Recent Postings

Attention AASCF Executive Directors
Invitation to participate in a “Think Tank” May 9-10, 2012

This is an Invitation to participate in a “Think Tank” in Edmonton, focused upon the development and articulation of a Child Intervention Practice Framework. The Deputy Minister of Human Services is hosting a “Think Tank” May 9 and 10, 2012 that will bring together child intervention staff,  service delivery partners, researchers and ministry leadership to advance the child intervention agenda in the areas of practice, outcomes and policy improvement.  The AASCF has been asked to forward up to 20 names of people interested in participating in this event.  This is an opportunity for practitioners within the sector to contribute towards the articulation of the principles and values underpinning a practice framework.
Deadline April 30, 2012. 

The AASCF has been granted funding from Alberta Department of Human Services to provide workshops/training opportunities that will support the continued implementation of Outcomes Based Service Delivery (OBSD) across the province.  We know that you are very busy and very much appreciate the time you will give to helping us to support the further implementation of OBSD.

Aboriginal Reports under Reports  and Aboriginal Under OBSD
Unsettling the Settler Within, Indian Residential Schools, Truth Telling, and Reconciliation in Canada, by Paulette Regan, (UBC Press, 2010)
A former residential-schools-claims manager, argues that in order to truly participate in the transformative possibilities of reconciliation, non-Aboriginal Canadians must undergo their own process of decolonization. They must relinquish the persistent myth of themselves as peacemakers and acknowledge the destructive legacy of a society that has stubbornly ignored and devalued Indigenous experience. With former students offering their stories as part of the truth and reconciliation processes, Regan advocates for an ethos that learns from the past, making space for an Indigenous historical counter-narrative to avoid perpetuating a colonial relationship between Aboriginal and settler peoples.

Kiskisik Awaasisak: Remembering the Children – Understanding the Overrepresentation of First

Nations Children in the Child Welfare System; Assembly of First Nations 2011 (citation: Vandne

Sinha, Nico Trocme, Barbara Fallon, Bruce MacLaurin, Elizabeth Fast, Shelley Thomas Prokop, et. al.

2011)

Reconciliation in Child Welfare: Touchstones of Hope for Indigenous Children, Youth, and Families,

Cindy Blackstock, Terry cross, John George, Ivan Brown, Jocelyn Formsma; co-published by National In

dian Child welfare Assoc., 2006

The Urban Aboriginal Peoples Study Environics Institute, Michael Adams,2011

An extensive new research study that captures the values, experiences and aspirations of Aboriginal peoples living in Vancouver, Ed-monton, Calgary, Regina, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Thunder Bay, Toronto, Montreal, Halifax and Ottawa; Speaking directly with 2,614 First Nations peoples, Métis and Inuit living in these major Canadian cities, as well as 2,501 non-Aboriginal Canadians. Guided by an Advisory Circle, Aboriginal people designed the research themes, methodology, and executed the main survey. http://uaps.ca/wp-content/uploads

Unique Considerations for Aboriginal Children and Youth: companion document to Towards Sustainable

Child Welfare in Ontario, Commission to Promote Sustainable Child Welfare, 2010

First Peoples Child & Family Review - A Journal on Innovation and Best Practices in Aboriginal Child Welfare Administration, Research, Policy and Practice

First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada - First Nations Child Welfare Research

and Knowledge Mobilization

Alberta Chamber of Resources: Aboriginal Population in Alberta

Aboriginal Canada Portal
 A window into First Nations, Métis and Inuit online resources and government

programs and services

Government of Alberta's Aboriginal Policy Framework Aboriginal Policy Initiative: Strengthening Relationships

Radio “Aging out of the foster care system” CBC Radio; The Current ; Thursday January 19, 2012

For an estimated 85-thousand children and youth across Canada home is an elusive concept and parents come in the form of chil-dren's aid or state guardians. And when those kids hit adulthood they are on their own: Youth forced by their age to leave care are over-represented in the justice system, mental health and in shelters. Today, we hear from young people trying to change the odds for the kids coming up after them

Radio  “Whitehorse Town Hall: Fathers without Fathers - Aboriginal Men in Canada” ; CBC Radio; The Cur rent, Thursday January 12, 2012

“The percentage of Aboriginal children being raised by a single parent -- usually the mother -- is double the percentage of other Canadian children. One in 5 First Nations women over the age of 15 is a single mom. And if statistics don't change, a growing num-ber of Aboriginal boys will typically become absent dads themselves”

 “8th Fire” - Aboriginal Peoples, Canada and the Way Forward” -

CBC TV 2011– aired January 12, 2012 - 8TH FIRE is a provocative, high-energy journey through Aboriginal country showing you why we need to fix Canada's 500 year-old relationship with Indigenous peoples; a relationship mired in colonialism, conflict and denial. 8TH FIRE propels you past prejudice, stereotypes and misunderstandings, to encounters with an impressive new genera-tion of Aboriginal Canadians who are reclaiming both their culture and their confidence

EPISODE 1: Indigenous in the City - Meet the rich kaleidoscope of Aboriginal people who are fast joining the country's urban mid-dle class and bringing their culture with them.

 EPISODE 2: It's Time! - Memorable people and stories from across the country illustrate why there's an economic, demographic and moral imperative to fix Canada's troubled 500-year relationship with Aboriginals.

EPISODE 3: Whose Land Is It Anyway? - An evocative look at the role that land plays in the conflicted relationship with Aboriginal peoples and the rest of Canada.

EPISODE 4: At the Crossroads - How the Aboriginal community's feisty and self-confident youth; the "Seventh Generation" who are taking new pride in their heritage and pointing the way forward to a new relationship.

“Hidden America” by Diane Sawyer ; ABC TV—20/20

Part 1: Robert lives in a crumbling trailer but has Oval Office dreams

Part 2: Girl Fears for Mother’s Safety

Part 3: Alaina wants to be a star, will an unplanned pregnancy stop her?

Afterschool Program Assessment System
APAS is a comprehensive evaluation system aimed at improving program quality and youth outcomes in afterschool programs. It is targeted towards programs serving the K-8 population that youth attend regularly, are well-established, and offer a range of enriching experiences. APAS includes two measurement tools—the Survey of Afterschool Youth Outcomes (SAYO), and the Assessing Afterschool Program Practices Tool (APT). These tools can be used together or separately depending on the specific needs of the program

Learning Our Way Symposium Edmonton November 16, 2011
On November 16, 2011 Alberta Association of Services for Children & Families,  Alberta Children & Youth Services & Alberta Centre for the Child Family and Community Research Presented Learning Our Way Symposium. It was  an opportunity for staff of both the Ministry and agencies to come together and look at how we learn our way though our current transitions to an Outcomes Based Service Delivery Approach.
(If you have difficulty opening video presentation you can view here )

Welcome from Nancy Reynolds
The Honourable David Hancock, Minister, Alberta Human Services
Danica Frazer – President AASCF
Steve MacDonald, Deputy Minister, Alberta Human Services
Bob Lonne - Keynote
Joni Brodziak, Executive Lead, OBSD, Alberta Human Services
Gord Johnston, ADM, Alberta Human Services

Presentation Materials
Re-Imagining Child Welfare: Issues, Outcomes and Reform – Presented by Dr Bob Lonne

Bob Lonne - Questions

The Power of Supervision: Themes Techniques, and Talking Points for Outcome-Based Service Delivery Systems in Alberta – Presented by Jane Matheson

Using Evidence to Inform Practise – Presented by Tom Miklos, David O’Brien & Bruce MacLaurin

Forum Presentation – Danica Frazer AASCF President

OBSD and Transformational Organization Change Leadership – Presented by Sharon J Matthias, Lisa McDonald, Bruce Rafuse  

Community Capacity Building and the Adaptive Challenge – Presented by Liz O’neill, Nancy Peterson,  Rod Rode , Anne Smith & Mark Holmgren

Collaborative Practises – Presented by Ryan Clements, Pat Gilbert & Mark Cabaj

Vignettes
The following are vignettes for families and workers who are currently involved in the OBSD sites.  They are intended to highlight some the challenges and success of the OBSD model.  These vignettes are available and can be used for training purposes
OBSD Team: Prissy and Brenda (Esta’s Team) from Region 3
OBSD Site Principal: Sandra Stoddard, Region 6
OBSD Team: Lisa and Keir, Region 6
OBSD Team and Client: Region 6
OBSD Clients: Jade and Terry from Region 6
OBSD Client: Esta from Region 3
OBSD Team: Region 4 Service Providers

Reference Articles & Reports
Interagency collaboration Part A: What is it, what does it look like, when is it needed and what supports it? Myfanwy McDonald & Kate Rosier Australia’s Family Relationship Clearinghouse

Interagency collaboration Part B: Does collaboration benefit children and families? Exploring the evidence Myfanwy McDonald & Kate Rosier Australia’s Family Relationship Clearinghouse

References from Bob Lonne’s Presentations – Learning Our Way Symposium and Workshops

Child Protection, Placement And Family Services Outcomes Framework State of Victoria, Australia Outcomes Frame Work 2011

Children’s Bureau is excited to announce that FAF Web will be hosted in Canada and available to Canadian-based agencies this month.  FAF Web integrates the research-validated Family Assessment Form © tool with improved case management functions.  With FAF Web, case workers can track information from intake through contacts, service planning, and case closure.  Its service planning feature is an efficient tool for incorporating strengths and concerns into goals developed by case workers and families.  FAF Web meets all needs by tracking and reporting on data related to family functioning, service plans, contact notes, closing summaries, caseload reports, demographic reports, and a host of other evaluation functions. 

The newest version of the The Family Assessment Form (FAF), FAF Web, has all the features of the original FAF Pro software integrated into a platform that users can connect with any time, from anywhere.   FAF Web is the ideal tool for assessment and case management in the family services field

FAF Web News You Can Use - Information for Outcomes-Oriented Practitioners April 2012
Announcement - Children's Bureau of Southern California - FAF Web  will be launching with Hull Child and Family Services in Calgary and McMan Youth Family and Community Services, with offices across Alberta. Hull Services and McMan's acquisition of the FAF tool will facilitate the implementation of OBSD in these agencies. The FAF tool tracks, among others, clear indicators of child safety, child well-being, permanence, and family and community support

For more information, please visit: www.myfaf.org.  To set up a webinar and discuss purchasing options, please contact: Saru Ramanan, FAF Project Lead, at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Reclaiming Reflective Supervision in Social Work
Ensuring effective core assessments: the role of the first line manager
Children's Services Training Courses

This site has been developed to facilitate information sharing between women’s shelters and The Hindsight Group, Alberta Children and Youth Services (ACYS) and the Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters (ACWS). The website is the source of current information for all stakeholders impacted by the Project

If the document says error opening or appears blank - wait one minute and scroll down and you should be able to see it.

The Community-University Partnership  Early Child Development Mapping Project (ECMap)
The Early Child Development Mapping Project (ECMap) is a pilot project involving 29 neighbourhoods in Edmonton ,  to provide a better understanding of how well young children are doing in Alberta and the socio-economic and community factors that may be affecting their development. This information can then be used by communities, parents, school authorities and policy-makers to improve supports for young children and families, and to address gaps in existing programming, facilities and services.  ECMap has been contracted by Alberta Education, until August 31, 2014, to help gather and analyze research information and mobilize early childhood development coalitions across Alberta.

The Community-University Partnership Identifying the Measurement Needs of the Edmonton Early Childhood Community: a Brief Synopsis
Early childhood Measurement and Evaluation Resource Centre

The Community-University Partnership Reviews of Early Childhood Measurement Tools.
Assessment Tools
Screening Tools:                 
Evaluation tools: