2014 / 2015 - Sarnia-Lambton Children`s Aid Society

Annual Report
2014-2015
EVERYONE
COUNTS
Our Mission: Sarnia-Lambton Children’s Aid Society is a trusted ally to families, communities
& cultures in creating safe, nurturing environments for children and youth to grow and succeed.
ANNUAL MEETING AGENDA
“Everyone Counts”
Tuesday, September 29th, 2015
1. Welcome – Jamie Bibby, Board President
2. First Nation Welcome
3. Youth in Care – Icebreaker
4. Youth Presentation
5. Greetings from OACAS – Morag Demers
6. Annual Report – Dawn Flegel/Jamie Bibby
7. Business Meeting – Jamie Bibby
8. Recognition of departing Board members
9. Staff Long Service Recognitions
10.Family Story – Anne LaForge
11.Family Awards
12.Youth in Care Awards
13.Closing Remarks – Ministry of Children & Youth Services
14.Adjournment
2014/2015 Board of Directors
President: Jamie Bibby
Vice President: Gayle Montgomery
Vice President of Finance: Debra Isaac
Secretary: Lynda Donovan
Directors: Janice Rising, Charlene McMahon,
Carmen Rogers Jr., Ron Geerts,
Michelle Shelswell, Angela Edlington,
Johann Lewis
Sarnia-Lambton CAS 2014-15 Annual Report
www.slcas.on.ca
Page 2
Board President &
Executive Director Annual Report
In 2015, our new Strategic Plan was born. We are
excited to continue building upon the successes we’ve
had as we embark upon Chasing Zero, All at the Table,
Journey Beside, Our Stories and My Circle. It’s bold
vision with achievable success markers. We invite
everyone to be part of it. Our core values remain the
same – Safety – Families - Relationships – Collaboration
– Being Open and Willing to Change.
We celebrated our success to date with an inspiring
video that highlighted the progress we have made
and the impact that it has had on children, youth
and families. We have many stories of families being
supported to be at their best; families being put back
together with help from the community, foster parents
and CAS staff; youth graduating from high school
and starting College and youth who have successfully
competed and ran in races.
One of our sources of great pride is our current youth
in and from care. When asked to participate, help
us shape services and influence others – they rise
to the occasion. Sarnia-Lambton’s youth speak out
provincially, they co-present to the community and
at conferences, they are employed by us and they
are active in making improvements in educational
supports. There is a place for everyone at our table and
it is important to have youth there and involved.
We remain committed to deepening our relationships
with First Nations. We have continued our work
together through the Indigenous Working Group,
learning from each other. Our Journey Beside each
other is continually evolving as we seek to understand
how to best support Indigenous children, youth
and families. The conclusion of the Truth and
Reconciliation Hearings was an historic moment and
we recognize the significance of it. We have paid
particular attention to the recommendations that were
made specific to child welfare.
Sarnia-Lambton CAS 2014-15 Annual Report
This past year also saw a focus on Diversity. The Board
of Directors passed an Anti-Oppressive Policy and
we have employed a part time Diversity Coordinator.
Valuable training opportunities were made available
throughout the year on topics such as Islam, people
with disabilities, LGBTQ, race and gender.
The year provided many key changes within child
welfare in the province. Key Performance Indicators
were publically released for Children’s Aid Societies,
the second year of Accountability Agreements were
launched, five agencies went live on the new electronic
database (CPIN) and a provincial project for shared
services among Children’s Aid Societies began.
A sincere thank you to all our staff, volunteers,
foster parents, community partners, Ministry, Board
members, children, youth and families for all the
valuable work you do and the inspiration you provide
every day. It is through your efforts and commitment
that we will achieve our dream of having all children
and youth in Sarnia-Lambton growing up safe with
families.
Jamie Bibby
Board President
Dawn Flegel
Executive Director
www.slcas.on.ca
Page 3
Our Stories
Ann LaForge has been involved with our agency through a variety of
services over the years; family of origin, parent, and kinship. Growing
up as a child, her family faced many struggles; Ann became a young
mom and subsequently struggled to parent her children at times. At
her lowest point, Ann was not able to care for her kids and struggled
with addiction. Over the years, Ann has worked hard to have her
children back in her life and she continues to work hard at developing
a loving, healthy relationship with them. When Ann’s own daughter
became a young mother, Ann found herself in a much healthier
position to care for an infant, and was recently awarded custody of her
granddaughter.
Ann has been sober for over 7 years, is now an active member of the
Circles program in Sarnia, and is a recent graduate of Lambton College.
Most recently, Ann has begun speaking to potential foster parents,
sharing her story and helping to educate others on the importance of
family connections and working together.
EARLY HELP
Supports
298
Families
37
Adoptions
in 2 Years
Ann Laforge
Guest Speaker
25% fewer
Indigenous
children &
youth
in care
70% fewer
children &
youth in
group care
Who We Worked With
Children Served
Families Served
1,974 in 2013-14
1,450 in 2013-14
2,116 in 2014-15
1,598 in 2014-15
Completed
Investigations
898
2013-14
1,040
2014-15
All Inquiries
Received
Sarnia-Lambton CAS 2014-15 Annual Report
2,347
2013-14
2,500
2014-15
Avg. Number of
Children in Care
Per Month
www.slcas.on.ca
156
2013-14
135
2014-15
Page 4
Youth Spotlight:
We continue to focus on bringing the youth together as a group and encouraging them to come out and have fun.
This year our youth participated in several events such as:
• YMCA Leadership Challenge
• Canada’s Wonderland
• Community Networking Day
• Big Brothers Big Sisters National Conference
• YouthCAN Conference
• “Setting the Stage Symposium” in Windsor – Darryn
was a presenter and Kaitlyn gave Introductions of
the Deputy Mayor of Detroit
• 2nd Annual Aboriginal Youth In Care Gathering Day
at Bark Lake
Left to Right: Bill Bevan ED of the Windsor-Essex CAS,
Kaitlyn, and Dr. McKinnon, Deputy Mayor of Detroit at
the Windsor Symposium 2015.
Our Children’s Aid Society provided summer employment to some of our youth in care. Youth had the
opportunity to learn skills in maintenance, planning and carrying out youth events, finance, information
technology, Child Care through the Family Visit Centre and Camp Coordinating.
- Shayla Shepherd & Richard Marcano - Youth Activity Coordinators
2015 GRADUATES
•
•
•
•
•
•
Ambrizette – high school
Austen – high school
Blake – high school
Breanne M – high school
Breanne P – university
Cesilia – elementary school
•
•
•
•
•
•
Congratulations!
Cory - high school
Douglas – college
Hanna- elementary school
Hunter – elementary school
Jocelyn – high school
Lauren – elementary school
•
•
•
•
•
Raymond – high school
Sabrina – college
Shayla - college
Shelby - high school
Veronica – high school
Running Group:
The Youth Running group celebrated their 1 year anniversary
on May 20th, 2015! We have grown as a group and have had
as many as 14 youth run together at one time. We continue
to meet twice a week for our route that can take between 3
and 6 KM. We have the guidance from our running coaches
at Feet on Fire as well as 2 staff runners. In 2015 we have
participated in the Leprechaun Run, Noelle’s Gift of Fitness
Run and the CHOK Bridge Run.
The Youth Running Group are currently training for 4 more
Sarnia-Lambton CAS 2014-15 Annual Report
www.slcas.on.ca
Page 5
Running Group continued...
community races before the end of the year! Some
highlights from this year include…
Many 1sts for our runners; first time completing
5KM community races, first time completing 10KM
community races, and 1st time being awarded medals!
Our youth presented at the “Setting the Stage
Symposium” in Windsor to speak about the Youth
Running group and has inspired other Children’s Aid
Societies to look at starting their own.
The Youth Running Group were asked to kick-off the
Noelle’s Gift of Fitness 5KM run as the “Race Ambassadors”
Kaitlin M (age 18) came 3rd in her age group for the
10KM at the CHOK Bridge Race
Strategic Planning Day:
On February 26, 2015, we held our Strategic Planning
Day at Storyboard in Sarnia. We invited Board members,
staff, youth, families, First Nations, volunteers, foster
& adoptive parents and community partners to
participate. We started the day with a celebration of the
success we experienced with our last strategic plan. We
heard from people who shared their experiences with
us. It was inspiring and motivating as we then launched
into planning for our next 5 years.
We used the information and insight from the
conversations to generate our new Strategic Plan. We
are excited by it and proud to share it with you. We also
invite you to be part of the journey.
We asked Big Questions: What does a safe child look
like? How can we deepen our relationships with First
Nations? What are the forces for and against reaching
our goal of zero children and youth growing up in care?
Sarnia-Lambton CAS 2014-15 Annual Report
www.slcas.on.ca
Page 6
CHASING ZERO
We are chasing having all children and youth
growing up safe with families. It is at the heart of
everything we do.
Success Marker - Zero children and youth growing
up in care by 2020.
JOURNEY BESIDE
We will continue to work beside
our First Nation partners to ensure
the safety, permanency and well
being of their children and youth.
We commit to learning from one
another and sharing our agency’s
resources to support First Nation
children and youth.
Success Marker: A minimum of
80% of staff, Board members,
foster parents and volunteers have
participated in at least one local
training or learning opportunity per
year regarding Indigenous people.
ALL AT THE TABLE
There is a place for everyone at
our table. No one person or
group sits at the head. People of
all ages, abilities, backgrounds,
races, cultures, genders and sexual
orientations are welcome to pull up
a chair and have their voices help
shape our services and decisions.
CHILDREN
YOUTH
&
FAMILIES
OUR STORIES
By sharing our heartfelt stories, challenges and the
changes we are making, we can better educate our
community about the valuable work we do with
children, youth and families.
Success Marker: We have an annual
communication plan that provides the
public with more information about
the work we do.
Success Marker: Family involvement
in case conferences has increased by
10% a year beginning in 2016.
Families have a way of telling us if our
services were helpful and why.
MY CIRCLE
Each of us has the personal responsibility to ask ourselves “What role do I play in helping us meet our
goals?” and “How am I commiting myself to our
mission?’’ This is your circle.
Success Marker - Every staff person,
Board member, foster parent and
volunteer has a personal goal
that will help us achieve
our strategic goals.
The New Agency Logo and Icon:
With the assistance of Storyboard in Sarnia our new
agency logo was redesigned with a story that we feel
best represents our agency today.
The tree symbol stands out most because it represents
the families we work with and the trunk of the tree
symbolizes the bridges to the services and partnerships
in our community that support children, youth and
families. The leaves start on the left on their own,
singular, lonely, and then as it moves right they start to
join and come together, implying that the society can
help bring people, communities, and families together.
And on the far right it transitions into a butterfly, free,
moving away, like a successful intact family unit.
Sarnia-Lambton CAS 2014-15 Annual Report
An Icon was also created by taking just the tree as a
stand-alone and placing it into a circle, the opening of
the circle can be interpreted as the bridge, or simply a
feeling of unity. The circle implies a family circle, or it
can act as a safe space in the community.
www.slcas.on.ca
Page 7
Types of Allegations Received
500
400
Caregiver
Capacity
Domestic
Violence
Neglect
Caregiver/
Child Conflict
Physical
Abuse
2014- 15
2013- 14
2014- 15
2013- 14
2014- 15
2013- 14
2014- 15
2013- 14
2014- 15
2013- 14
2014- 15
2013- 14
300
200
100
Sexual
Abuse
Financials
Expenditures
20152014
Salaries & Benefits
10,209,6348,868,612
Travel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 838,474707,433
Training & Recruitment, Promotion & Misc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 368,033301,668
Building Occupancy.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324,566466,419
Professional Services – Clients. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 354,897357,462
Board Care. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,879,3003,625,237
Personal Needs – Clients. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,174,3241,064,133
Health & Other Related – Clients. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 366,632389,702
Office Administration Supplies & Professional Services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 488,666392,449
Technology.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145,048119,788
Total Expenditures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17,149,57416,292,903
Revenues
Expenditure Recoveries & Other. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238,449174,516
Provincial Subsidy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16,673,52117,265,001
Total Revenues. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16,911,97017,439,517
Net Surplus (Deficit). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ( 237,604 ) 1,146,614
Reconciliation Adjustments (ineligible Ministry expenditures
accrued for financial statement purposes -Canadian public .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237,604
sector accounting standards for not-for-profit Organizations)
Balanced Budget Fund Contribution – Ministry Managed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0(1,146,614)
Net Operating Surplus/(Deficit). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 00
The Ministry of Children and Youth Services has created the “Balanced Budget Fund” to support Children’s Aid Societies in meeting the balanced budget
requirement set out in Regulation 70 and to proactively manage the risks associated with a multi-year budget planning process. During the year ended
March 31, 2014, Sarnia-Lambton CAS generated a surplus of $1,146,614 that may be eligible for access until March 31, 2017. **Audited Statements are
available upon request
Sarnia-Lambton CAS 2014-15 Annual Report
www.slcas.on.ca
Page 8