit curriculum and advocated that it be a culturally supportive alternative to PRIDE and SAFE.

We released our first agency newsletter and now have a stronger social media presence on Facebook and Twitter. Our agency’s Key Performance Indicators were released to the public for the first time. There were positive news stories about our work in the local media.

All staff and Board members have a personal goal that is connected to the agency’s strategic directions and these are displayed in our Board room. Foster parents and volunteers continue to complete theirs.

The successes are celebrated at the same time as the acknowledgement that there is more change ahead. We are part of the provincial Call to Action to improve the system of child welfare in the province and ensure that all children, youth and families have equitable outcomes. We are challenged to continue to address the inequities that exist for Indigenous families and black families in child welfare. Reconfiguration of our sector, amalgamations, shared services, the implementation of a new electronic database for all CASs in the province (CPIN) and legislative changes are all on the horizon. We remain focused on our values of safety, families, relationships, collaboration and being open and willing to change. We are confident that our priorities remain on children, youth and families, which will enable us to do the right thing in the times ahead.

Thank you to everyone for your work, passion, caring and commitment over the past year and for making a difference.

Board President &Executive Director Annual Report

Gayle MontgomeryBoard President

Dawn FlegelExecutive Director

CHASING ZERO

JOURNEY BESIDE

ALL AT THE TABLE

OUR STORIES

MY CIRCLE

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Our Dreams Matter Too WalkTogether with the Friendship Centre, we hosted the Our Dreams Matter Too Walk. This is a national campaign to raise awareness about the inequities faced by First Nation children, youth and families. Three summer students did an exceptional job in organizing our walk. We had approximately 50-60 people who attended and many more who wrote letters that were mailed to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Highlights

WHO WE WORKED WITHChildren Served2,116 in 2014-15

2,078 in 2015-16

Families Served1,598 in 2014-15

1,490 in 2015-16

1,1702015-16

1,0402014-15

1292015-16

1352014-15Completed

InvestigationsAll Inquiries

ReceivedAvg. Number of Children in Care

Per Month2,2772015-16

2,5002014-15

Kinship BBQOn July 5, 2016 the Kinship Services Department hosted the third ‘Annual Kinship Barbeque’. Seventy-seven Kinship Service caregivers and children attended the event. They enjoyed taking part in crafts, making cotton candy, and playing football and bean bag toss. Most importantly, families were able to network with other kinship families, widening their group of supports. In between the activities and socializing, dinner was served and the Ice Creamery provided a delicious desert. The feedback received from the attending families was that this was the best ‘Annual Kinship BBQ’ to date and that they were looking forward to next year! Thanks to those who attended and made this event possible!

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Rockies TripA group of 15 youth in care experienced an unforgettable trip to the Calgary Rocky Mountains. For some it was their first time in a tent, on a plane or in a helicopter. Many of the youth did not know each other but by the end of the trip the group became like a family. Kaili, one of the chaperones commented that it was a delight to watch the youth band together to become a tight knit group that were encouraging, helpful and supportive of each other. They had a very difficult task ahead of them and faced many challenges, mentally, physically and emotionally, but they never turned their back on a member of their group. This was an experience that the youth will not soon forget.

Congratulations

GRADUATES2016

SkyeZakeryParker

Tanisha

JoshReilly

ZackeryJohn

COLLEGE

ShantelRichardTerren

LucasKaitlinHaileyRuth

JamieMarie-Eve

BrandonJocelyn

StephanieJustin

NathalieJosie

GRADE 12GRADE 8

f

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“As a member of Walpole Island and the CAS board. I am accountable not only to the board but to my community’s

members and children.

The indigenous voice at the board table was very limited in the past part of my being here is to ensure I am prepared

and to speak up when needed.

My hope is that child protection services in Sarnia-Lambton continue to work toward being collaborative with aboriginal communities and families.

That through true collaboration we will be working toward decolonizing

child welfare.”

-Sondra, Board of Directors

“To actively support All at the Table by encouraging the involvement of family members and other caregivers, along

with staff and service providers, in case conferences and permanency planning.”

- Elaine, Manager

“I will ensure that I am using SOS with all my families to support the

‘all at the table’ direction, by working collaboratively together.”

-Dana, Protection Worker

“I will continue to use the tools for Signs of Safety and advocate for more family

meetings bringing as many members to the table when developing future safety

plans for children and their family.”

-Lynda, Protection Worker

“As a driver, I have the opportunity to listen to each child that I drive. Children

seem to feel comfortable opening up with concerns and worries. Kids

just want to talk; just listening to kids is helpful. In a small way, just being friendly helps to make a difference

in child’s life.”

Bob, Volunteer

CHILDRENYOUTH

&FAMILIES

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“I will utilize Signs of Safety to be transparent with families, and work

alongside with families to develop their plans to keep their children safe.”

- Denise, Protection Worker

“We will listen to families and children we drive and forward to the workers any

information that would be helpful to those families. Having read the Other Side of

the Door, we have a better understanding of Native culture. We will listen and give

respect to the families that work with the agency.”

Ron & Barb, Volunteer

“ I will network with community groups such as Lambton Circles to provide

opportunities for all voices to be heard.”

-Gayle, Board of Directors

“In my family, solutions were usually arrived at literally at the kitchen table. At a larger scale, community meetings/feasts were

usually the place to discuss and collaborate. As it relates to the directive, I commit

to having parents, family and Society at a table (hopefully with food!) for either SOS meeting, mediation, family group

conferencing or informal meetings to solve problems outside of court.”

- Kelly, Counsel

CHILDRENYOUTH

&FAMILIES

MY CIRCLEEach of us has the personal responsibility to ask ourselves “What role do I play in helping us meet our goals?” and “How am I commiting myself to our mission?’’ This is your circle.Success Marker - Every staff person, Board member, foster parent and volunteer has a personal goal that will help us achieve our strategic goals.

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Expenditures 2016 2015Salaries & Benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,654,789 10,209,634Travel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 735,720 838,474Training & Recruitment, Promotion & Misc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292,227 368,033Building Occupancy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 705,486 324,566Professional Services – Clients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 372,540 354,897Board Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,094,697 2,879,300Personal Needs – Clients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,167,024 1,174,324Health & Other Related – Clients. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269,314 366,632Office Administration Supplies & Professional Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 421,584 488,666Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145,494 145,048Total Expenditures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17,858,875 17,149,574

RevenuesExpenditure Recoveries & Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163,063 238,449Provincial Subsidy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16,740,517 16,673,521Total Revenues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16,903,580 16,911,970Net Surplus (Deficit) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ( 955,295 ) ( 237,604 )aBalanced Budget Fund (Contribution) - Utilization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 731,633 0Ministry Managed Fund (Deficiency) excess of revenues versus expenditures per audited statement . . . . . ( 223,662 ) ( 237,604 )Add back expenditures recognized for GAAP Audit Compliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222,551 237,604Net Operating Surplus/(Deficit) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (1,111) 0

a The Ministry of Children and Youth Services has created the “Balanced Budget Fund” to support Children’s Aid Societies in meeting the balanced budget requirement set out in Regulation 70 and to proactively manage the risks associated with a multi-year budget planning process. During the year ended March 31, 2014, Sarnia-Lambton CAS generated a surplus of $1,146,614 that may be eligible for access until March 31, 2017. **Audited Statements are available on the agency website.

Financials

Types of Allegations Received500

300

400

200

100

CaregiverCapacity

Domestic Violence

Neglect Caregiver/Child Conflict

PhysicalAbuse

SexualAbuse

2014

- 15

2014

- 15

2014

- 15

2014

- 15

2014

- 15

2014

- 15

2015

- 16

2015

- 16

2015

- 16

2015

- 16

2015

- 16

2015

- 16