Event

Research Seminar: Restorative Indigenous child welfare practices in British Columbia by Pr. Shelly Johnson

Wednesday, May 6, 2015 12:00to13:00
Wilson Hall Wendy Patrick Room, 3506 rue University, Montreal, QC, H3A 2A7, CA

Shelly Johnson, faculty at the University of British Columbia School of Social Work, presents Restorative Indigenous child welfare practices in British Columbia.

An emerging model for restorative Indigenous child welfare practice is becoming clear through consistent elements present in programming and policy across the largest urban child welfare agency in BC. Vancouver Aboriginal Child and Family Services is developing a restorative impact on children and families. Based on their history of practice, and evidence-based research conducted as part of the Strengthening Our Practice Special Project, VACFSS defines a program or policy as restorative if: 1) it is grounded in intergenerational Indigenous knowledge systems, worldview, and the culture of the family being served; 2) it is framed within an awareness of and engagement with colonial history; 3) it departs from the punitive approaches of mainstream social work, in favour of concrete strength based, graduated and supportive client engagement- such as collaborative practice; and 4) it results in measurable positive change and/or outcomes for the family or families involved. This presentation will consider what this emerging model could mean for other urban and land-based child welfare agencies.

 

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