Working for an agency like the Children’s Aid Society of Toronto (CAS of Toronto) is rewarding, but it can be challenging at the best of times. And a once-in-a-century pandemic is far from the best of times.
The same holds true for the families served by CAS of Toronto, particularly those from racialized or marginalized communities. Under normal circumstances, these families often face a wide range of financial, mental health and equity challenges. In a pandemic, all of those challenges and stressors are magnified.
“We’ve always known that many of our families face a lot of obstacles,” says Nancy Ansong-Danquah, director of service. “If, for example, someone had an unstable housing situation, the pandemic probably made that worse. Or if someone was experiencing domestic violence in the home, the pandemic introduced added stressors that likely put that person more at risk.”
Another reality: as much as CAS of Toronto pivoted to working remotely whenever possible, there are aspects of child welfare work that simply must be done in-person.
“We were an essential service during the pandemic and, in many cases, our workers became the last line of defence for families,” says CEO Paul Rosebush. “Our front-line people were managing a whole set of new needs, including increased demand for counselling and housing resources. We became a real connector for families to a variety of services and supports.”
Sometimes, it was even more stark than that.
“At a time when drop-in centres and many other services were closed, our workers might be the only people some families saw,” says Ansong-Danquah. “We had parents tell us they appreciated that bit of human contact.”
Through it all, CAS of Toronto continued to place a clear focus on early intervention and prevention rather than the more reactive stance of protection, for which the child welfare sector has been known.
“We recognize that families have been disadvantaged by the singular focus on protection,” says Rosebush. “We know we have inadvertently contributed to trauma, particularly for racialized and marginalized families.”
Ansong-Danquah, a 19-year veteran of CAS of Toronto, puts the current mission this way: “Everything we do is connected to the goal of keeping children in their own homes. And if they do need to be placed in care, our goal is to re-unite families as soon as possible.”
To that end, CAS of Toronto continues to pursue new programs and partnerships to address disparities and promote inclusion.
One recent project is working with a group of Black fathers in the agency’s client base to talk about their experiences and interactions with the child welfare system.
Another is working with a group of racialized therapists who are helping provide families with greater access to free counselling.
And yet another is a new Indigenous and Racialized Mentorship Program aimed at increasing the diversity of CAS of Toronto supervisors and managers.
The pandemic also inspired the agency to significantly expand its level of internal communication through virtual forums on resiliency and a “Say Thanks” platform where staff members can share appreciation and recognize colleagues who have achieved their service milestones.
Another initiative, CAST Connects, provided bi-weekly virtual updates for all staff members on how the agency was responding to the pandemic.
What didn’t change is the individual commitment that drives CAS of Toronto employees at all levels.
“This is difficult work because it’s dealing with people’s lives,” says Ansong- Danquah. “You have to continually ask yourself: is this the best we can do? If it isn’t, then you need to figure out a better way to do it.”
