Resources
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.
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.
Updates to Charitable Fund-raising Act Bill 38 (The Nonprofit Chamber)
Charitable Fund-raising Act Bill 38 - Changes were recently announced to the Charitable Fund-raising Act through Bill 38, which has passed second reading at this time.
Volunteer Canada Survey. Have Your Say!
Volunteer Canada wants to hear from you so that they can build a National Volunteer Strategy that reflects the experiences and the needs of all Canada’s volunteer eco-system and communities.
Join Us! ALIGN's Spring Membership Meeting May 30th (ZOOM)
Join us May 30th on ZOOM! This is an excellent opportunity to hear exciting updates on ALIGN Activities, including OHS and Well-Being—plus a special presentation from the Centre for Autism Services Alberta. Don’t miss this chance to connect, learn, and be inspired!
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.
Don't Delay! ALIGN's OHS Survey Deadline May 30, 2025
Please take a moment to complete this brief survey to help ALIGN learn about the progress of occupational health and safety (OHS) within sector agencies.
ALIGN Report "Empowering Futures: Gatherings for Indigenous Child Welfare Sovereignty" April 2025
The ALIGN gathering, Empowering Futures Gatherings in Treaty 6 (Edmonton) and Treaty 7 (Calgary), focused on Indigenous Child Welfare Sovereignty, allowing us to engage in deep discussions about Indigenous jurisdiction over child welfare, the barriers and opportunities in Alberta, and what meaningful action looks like moving forward.
ALIGN's Presentation of the Well-Being Toolkit at the 2025 Symposium on Child & Youth Trauma
ALIGN would like to extend our sincere thanks to the 2025 Symposium on Child & Youth Trauma conference planners for creating a meaningful and collaborative space and opportunity to share the ALIGN Well-Being Toolkit with attendees. It was a privilege to share our work with such an engaged and thoughtful audience, and we deeply appreciate the platform to discuss tools that support the well-being of First Nations, Metis and Inuit children and youth and the integration of traditional Indigenous knowledge with modern practices.
May is Sexual Assault Prevention Month
Everyone in Canada deserve to be safe and free from violence. May is Sexual Violence Prevention Month, an opportunity to raise awareness about sexual abuse and support people experiencing sexual violence in this country.
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.
KPMG Survey Child and Family Services Key Trends Survey
KPMG has launched a national survey to better understand the current landscape of services and supports for children, youth, and families across the country. The goal is to identify shared challenges, surface leading practices, and inform system transformation efforts—from service integration and workforce modernization to reducing cultural inequities.
Alberta.ca OHS Resource Portal Updates April 2025
See the latest additions and revisions to the OHS Resource Portal!
Join Us! ALIGN Regional Chapter Meetings
We invite all ALIGN Association to participate in Regional Chapter Meetings. ALIGN chapter meetings serve as a vital platform for collaboration, learning, advocacy, and enhancing the effectiveness of non-profit and charitable agencies. We are stronger together!
ALIGN's OHS Community of Practice (CoP)
Communities of practice often focus on sharing best practices and creating new knowledge to advance a domain of professional practice. Interaction on an ongoing basis is an important part of this.
Government of Canada Announces Continued Funding for Jordan’s Principle March 22, 2025
Ottawa, Ontario (March 22, 2025) — The Minister of Indigenous Services, Patty Hajdu, issued the following statement
Alberta.ca Increasing Financial Support for Foster and Kinship Caregivers
Minister Searle Turton announced that if passed, Budget 2025 will provide a two per cent rate increase for foster and kinship caregivers, an investment of $3.1 million, to help support with the costs of raising a child or youth in their care.
Inclusion Alberta Response to 2025 Alberta Budget
Budget 2025 leaves 1000’s of children and adults with intellectual disabilities and their families in crisis
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
RAISE YOUR VOICE Contact your MLA about FSCD/PDD
Inclusion Alberta has been increasingly hearing from individuals and families who are unable to secure the supports they require through either FSCD and PDD
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.
New Alberta Disability Assistance Program (ADAP) Launching July 2026 (Alberta.ca)
People with disabilities shouldn’t have to choose between getting the support they need and having the opportunity to pursue a meaningful career. Albertans with disabilities and the organizations that support them have said loud and clear they want supports that meet their unique needs and abilities, rather than the current one-size-fits-all solution.
PDD “Current State: Critical & Urgent. Experiences with Persons with Developmental Disabilities (PDD)” Inclusion Alberta Jan 2025
The Persons with Developmental Disabilities (PDD) program supports over 13,000 adults with intellectual disabilities with residential support, and support to pursue employment or participate in community. It has been three years since the Ministry of Seniors, Community and Social Services (SCSS) released how many adults who are eligible for and have requested supports are waiting without support.
Inclusion Alberta Report Too Little, Too Late Experience with Family Support For Children with Disabilities Jan 2025
It has been three years since the Ministry of Seniors, Community and Social Services (SCSS) released how many families who are eligible for FSCD and have requested supports are waiting without support.
Caring society files motion to force Canada back to negotiating table on child welfare reform (APTN)
Chiefs in Ontario decided last week to continue negotiating and refining the existing FSA. Then Patty Hajdu, minister of Indigenous Services wrote to the AFN national chief saying the government’s mandate “does not permit further negotiations at a national level.” That seemed to cut First Nations outside Ontario out of future negotiations.
Alberta Set to Change How Social Agencies Serving the Homeless are Funded in 2025
The Alberta Government announced upcoming changes to how services for Alberta's homeless population will be funded and will now provide funding directly to front-line agencies versus distributed through community-based organizations.
A Call for Meaningful Action in 2025 (Inclusion Canada)
The federal government released its Fall Economic Statement (FES) with new priorities and new spending—but no meaningful progress to lift people with disabilities out of poverty. Inclusion Canada is deeply disappointed that, despite Minister Chrystia Freeland’s resignation and clear signs of an economic pivot, this government continues to neglect the urgent needs of Canadians with disabilities.
Alberta OHS Code Changes December 2024
The updates received strong support from workers, employers and health and safety professionals. . Starting on March 31, 2025, work site parties will need to comply with the updated provisions.
Community-driven Collective Empowers Indigenous Caregivers of Children, Youth with Autism (U of A)
U of A researcher receives funding to foster a network of support, resources and advocacy for caregivers of children, youth and adults with autism. November 2024
This December, Be Part of a Provincial Story of Well-Being Impact! (Well-Being Eblast Nov 2024)
This December, 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. .
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.
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.
Alberta.ca Ensuring Wraparound Services
Minister of Health Adriana LaGrange and Minister of Seniors, Community and Social Services Jason Nixon issued the following update on continuing care and the health refocusing work originally announced in November 2023: “
