Resources
ALIGN’s Well-Being Toolkit Community of Practice (CoP)
The CoP is an informal community of like-minded practitioners and evaluators in the child and family serving sector who are interested in growing their organization’s impact on child and youth well-being.
OCYA Youth Houselessness Surveys for People With Lived or Professional Experience
OCYA is seeking feedback to better understand the causes of youth houselessness in Alberta, available services and supports, and what can be done to better support young people at risk of becoming unhoused.
Free, Virtual Course Who Cares? An ARAO Guide to Supporting Youth Mental Health
This curriculum from the Canadian Women’s Foundation addresses challenges faced by youth workers in supporting the mental health needs of Black, Indigenous, and 2SLGBTQIA+ youth. It provides strategies that youth workers can implement to ensure their own wellbeing is taken into account.
How to Celebrate National Indigenous History Month & National Indigenous Peoples Day this June!
This June is everyone’s opportunity to recognize and honour the achievements, history and rich cultures of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples in Canada. Here's how!
Call for Proposals for the 2025 Canadian Mentoring Summit Deadline July 4, 2025
Have an innovative program, tool, or collaboration to share? Submit your workshop proposal by July 4, 2025, for a chance to present a 75-minute session and help shape the future of mentoring.
International Youth Day Celebration August 12, 2025 (OCYA)
This year’s theme, “Advocacy through Storytelling,” highlights the power of youth voices, creativity, and connection. Youth Day provides a platform for young people to learn about their rights, share ideas, and gain inspiration for their personal and professional growth.
ALIGN's Well-Being in Child and Family Services Toolkit
The way we define and understand child and youth well-being matters.
Seeds of Transformation Framework, Strategy for Belonging (Tamarack)
Built by listening to their community, Seeds of Transformation shares how the Tamarack Institute is building equity, anti-racism, and reconciliation into the heart of their work, through governance, strategy, policy, partnerships, and culture.
The Online Safety Toolkit
The Online Safety Toolkit (OST) provides information for 2SLGBTQ+, BIPOC, youth, parents, women and girls, men and boys, and for anyone in the community who needs support to have a safe and healthy online presence.
Helping Caregivers & Families Support Gender-diverse Youth (PolicyWise)
PolicyWise for Children & Families recently held a webinar to address this important topic and help social workers support caregivers as they learn to affirm and care for gender-diverse youth. (LGBTQI2S+)
ALIGN CONNECTIONS For Indigenous Children/Youth & Caregivers May 2025
CONNECTIONS is monthly newsletter designed to support Foster and Kinship Caregivers to ensure First Nations, Metis & Inuit children in their care have access to cultural resources, activities and events that broaden their cultural awareness.
Alberta.ca Building on our Strengths: Alberta’s 10-year Strategy to End Gender-Based Violence
Alberta's bold, provincewide plan to address all forms of gender-based violence.
Results Are In! The Family and Natural Supports Program Improves Youth Well-Being and Prevents Homelessness (homeless learning hub)
This infographic provides aa snapshot of how the Family and Natural Supports (FNS) program supports youth and their families, including those they consider significant in their lives—such as chosen family, Elders, coaches, and teachers—to foster stronger relationships, resolve conflicts, and help prevent youth homelessness.
Report: Indigenous Shelter Diversion and Eviction Prevention May 2025 (Canadian Observatory on Homelessness)
Through an environmental scan of literature and existing programs, this report adopts a decolonizing lens to explore Indigenous perspectives on prevention, including diversion from shelters and preventing eviction.
Bill 53 Compassionate Intervention Act: Alberta Charts a Controversial New Course on Addiction Care (Alberta Council May 2025)
In Alberta Counsel’s feature article, Director of NPVS Aileen Burke goes over Bill 53 which introduces the Compassionate Intervention Act and the implications it holds for Alberta.
Alberta.ca News Release Quadrupling Youth Beds with CASA Mental Health May 7 2025
Alberta’s government has an established partnership with CASA Mental Health, the province’s second-largest provider of community-based youth mental health services.
Cope - A Valuable Resource for Caregivers of Children and Youth Who Have Experienced Trauma
Are you a caregiver of a child who has experienced trauma? Register for COPE and learn strategies to help you and your child cope and recover.
Our Children Are Sacred Indigenous Youth Suicide Prevention Course (Ben Calf Robe Society)
“Our Children Are Sacred” is a Youth Suicide Prevention Course and resource for adults interacting with individuals at risk for suicide.
Wherever Precariously Homed People Are, Their Belongings are at Risk (homeless hub)
This research addresses a gap in the scholarship of homelessness governance, shining a light on the people, practices, and experiences of regulation as it relates to precariously homed people’s belongings.
Alberta.ca Bill 53: Compassionate Intervention Act Legislation Tabled
The Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions has introduced Bill 53: Compassionate Intervention Act.
MHRC Launches New Youth Mental Health Data Hub Launch April 2025
MHRC and GreenShield have launched this new resource to deliver unparalleled insights into the mental health of young Canadians in collaboration with leading youth mental health organizations.
Strength in Numbers: The 2023-2024 ACWS Report on Domestic Violence Shelter Impact in Alberta
Released April 2025 this report reveals a continued rise in demand for shelter services and the urgent need for sustained support to keep up with the growing complexity of survivors’ needs.
Empowering Providers Serving Gender-Diverse Youth (PolicyWise)
Provincial governments across Canada have been announcing and enacting changes to laws affecting the health and well-being of gender-diverse youth. These legislative changes have increased the demand for evidence-based information on how best to support these youth, their families, and their communities. Recognizing this need, PolicyWise for Children & Families is proud to launch the Empowering Providers initiative.
CoRe White Paper Effective and Compassionate Intervention: Civil Commitment for Individuals with Severe Addiction in Alberta
The policy white paper (March 21, 2025) was developed by The Canadian Centre of Recovery Excellence CoRE following its creation in summer 2024, at the request of Alberta’s Ministry of Mental Health and Addiction.
Report - Indigenous Land-Based Research Gathering: Summary of Learnings from Talking Circles
A Way Home Canada and the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness’s Making the Shift Youth Homelessness Social Innovation Lab, in partnership with Waakebiness Institute for Indigenous Health, hosted a two-day, summative knowledge-sharing gathering held on the land and in ceremony.
An Introduction to Decolonizing Indigenous Research
A Way Home Canada, Canadian Observatory on Homelessness & Making the Shift Youth Homelessness Social Innovation Lab
Alberta.ca Open Data Emergency Shelters Daily Occupancy Updated March 2025
This collection of datasets provided by Seniors, Community and Social Services (SCSS)
A Guide to Serve & Return (Center on the Developing Child Harvard University)
The resources in this guide offer more on the science behind serve and return, practical ways to implement it, and strategies to support caregivers and children.
fACT Sheet: 2025 Alberta Provincial Budget (ESPC)
The 2025-26 Alberta budget, titled Meeting the Challenge, covers finances from April 1, 2025 until March 31, 2026 and seeks to continue to build the province and support Albertans during a challenging time period.
Bill 37: Alberta.ca Amendments to the Mental Health Services Protection Act (MHSPA) February 2025
The act, its regulation, and four sets of standards provide requirements for the following licensed mental health and addiction services: Bed-based addiction treatment, drug consumption services, narcotic transition services and psychedelic drug treatment
PolicyWise Creating a Roadmap to Prevent Youth Homelessness February 2025
This roadmap seeks to create information that brings light to effective prevention strategies through research and evaluation
MHRC Report Unsupported Needs: Access to Mental Health and Substance Use Services...
Diving deeper into national trends of mental health service access, this report explores how severity of mental health symptoms or substance use behaviours relates to how Canadians are accessing support
Alberta Opens First Eating Disorders Recovery Centre in Calgary Supporting Youth & Adults
Operated by EHN Canada, the 12-bed EHN Sandstone Recovery Centre in Calgary increases access to specialized eating disorders treatment in the province providing up to 52 youth and young adults with treatment free of charge every year.
The Disability Policy in Canada Provincial and Territorial Report January 2025
New report published January 2025 signals provinces and territories must work together to eliminate barriers for persons with disabilities
Calgary's Enough for All Well-Being Dashboard
The Enough for All Well-Being Dashboard brings to life vital data demonstrating Calgary's progress toward achieving its poverty-reduction goals. See yearly changes and trends in income, housing, education, employment, and more.
The Role of Mentoring for Foster Parents & Why It Matters (ALIGN)
Mentoring children and youth offers significant value, both for the individuals involved and for society as a whole. Below are some of the key benefits of mentoring:
