ALIGN & SECTOR PROFESSIONAL RESOURCES

ALIGN has a reputation for collaborating with government, academia and other professional practice organizations. ALIGN is frequently asked to represent the voices of children, families, and member organizations during policy, practice, and legislative discussions.

CURRENT
COVID Children’s Services Updates
Family Resource Network
Community Services Staff Safety Initiative (CSSSI)
Family Support for Children with Disabilities Program (FSCD)

ARCHIVED OR NO RECENT UPDATES
ALIGN Agency Response to Kinship Care Redesign (Revised June 3 2019)
Bill 17 – Fair and Family-Friendly Workplaces Act
Bill 30 Occupational Health and Safety Act
Bill 205 Advocates for Persons with Disabilities
Care Worker Violence Prevention Focused Inspection Program
Child Review Panel & A Stronger, Safer Tomorrow Action Plan 
Collaboration Table (Formerly The Foster Care Negotiation Table
Procurement Advisory Table (PAT
Resiliency Framework (Previously Early Intervention Framework
The Role of Caregivers in Assessing and Managing Risk Related to Opioid Use – A Tip Sheet October 24, 2017

ALIGN is a partner of AASP. ALIGN E.D. Rhonda Barraclough and Cathy Mitchell sit on the CSSSI steering committee. Cathy Mitchell also sits on the Info Graph sub committee. (see CSSSI below)

AASP Alberta Association for Safety Partnerships (AASP) is Alberta Government approved Certifying Partner and a registered non-profit organization under the Society Act of Alberta. The AASP is a service focused Certifying Partner, providing a practical and reasonable approach to health and safety in the workplace. Through our commitment to our members, and solely through their funding of memberships and course fees, the AASP has grown to be the second largest issuer of Certificates of Recognition (COR and SECOR) in the province. The AASP is also the largest Certifying Partner that serves all industries in Alberta while receiving no government funding.

Safety Initiative (CSSSI); an initiative to increase staff safety and reduce harassment and violence in community service workplaces in
Alberta.

Prior ALIGN/AASP collaborations.
ALIGN & AASP: Roadmap to COR Power Point Presentation

Alberta Council assists clients with their advocacy efforts and with building their capacity through their experienced team of government relations professionals.

ALIGN ELECTION TOOL KIT Prepared by Alberta Counsel Legal and Lobby Professionals

ALIGN Election Engaging With Candidates Prepared by Pascal Ryffel Alberta Counsel March 2019 pp

200000.ca – ALIGN Online Messaging Platform for Sharing Messages with Candidates

The NEWS from Alberta Counsel – July 31, 2019

The NEWS from Alberta Counsel July 3, 2019

Alberta Counsel Analysis of Premier Jason Kenney’s New Cabinet.

AFKA is part of the  ALIGN foster care table and we often sit on GOA committees with them as well as AMP mentoring YIC advisory committee.

The Alberta Foster and Kinship Association is a non profit, charitable organization, which provides support to foster and kinship families, advocates for the rights of children, provides and arranges for training and social gatherings, educates the public about foster and kinship care, and serves as a liaison between foster and kinship families and Alberta Children’s Services. Alberta Foster and Kinship Association (AFKA) No Cost Membership for ALL licensed or approved foster and kinship caregiver valid until Dec 2021

AFKA and ALIGN.

This Tip Sheet that has been developed by a committee representing provincial Children Services , AFKA and ALIGN.
The Role of Caregivers in Assessing and Managing Risk Related to Opioid Use – A Tip Sheet Questions can be directed to [email protected]
See Additional or Related Opioid Information 

AFKA and ALIGN.
Video- Celebrating and Supporting Diversity Presented by David Rust What YOU can do to create a safe and caring environment for LGBTQ children and youth

Video – Drugs 101: What Every Caregiver Needs to Know About Popular Street Drugs.

(Please Note: This a large file and may take a minute or two to display)
Transitioning From Care Revised Version 2016
Jeff Solberg in collaboration with AASCF and AFPA. Developed to improves outcomes for youth in care and their caregiver

ALIGN – Member of the AMP Children and Youth in Care Advisory Committee. 

ALIGN is a member of Calgary Chamber of Voluntary Organizations.
CCVO (Calgary Chamber of Voluntary Organizations) is a member-based charitable organization that was established in 2004 to strengthen Calgary’s vibrant nonprofit/voluntary sector, and address sector-related public policy issues in Alberta.

ALIGN E.D. Rhonda Barraclough sits on the CIAFV Leadership Team..

Community Initiatives Against Family Violence
Through innovative strategies, CIAFV supports the creation of a collaborative, coordinated, diverse, community response to family violence, strengthening our community’s capacity to take constructive action against family violence.

ALIGN participation

Community Mental Health Action Plan

The purpose of the Action Plan is to ensure that everyone involved in mental health and addiction in Edmonton and Area has the opportunity to maximize collective resources, leverage opportunities to respond to existing gaps, foster innovative approaches and identify a continuum of integrated supports and services.
Download the Community Mental Health Action Plan:
For social-based organizations, information sharing is central to effective planning, policy development and service delivery. By working together, service providers can more effectively plan and serve Albertans by sharing appropriate personal and health information

Information Sharing Guide for Social-based Service Design and Delivery
Information Sharing Toolkit for Social-based Service Design and Delivery
6 Principles for Getting Information Sharing Right

ALIGN is a member of the Child Welfare League of Canada Rhonda Barraclough ALIGN Executive Director, is Chair for the Executive Committee and Indigenous Child and Family Committee Member.

Child Welfare League of Canada Established in 1994, CWLC is a national, membership-based charitable organization dedicated to promoting the safety and well-being of young people and their families, especially those who are vulnerable and marginalized. We advocate for and promote legislation, policy, research, programs, and services that address the underlying causes of precarity and trauma. We convene leaders, organizations, researchers, governments, and people with lived experience to learn and improve our practices.

ALIGN is a member of the Edmonton Chamber of Voluntary Organizations

The Edmonton Chamber of Voluntary Organizations helps organizations build and sustain their volunteer programs and services through resources, networking, and skill development opportunities.

Resources for Individuals, Businesses, and Not-For-Profits During the COVID-19 Crisis May 20, 2020 : A resource from ALIGN , ECVO, and ACDS. This document is a follow-up to our March 24th publication on resources for individuals, businesses, and not-for-profits. Some clarification has been provided on what government resources not-for-profits and charities are able to access

Family Finding – Caregivers
Family Finding is an approach that seeks to build and maintain a natural support network for children and youth disconnected from their home and community.  It helps children and youth in care connect or reconnect with, create, and maintain relationships with adults who are important to them.  These people can include parents or guardians, siblings, past caregivers, extended family members, adult siblings from previous placements, teachers, daycare providers, or anyone else they
have had significant relationships with in the past.  These relationships are important for children’s well-being, allowing them to
know who their family is and where they come from, to know their cultural or religious heritage, and to establish supportive connections into their adulthood…

ALIGN Videos of Family Finding Presentations
Welcome & Opening Prayer
Kim Spicer – 6 CIPF Principles
Kevin Campbell Part 1
Kevin Campbell Part 2
Kevin Campbell Part 3
Kevin Campbell Part 4

Click Here for a list of training topics offered by Kevin Campbell and/or Family & Children’s Services.

Recommended Resources following ALIGN Family Finding Presentation Edmonton Jan 2018

Center on the Developing Child Harvard University
Toxic Stress Effects on the body
Applying Brain Science to Child Welfare
The Science of Resilience
Tipping the Scales: The Resilience Game

AAPPublications/Pediatrics
Turney K and Wildeman C. Mental and Physical Health of Children in Foster Care. Pediatrics. 2016;138(5): e20161118
Mental and Physical Health of Children in Foster Care Kristin Turney, Christopher Wildeman November 2016, VOLUME 138 / ISSUE 5

On Being
How Trauma and Resilience Cross Generations Rachel Yehuda

Campbell Collaboration
The health and well-being of children placed in kinship care is better than that of children in foster care 2016

American Academy of Pediatrics
Unique Needs of Children in Kinship Care

Videos

Behavioral Epigenetics
Moshe Szyf gives a keynote presentation on behavioral epigenetics during the opening conference of the research group “Genetic and Social Causes of Life Chances

The Body Keeps the Score
Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, one of the world’s leading experts on developmental trauma, explains how our long-term health and happiness can be compromised by prior exposure to violence, emotional abuse, and
other forms of traumatic stress.

Gathering Wisdom for a Shared Journey VIII Keynote Presentation – Terry Cross
Terry Cross – Founder of the National Indian Child Welfare Association now serving as senior advisor. He is the author of Positive Indian Parenting and co-authored Towards a Culturally Competent System of Care,
published by Georgetown University. He has 40 years of experience in child welfare, including 10 years direct practice.

Social and Behavioral Determinants of Toxic Stress
David Williams of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health looks at the social and behavioral factors–including socioeconomic status, race,discrimination, and place–that play a role in triggering toxic stress
for children and adults. He also discusses what effective solutions for reducing toxic stress and improving health

Gabor Mate: Attachment, Disease, and Addiction
Jack Shonkoff Harvard University Leveraging the biology of Adversity to Strengthen the Foundations of Healthy Development
Bruce McEwen Rockefeller University The Brain an Body on Stress
Impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences on Health Across the Life Course—Core Story: The ACE Study

ALIGN is a member of the First Nations Child & Family Caring Society

First Nations Child & Family Caring Society provides reconciliation-based public education, research and support to promote the safety and well-being of First Nations children, young people, families and Nations and ensure First Nations children and their families have culturally based and equitable opportunities to grow up safely at home, be healthy, get a good education and be proud of who they are.

The Healthy Workplaces for Helping Professions project aims to help administrators, supervisors, and front-line staff in the human services sector workforce of Alberta to identify, communicate, and mitigate the stress hazards of human-service work. It aims to do so by conducting research into the nature of stress hazards and by providing the government of Alberta, Workers Compensation Board, and accreditation agencies with data needed to allow for informed policy. At the same time, the project aims to increase the capacity of the workforce to respond to stress hazards on the job so that stress claims can be minimized. It will do this with a three-year plan to 1) research stress hazards, 2) mobilize information (training) on how to mitigate stress hazards, and 3) measure the degree of culture change in the workforce. The end result will be a workforce with increased capacity to respond to stress hazards and clear guidelines for government and insurance agencies to address stress hazards.

ALIGN Chapter – Workplace Health and Wellness: The Next Step in Workplace Productivity 2016 pdf Healthy Workplaces Program

Workplace Health and Wellness. Edmonton chapter of ALIGN on November 5, 2015.

UofA Workplace Wellness Leadership Series
is designed to empower managers, HR personnel, and OHS professionals to design, create, and lead workplace health and wellness initiatives, while addressing the psychological hazards and elements needed to
overcome them.

Nicole McFadyen (ALIGN) has was invited to sit on the Signs of Safety working group

Signs of Safety Is an innovative strengths-based, safety-organized approach to child protection casework. The model of its approach was created in Western
Australia by Andrew Turnell and Steve Edwards, who worked with over 150
front-line statutory practitioners and based it on what those practitioners know works well with difficult cases. The Signs of Safety
approach has attracted international attention and is being used in jurisdictions in North America, Europe and Australasia

Recommended Resources

Signs of Safety Knowledge Bank.

Demonstrating Safety Within the Drug Epidemic

The Power of Partnership Video & Workbook: How to Use Signs of Safety in Child Protection

Strengths-Based Child Protection: Firm, Fair, and Friendly by Carolyn Oliver. We are very happy to recommend. Forward by Andrew Turnell: Signs of Safety

ALIGN Participation on SSHRCC Grant Research Project On Trauma Informed Care

The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) is the federal research funding agency that promotes and supports postsecondary-based research and training in the humanities and social sciences.

Wellness Works Canada

ViA non-profit workplace health and performance association. They support workplace health practitioners and employers to build healthy, high performing work cultures and empower and guide their members with simple, evidence-informed, cost-effective education, resources, consulting and certifications. They advocate for the profound impact well-being has on performance.

ALIGN Videos Building a Healthy, High Performing Work Culture’ with Victoria Grainger, MBA, BPE, PTS, HWL with Wellness Works Canada 2020

Video 1: Introduction: Building a Healthy High Performing Work Culture

Video 2: Why Invest in a Healthy, High Performing Work Culture

Video 3: How to Build a Healthy, High Performing Work Culture

Video 4: NCVI

Video 5: Building your Health and Performanc

All 5 Videos

University of Alberta – Wahkohtowin Law and Governance Lodge
The Wahkohtowin Lodge responds to the expressed needs of Indigenous communities and organizations who want effective strategies to identify, rebuild and develop law and governance structures that resonate within their own legal and governance traditions. Specifically, this resource has a wealth of information and updates on Bill C-92. (Bill C-92: An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families, is the first federal legislation on the subject of Indigenous Child and Family Services)

ALIGN hosted BILL C-92 Virtual Workshop 2020 Wahkohtowin Law and Governance Lodge Presentation Materials  Bill C-92 -From Compliance to Connection Dr. Hadley Friedland and Koren Lightning-Earle

ALIGN is a member of Volunteer Alberta.

Volunteer Alberta is a diverse and inclusive member association strengthening and creating pathways for volunteerism and civic engagement in Alberta.