Ontario Works Administrator – Carol Taylor
carol.taylor@georginaisland.com
P: 705-437-1581
P: 705-437-1337 ext. 2230
F: 705-437-4597
Child and Family Services – Shannon Crate
shannoncrate@hotmail.com
P: 705-437-1337 ext. 4223
P: 905-960-9133
F: 705-437-4597
The First Nation Child Welfare Program (CWP) has gradually become much broader in scope than was intended when the First Nation ‘prevention program’ was introduced. Beyond primary prevention, the First Nation CWP worker has become heavily involved in individual and family casework including the facilitation and support of customary care arrangements (i.e. secondary and tertiary prevention work). They assist with Children’s Aid Society (CAS) protection work i.e. conducting emergency interventions with police and making emergency placements when CAS staff are not immediately available, accompanying CAS staff during their protection investigations, fulfilling monitoring obligations in respect to supervision and placement orders. The First Nation CWP worker acts as a liaison between families and the CAS, but is not the Children’s Aid Society. The worker has also taken on the responsibility of several areas that are not funded such as executing ‘band representative’ responsibilities, Young Offenders Act (YOA), mental health and child development, family violence, customary care, developing local and regional protocols and networking with outside agencies.