Resources
"Year in Reconciliation: Reflecting on 2024 and Looking Ahead" (ALIGN “Reconciliation Talks” Blog)
As 2024 draws to a close, ALIGN Association of Community Services reflects on an impactful year dedicated to advancing Truth and Reconciliation. Through collaboration, learning, and action, we’ve deepened our relationships with Indigenous communities, expanded our resources, and championed culturally relevant practices in child and family services. Whether you’ve been part of this journey or are just joining us, we warmly invite you to reflect with us and look forward to an exciting 2025.
Be Part of a Provincial Story of Well-Being Impact! Deadline December 1, 2024 (Well-Being Eblast Nov 2024)
This month we invite you to share your organization’s work of supporting well-being and create a Provincial Story of Impact with the ALIGN Well-Being Impact Portal and Dashboard.
Well-Being CoP Meeting December 17, 2024 Learn More!
The CoP meets monthly, every third Tuesday and 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.
Online Indigenous Advent Calendar
Updated annually, this online advent calendar is great fun for kids and anyone wanting to learn more about First Nations, Metis or Inuit culture
Inuit-Specific Child Welfare Data Discussion Paper Nov. 2024
An Act Respecting First Nations, Inuit and Metis children, youth and families has created national standards, the commitment to resources and the ability to exercise jurisdiction over child and family services by Inuit Treaty Organizations. It has the potential to change outcomes for Inuit children and families across the country.
ALIGN Well-Being in Child and Family Services Initiative
The way we define and understand child and youth well-being matters.
ALIGN's Indigenous Cultural Understanding Framework (ICUF)
A Digital Interactive Journey to increase cultural understanding within Alberta agencies so that all Indigenous children living in Alberta can live in dignity and respect, supported by people with a deeper understanding of Indigenous worldviews, history and current reality.
ALIGN CONNECTIONS For Indigenous Children/Youth & Caregivers November 2024
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.
Celebrating Success at the "Our Children, Our Way" Conference
We were honored to present at the Our Children, Our Way conference this year, hosted by the incredible Mary Teegee and her team. Mary, a recent presenter at ALIGN’s own Walking the Children Home event, graciously invited us to share our work, and we were thrilled to connect with so many passionate professionals and community members dedicated to Indigenous child and family well-being.
Honoring the Legacy of Senator Murray Sinclair: A Beacon of Truth and Reconciliation
With a heavy heart, we at ALIGN honor and remember the remarkable life and work of Senator Murray Sinclair, who recently passed away. Senator Sinclair has been a guiding light in Canada’s journey towards Truth and Reconciliation, especially in advocating for the well-being of Indigenous children and the essential need for them to reconnect with their communities and culture.
ALIGN’s Ongoing Engagement Executive Director’s Update: Assembly of First Nations Special Chiefs Assembly
We are pleased to share that ALIGN recently attended the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) Special Chiefs Assembly (SCA) on Long-Term Reform of the First Nations Child and Family Services (FNCFS) Program, held from October 16-18, 2024, on Treaty 7 Territory, in Calgary, Alberta.
MCHB: Centering Stories in an Ecological Framework (ALIGN's Well-Being Eblast Oct. 2024)
This month we feature Hannah Goa’s experience of piloting the toolkit at the Multicultural Health Broker Cooperative (MCHB) in Edmonton. Hannah has been supporting the Intercultural FRN work for the past 4 years and is responsible for reporting to funders. She became interested in joining the toolkit pilot group to inspire her work on their Evaluation Framework that uniquely reflects the values and principles of cultural brokering.
ALIGN CONNECTIONS For Indigenous Children/Youth & Caregivers October 2024
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.
Updated Statistics Overrepresentation of Indigenous Children in Care (Indigenous Watchdog)
The number one issue in Child Welfare is the overrepresentation of Indigenous children in care. The majority of Indigenous children-in-care are First Nations (69.1%)
Listen to Tanya Tourangeau ALIGN's Reconciliation Consultant on CFWE Radio
ALIGN’s Reconciliation Strategist Consultant Tanya Tourangeau, recently did an interview with CFWE and you don’t want to miss this! Learn more about ALIGN’s Empowering Futures: A Gathering for Indigenous Child Welfare Sovereignty
Updated Reformed Approach to First Nations Child and Family Services
The Caring Society's positions on the long-term reform of the First Nations Child & Family Services Program to stop the discrimination against First Nations children, youth, and families, and prevent it from happening again
Bent Arrow Traditional Healing Society: Growing Organizational Well-Being (ALIGN’s Well-Being eBlast Sept 2024)
This month we feature Jill Robinson's experiencing of piloting the toolkit with managers using components of the tool-kit to better understand how to promote staff well-being.
ALIGN CONNECTIONS For Indigenous Children/Youth & Caregivers September 2024
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.
Equitable Standards for Transitions to Adulthood for Youth in Care Key Supports Checklist (CWLC)
This checklist can help organizations who want to use the Equitable Standards to guide local advocacy efforts and supports for youth in and from care.
WJS: Using Well-Being Domains to Share Stories & Build Community (ALIGN's Well-Being eBlast August 2024)
This month we feature Aaron Hachkowski’s experience of piloting the toolkit at WJS. Aaron is a Program Director and oversees sites across Alberta and Ontario. He found that gathering stories for each of the toolkit’s seven well-being domains was a way to support learning and community between very diverse sites
ALIGN Association’s Commitment to Truth and Reconciliation
ALIGN Association of Community Services is dedicated to upholding the principles of Truth and Reconciliation and are committed to supporting the well-being of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit children, youth, families, and communities
Loving Our Children: Finding What Works for First Nations Families (FNCFS)
Canada Research Chair in First Nations Child and Family Services Implementation 2023-2030
Alberta Treaty & Land Acknowledgement Resource Directory
Learn more about treaties, regions and land acknowledgements; an important part of the Truth & Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s calls to action
ALIGN's 20 Great Ways for Children, Youth & Families to Honour National Indigenous History Month
Fun, interactive activities for children, youth and families!
Updates - Compensation and Agreement-in-Principle for long-term reform of FNCFS and Jordan's Principle
Update on the final settlement agreement on compensation, the agreement-in-principle on long-term reform of the First Nations Child and Family Services Program and on a long-term approach for Jordan's Principle, and the implementation of immediate measures
Rainbow Literacy: Stories Sharing Each Client's Journey (ALIGN's Well-Being eBlast July 2024)
This month we feature Barbare Moore Coffey's experience of piloting the toolkit at a small FRN in rural southern Alberta. Barbara is the Executive Director of Rainbow Literacy and found in the toolkit a way to make storytelling fundamental to learning and understanding impact.
Culture is Healing: An Indigenous Child & Youth Mental Wellness Framework
First Nations are disproportionately represented in the number of people dying by toxic drug poisoning. The Our Children Our Way Society recognizes the urgency of this crisis and that an immediate and dedicated response is needed now.
Federal Court’s Approval of the Final Settlement Agreement on Compensation (FNCFS)
Includes highlights of the Federal Court’s Approval & tells you how to access updates on the compensation process
Truth and Reconciliation and Mental Health in the Workplace Recorded Webinar
This recorded webinar explores the intersection of truth and reconciliation and mental health and provides insight into the impact of intergenerational trauma on Indigenous peoples and its implications for mental health.
ALIGN's Well-Being eBlast McMan South: Understanding Staff Well-Being and Supervision
This month we feature Brittany Anderson's experience of piloting the tookit at McMan South. Brittany is a Therapeutic Caregiving Specialist, and she started using the toolkit to better understand staff well-being and supervision.
CSP Workshops Preventing Suicide in Indigenous Children & Youth
Little Cub and River of Life half day workshops examine suicide prevention in Indigenous children and communities and strategies to strengthen the protective factors of young people considering suicide.
Book - Walking Together The Future of Indigenous Child Welfare on the Prairies
Walking Together is the seventh title in the Voices of the Prairies series. Developed by the Prairie Child Welfare Consortium, this edited collection brings together accomplished Indigenous and non-Indigenous scholars from the prairie provinces
Ensuring Your Conversations & Communications are Free from Colloquialisms
Indigenous Corporate Training Inc. explores terms and colloquialisms that should be avoided
How to Get Started with Prevention Services for Child Welfare (FNCS)
An informative and helpful infographic on how to get started with prevention services for child welfare from First Nations Child & Family Caring Society
Suicide Prevention and Two-Spirited People (NAHO)
Suicide rates among two-spirited, gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgendered First Nations are not known, but the rates of related risk factors in these groups indicate that the suicide risk is greater than among heterosexual First Nations. Homophobia, isolation and rejection increase the risk of suicide
Bent Arrow’s Experiences with an Act Respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis Children, Youth and Families
Bent Arrow partnered with PolicyWise on a wisdom-seeking journey. The purpose was to learn, document, and share Bent Arrow’s experiences with the implementation of An Act Respecting First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Children, Youth and Families.
