The Federation of Community Social Services of BC

Newsletter Volume 6, Issue 1 May & June 2014

414 - 620 View Street

Victoria, BC V8W 1J6

tel 250.480.7387

Fax 250.480.7396

www.fcssbc.ca

info@fcssbc.ca

The Federation Hits the Road!Spring is a season of change, and the Federation is not exempt from this rule!

First of all, we at the Fed are welcoming some new faces (see Page 6), and wishing another good luck in a new opportunity (Page 4). In addition, the entire sector has lost a valuable member in Doug Marson, whose contributions we will continue to celebrate for years to come (see Page 4).

as for things that stay the same, we had another great aGM this June. Read about it on Page 2.

this newsletter also hosts our second article from the Representative for Children and Youth (see Page 9), and also gives updates on leadership 2020 and Youth education Bursaries (Page 8).

We also celebrate the recipients of the Fed’s award For excellence. the winners’ efforts to create stronger, fairer communities inspire us to keep plugging away at making BC a better place (see Page 5).

lastly, this spring sees the Federation travelling BC to get feedback and meet with our members face-to-face. We’ve already seen a lot of friendly faces and will be continuing our journey throughout June (Page 10). We look forward to meeting with those of you in our path, and for those who we can’t see personally, we’d still love to hear from you.

Keep reading for all the details. Happy spring!

June 16: Fed road trip to Prince Rupert and terrace

June 18: Road trip to Fort St John

June 23: Road trip to Castlegar

July 6-10: First residency for 2014-15 leadership 2020 Indigenous Focus cohort

October 22: Pre-Meeting Workshop

October 23-24: FCSSBC Fall General Meeting in Richmond BC, Richmond Sheraton Hotel

Feb 19-20: FCSSBC Spring General Meeting in Victoria BC, Inner Harbour Marriott

September 8-12: Final Residency for 2013/14 Blended Cohort

The Federation Annual General Meetingthe Federation held its 32nd annual General Meeting on June 5-6 in Penticton. eD Rick FitzZaland opened the meeting by highlighting some of the Federation activity over the past year, including the changes in staffing and our office space. He also announced a new partnership with Realize Co-op. the partnership, formalized by an MOU, will make benefits such as insurance products and investment options with VanCity available to Federation members. Both organizations entered into the agreement in the spirit of sharing and supporting growth, while also formalizing a shared vision for the community social care sector in BC. John Kay, Realize Co-op’s eD, spoke about the opportunities for members of both groups and was on hand to provide members with information about the Realize suite of services and benefits.

Judy Kingston, founder and proprietor of local winery Serendipity, provided a funny and inspiring keynote address detailing how she went from being a toronto-based lawyer to a Naramata winemaker following a traumatic brain injury. While thanking Judy,

Ingrid Kastens noted that her story evoked the ways leaders in the community service sector must also constantly adapt and learn.

MCFD Deputy Minister Mark Sieben addressed the membership, noting that while there had been some work done to address the foster care system, Residential Redesign had unfortunately not been used to do focused work in some areas that could have had an impact. Sieben noted that the realities of the MCFD budget mean that the initiatives the Ministry takes on will need to be realistic, but that Residential Redesign remains a touchstone for him. Noted Rick, “the Deputy Minister’s statements assured me that MCFD leadership is aware that their Ministry can’t get smaller, and that they are seeing the same impacts on communities that the sector is seeing”.”

a key topic during both the members-only time and during the DM’s presentation was the cross-Ministry Sustainability and Innovation initiative. Many noted the importance of the sector working together to think about how things look and how services can be offered in the best manner possible. One area of strong agreement at the sustainability and innovation roundtable in april was the issue of multi-year contracts. the DM noted that there is a strong case for this and that the Controller General supports a move back to this practice within MCFD.

the theme for the General Meeting was “Connecting Solutions”, and members were encouraged to highlight the work they were doing in their agencies that would be of interest to others. Speakers from BC Council for Families, McCreary Centre, Safe Online Outreach Society, and Mary Manning Centre shared stories and information about projects and initiatives. John Kay hosted a social enterprise panel in which panelists shared their stories of developing social enterprises. they shared what they were most excited about, what helped the most, and what they wish they had known beforehand. this provided a diverse set of experiences for others to learn from.

Overall, we received positive feedback about the lineup of speakers and lots of ideas for our next offering in October. For more information, contact Rebecca at rebecca@fcssbc.ca

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Federation Calendar

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“let me just say this: for the most part, we executives receive—anecdotally—information from our constituents, and we typically don’t have the time to poll or survey them.”

Sound familiar?

Keeping in touch with on-the-ground realities of social services work can be tough when you’re entrenched in an organization. Joel Kaplan, eD of BC Council for Families, a provider of resources and training toprofessionals offering parenting and family life education thinks that this type of approach isolates professionals and organizations from each other and the constituents, members and clients we serve.

Kaplan wants to use BCCF’s website to help break down organizational barriers. the plan? an online “meeting place” that serves as a platform for professionals and families. as Kaplan notes, BCCF has spent many resources on spreading the word on its own programs as do most organizations. However, with the august launch of their new website, the BCCF is adopting a new approach.

“the Council is opening up our creative, innovative, and useful platform to professionals and not-for-profit agencies throughout the province,” Kaplan excitedly explains. “this website is going to be extremely interactive and collaborative. We’re opening up our site to professionals and organizations that want to affiliate

but really doing something about it,” Kaplan says, though he’s quick to acknowledge that this is not a fully altruistic endeavour. a few years ago, the Council was in what Kaplan describes as a “budget deficit spiral”. However, due to the hard work of BCCF staff in offering more professional development workshops and increasing bookstore sales, the Counci had a surplus this past year. Kaplan plans to monetize the site by offering premium services for a fee within six months of launch of the new site, so he encourages you to get involved early on and try it for free. the fees charged will allow the Council to further improve the features on the site and support the work of the organization. States Kaplan: “We’re hoping that people will buy in to the nominal fees, because they’ll see the value.”

While this web-heavy approach might seem futuristic, Kaplan believes it will help make family work more organic, creating space for families and professionals to intersect. He believes it will help make family work more accessible, creating a go-to space and resource for families and professionals to intersect and be a one-stop shop for all. “We are kind of getting back to our roots but virtually.” 

For more information on the BCCF, visit:

www.bccf.ca

to get involved, join BCCF’s mailing list or contact Joel at 604.678.8884 ext. 102, or email: joelk@bccf.ca

with this virtual hub of activity.

“What this means for users is that professionals involved in family education or support can use the many resources BCCF will be offering. these resources include: registration for workshops, forums on a variety of topics, survey tools, networking opportunities, and the Council’s online store to sell educational materials and a whole host of resources. any family education and support program—they do not have to be a BCCF’s programs—can use our website,” Kaplan says. “Professionals and organizations will be promoted on our website with a membership directory and ad space, and they will have the metric tools to do pre-program participant assessment and post-program evaluations and

tabulate all that data.”

the taG component of the website will provide a vehicle for all professionals, organizations and families to Talk, Act and Get involved in a variety of ways that provide them an opportunity to engage and listen to the voices of families throughout the province (you can read about taG in the latest Family Connections magazine at: www.bccf.ca/family-connections).

“We’re creating the site in the spirit of collaboration. these tools will save you or your organization time and therefore money. We’re not just talking about collaboration,

The BC Council for FamiliesSpotlight on Success

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the Federation continues to play a role in the first phase of MCFD’s implementation of caregiver support networks across the province.

the CSN model for foster care support came out of the recommendations of Residential Redesign, and the Federation has been contracted by MCFD to support the community consultation process taking place in nine communities

for young people and increase recruitment and retention of foster parents.

Kathy Powelson has been working as the Provincial Knowledge exchange coordinator since February, working to support the community engagement work of the local coordinators and tracking information gathered from a community perspective.

across BC. each community has a local community coordinator (often someone who has been working with the foster caregiver community prior to this project) who works with the foster caregivers and MCFD to give input into what the model will look like when it is fully implemented later in the year. the model consists of a hub or lead home connected to a network of foster homes—all with an aim to increase permanency

Caregiver Support Network

after several years as our Director of Strategic Development, Doug Hayman’s work with the Fed has led him to a new opportunity.

Over the last 6 years Doug Hayman has served in an increasing capacity as the secretariat to the Board Voice Society of B.C. Board Voice was developed under the incubation of the Fed, and as it has grown, Doug’s role has expanded. the Fed and Board Voice are now moving into a new phase of our relationship with one another, and as such, Doug’s work with the Federation is ending.

We are thankful that our close

working relationship with Board Voice means that we don’t really have to say good-bye to Doug, but we would like to publicly thank and recognize him for his enormous contribution to the Federation and communities across B.C. Doug’s knowledge, passion, belief in the power of community, gift for relationship building, and his genuine kindness have led to many gains at the Federation.

We wish Doug only the best as he moves forward in his work with Board Voice!

Good Luck, Doug!

Doug Hayman

Remembering Doug Marsona good friend to the Federation, Doug Marson, passed away on March 23, 2014. Doug worked for MCFD and was a close colleague to many Federation members in the Interior and across the province. Doug made an immense contribution to the sector; he was full of integrity in the face of tough challenges and was fun to work with. He will be missed by many.

this year, the FCSSBC education Bursaries will be given out in Doug’s memory. to read more about, see page 8.

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OK, they aren’t the Oscars, or the NHl all-stars.

But the recipients of this year’s the Federation of Community Social Services of BC award for excellence do more to make this a better place to live than any movie star.

You don’t get rich helping homeless people take the first step off the streets, or linking aboriginal youth with their culture. You don’t end up on the front page for a campaign to give aboriginal children better futures.

But we are all better off because amazing people are doing great things to make this a fairer society, where everyone has a chance to make the most of their energy, enthusiasm and skills.

at the Federation, we want to recognize these champions. and we want to inspire others to join the effort.

abbotsford to provide the first step from the streets for a challenging population. the project has been controversial, and in fact failed to win needed rezoning. But the public debate did much to raise awareness about a critical issue.

leaders like Sabrina Williams of Surrounded by Cedar Child and Family Services in Victoria. Williams, as cultural programs co-ordinator, has built a tremendous group of programs to link aboriginal children and youth in care—many in urban areas—with their culture. a 10-day summer camp teaches youth to live off the land, participate in ceremony and support each other. a leadership program includes weekly meetings and monthly dinners with elders, and other gatherings bring together children and youth and their birth and foster families.

(Continued on page 6)

the Federation, which represents 130 B.C. community social service agencies and umbrella organizations, gives these awards each year. the hard part is choosing from the tremendous examples of leadership in working for social justice.

leaders like Rod Santiago, executive Director of abbotsford Community Services.

Santiago was honoured for his inspirational leadership of an organization that’s making a big difference in its community, with a team of more than 370 and 80 programs that help everyone from moms with newborns to seniors to youth escaping addiction. almost 40,000 people per year come to abbotsford Community Services looking for help.

Santiago has also been a social-justice champion in making the case for a 20-bed housing project in

Social Justice Award Winners Deserve Our CheersSpecial Feature

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Rod Santiago ED, Abbotsford Community Services

Sabrina Williams Cultural Programs Co-ordinator,

Surrounded by Cedar

Cindy Blackstock ED, First nations Child and Family

Caring Society of Canada.

(Continued from page 5)

Williams, from Somena Village in Cowichan territory, has spent 20 years working in aboriginal child and youth programs and is changing lives every day.

and leaders like Cindy Blackstock, executive Director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada.

Blackstock, a member of the Gitksan Nation, has taken a broad and effective approach to eliminating the factors that create disadvantage for aboriginal children and families.

She’s the author of more than 50 publications and has led advocacy campaigns that have brought important, fundamental change. the campaign to have governments

Canadians want a fair, compassionate society, one where all citizens - children, seniors, people facing temporary or lasting challenges - get support when they need it and a chance to make the most of their lives.

It’s time to recognize and cheer on the people who are making that happen - and to support them every step of the way.

For more info on the award for excellence, visit:

www.fcssbc.ca/about/award-for-excellence

Rick FitzZalandExecutive Director

Note: this Op-Ed was reprinted from a Fed press release from March 2014

adopt Jordan’s Principle, for example, ensured that no aboriginal child would be denied services while governments debated who should pay.

Her activism has had personal consequences. the federal privacy commissioner found the government launched excessive surveillance after Blackstock spearheaded a human rights’ complaint alleging government spent less on services for aboriginal children then it did for the non-native population. But it has also brought needed change.

at the Federation of Community Social Services of BC, we’re proud to be able to recognize these three champions of social justice. and we’re proud that two of the three winners are working with agencies that are members of our Federation.

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In BriefWelcome to the Enterprise- Please join us in welcoming two new members to the small but mighty Fed team: Ashley Hill and Pam Alcorn. ashley started with the Fed in mid-May as our new administrative assistant, and she will be supporting Donna in the administrative functions of the Fed. ashley is a recent graduate of the Camosun College Office administration program and brings a great deal of experience in customer service. Pam begins in June and will be serving as our Researcher and Policy analyst. Pam has an impressive array of experience in community development, community-based research, and policy analysis. Pam holds an Ma from the University of Victoria’s

School of Human and Social Development (Policy and Practice), and her previous experience includes community-based research on seniors services, disability services, family violence, and the impacts of government policy on service delivery.

We are very excited to welcome Pam and ashley to the Fed team and know that their contributions will enable us to better serve our members and the sector.

Welcome and Thank You- Board elections were held on Friday, June 6th at the aGM. Please join your Federation colleagues in congratulating David Young (President), Tanya Behardien

(Vice-President), Renata Aebi (Fraser Region), Ann Kutcher (Vancouver Coastal Region), Dan Malone (Vancouver Island Region), Stefan Pavlis (North Region) and Jan Shumay (Interior Region), who were elected by acclamation. they join Deborah Joyce (treasurer), Caroline Bonesky, Sandy Bryce, James Challman, Kendra Gage, Merlyn Horton and Ingrid Kastens (Directors-at-large).

Shane Picken was recognized and thanked for serving four years as Federation President and he will continue to serve on the board as Past-President. Nanette Taylor, Mitzi Dean and Dana Gorbahn were also recognized for their contributions to the Federation as board members.

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Leadership 2020 Mini: the first offering of the leadership 2020 Mini program (the 10-month online-only program) comes to a close on May 21. We have learned a great deal about what works well and what doesn’t for an online-only leadership learning initiative, and the results of the participant evaluation will add to our understanding. We have concluded that 2020 Mini fills a need in our sector: it makes leadership learning accessible for people who are unable to participate in the full program for a variety of reasons, are in frontline roles and working towards leadership positions, or are simply inspired to keep learning about leadership practices with colleagues from around the

province. Over the summer months we hope to secure funding for another offering and will revise the program to make it even more dynamic and relevant.

Leadership 2020 Indigenous Focus: the first 38 graduates of this 10-month program for leaders in agencies and teams serving Indigenous children and families (e.g., Delegated aboriginal agencies, Friendship Centres, and MCFD aboriginal teams) will celebrate their achievements and the supportive community that they have created during their final residency in June. the program has

become one of the key components of MCFD’s Indigenous Cultural Competency Strategic Framework and we have been given resources to offer a second program. the program will begin in July.

Leadership 2020 Blended program: We are halfway through the current blended program (comprised of ½ MCFD staff and ½ Federation member agency staff), and the group has created a strong community of practice. In the spirit of “great leadership is practice”, members are launching themselves into a wide range of leadership initiatives that are having positive impacts on teams, programs, communities, and social issues.

For more information, see:http://www.fcssbc.ca/corebc/

leadership-2020/2020-indigenous

FCSSBC YOUTH EDUCATION BURSARIES RECOGNIZE THE POTENTIAL OF YOUNG PEOPLE, CELEBRATE THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF COMMUNITY LEADERS - this year, the FCSSBC Youth education Bursaries will be awarded in recognition of two familiar and friendly faces.

earlier this year, we lost a dear supporter of the Federation. Doug Marson died on March 29th from cancer.Doug worked for MCFD and was particularly well know to those working in the Interior. In the words of one Fed member: “Doug was always able to gracefully meld the world of Ministry accountabilities (via contracting) that he had responsibility for with the realities of what

dose of hilarity and joy to the Fed provincial meetings with her songs, skits, and memorable asks.

the Federation Youth education Bursary was created to help address recruitment and retention issues in the sector as a way of encouraging and supporting young people who have been in care to choose careers in the human services. If this year’s recipients are able to practice with the same kindness, grace, and pas-sion that Doug and Jeanne have, our sector is in good hands indeed!

Donations to the Federation Youth education Bursary are accepted year around and can be made online at:

http://fcssbc.ca/about/youth-bursary/

agencies contributed to the fabric of communities and the lives of children and families. He cared about ‘the work’ in all its dimensions, consistently focused on the relationships we needed to build and sustain to manage complex conversations, and was one of the most ethical, professional, and gentle men I have met.”

Jeanne Fike retired earlier this year after serving as the eD of Burnaby Family life. Jeanne was a proud Fed member and an even prouder member of the Fed Silly Fundraising Committee, raising funds for the Youth education Fund and adding a

Youth Education Bursaries

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Leadership 2020 Update

thank you to the Federation of Community Social Services of BC for giving me the opportunity to share this update on the work of my Office. to date, 2014 has been a full year, with a number of different projects and initiatives.

In January, Coast Capital Savings became the latest organization to answer my call to help make post-secondary education more attainable for youth leaving government care. It’s important to recognize that tuition is only one financial obstacle to higher education. For youth who don’t have a family home in which to live, rent and other living expenses can be more than triple the cost of tuition. that’s why Coast Capital’s $200,000 donation to establish a bursary

of care (available at www.rcybc.ca). the findings of On Their Own paint a stark picture of unsupported young people being suddenly left to navigate adulthood and their place in the world completely on their own. Without a permanent home, young people are that much more vulnerable, and that much more reliant on government to provide them with the services and supports they deserve and need.

this includes assessing whether finding a permanent home through adoption is in a child’s best interest, and having the policies and processes in place to make adoption happen. the Ministry of Children and Family Development recently announced some new funding, which is much-needed to clear some of the backlogs in its adoption system. However, there are still systemic issues that remain, and I will be examining these in an upcoming report on adoptions in BC, which I will be releasing soon.

You can keep up-to-date on this and other news by following @RCYBC or @RCYBCyouth on twitter, or liking www.facebook.com/RCYBC. If you have questions or need help, call the Repline at 1-800-476-3933 or send a message to rcybc@rcybc.ca

Mary Ellen Turpel-LafondRepresentative for Children and Youth

fund, administered by the Vancouver Foundation, is such an encouraging start. I am looking forward to seeing more investment by the private sector in B.C.’s most valuable resources—our young people.

Of course, tuition is still a large part of the equation. last year, I challenged all BC post-secondary institutions to waive tuition for former children and youth in care. Vancouver Island University led the way, with the University of British Columbia soon following suit. I am anticipating more universities and colleges to come forward with tuition-waiver programs in the coming months.

to keep the momentum going on this issue, I recently hosted a forum on making access to post-secondary education a reality for kids in care. this one-day event on april 28 brought together youth and stakeholders from government, NGOs, and the education sector to discuss barriers and what can be done to overcome them. these types of collaborative events are important to not only bring different people together, but also to keep people connected and motivated to keep moving forward. the more people who get involved, the greater the chance of real and meaningful change for these youths’ lives.

During the event, I also released a report on transition planning and outcomes for youth aging out

A Note from the Representative for Children and Youth

Special Feature

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although we are not going where no one has gone before, Rebecca and I are on a quest to meet with as many of our members as possible before the end of June. We want to hear about your concerns and issues, as well as your successes and also suggestions for how the Federation can better serve you.

the Federation is a member organization. If we are not serving the needs of our members, then there is no reason for our existence. Of course, we cannot serve all needs and will inevitably disappoint from time to time, but we want to be sure that our priorities coincide with yours, and that we are working hard to address your most pressing issues.

While on the road, we will do our best to answer your questions about current events in our complex service delivery and funding environment. If we do not have the information you are requesting, we will work hard to get it for you.

We have heard from many members that our role as advocates is critical. to be effective in this role, we need to understand the circumstances of

learned and how we think it should be reflected in our strategic plan. this summary will be circulated to all members for feedback and to make sure we interpreted your suggestions and ideas appropriately.

Some of you may not be able to make the community meetings to participate in this dialogue, but we still want to talk with you. If you are not able to attend the meeting in your community, please contact Rebecca or myself so that we can arrange an opportunity to talk.

Finally, I want to thank all of the members who have helped us in this endeavor. It has been an exciting and rewarding experience thus far, and Rebecca and I both look forward to the rest of our trips.

It is easy for me to understand our tag line “altogether Better” after meeting with our members and experiencing your knowledge, passion and commitment to the people and communities you serve.

thank you.

Rick FitzZaland, executive Director

our members and the people and communities they serve. this road trip is one way of better informing ourselves. We have also recently hired a researcher to assist us in getting the information that we need to be even more effective in our advocacy role.

Our primary mission is to listen to you, our members, and to ensure that your ideas and priorities are reflected in the Federation’s Strategic Plan, which will be finalized in September this year. as we promised you last year, this plan will be informed by our experience, research, and dialogue with our members.

In our first couple of weeks, we were privileged to be in Salmon arm, Kamloops, Kelowna, and Penticton, as well as the Vancouver Island Regional meeting in Victoria. the members in those communities were great hosts, and we learned a lot.

after the aGM, we will be travelling to some northern communities and scheduling time to meet with our many members scattered across the lower mainland. We then will put together a summary of what we

The View from Here

Featured benefit of membership: NewsclippingsMembers Receive a daily collection of local, provincial, national, and international news about and impacting community social care, delivered straigth to your inbox! For more information, visit the Federation website: www.fcssbc.ca

Since 1982, the Federation has been a recognized voice for community services to children, youth, adults and families in BC. We represent over 130 diverse, caring, committed member agencies that serve the needs of children and youth, women, people with disabilities, older adults and families. We work closely with over 80 other BC agencies doing related work. We promote the highest quality of services and we do it through advocacy, networking, skill-building, and education.

letter from the executive Director