Webinar series: Addressing racism and white supremacy in child welfare in BC
The Addressing Racism and White Supremacy in Child Welfare in BC is a webinar series coordinated by West Coast LEAF in partnership with the Courthouse Libraries of BC. The purpose of this series is to develop knowledge and skills for legal actors to take up anti-racist practice and challenge white supremacy in the child protection system, also known as the family policing system.
This series is part of our child welfare advocacy Communities of Practice project, which seeks to create spaces to come together and learn from one another about family policing advocacy and ways to challenge that system.
Anti-racism and addressing white supremacy in legal practice: parent’s counsel session
When: April 3, 2023, 1 – 2:30 PM PT
Who:
- Frances Rosner, Barrister and Solicitor
- Agnes Huang, Lawyer, Saltwater Law
- Meena Dhillon, Parent’s Counsel, MD Law Corporation
- Moderated by Stephanie Hodgson, Parent’s Counsel & Sole Practitioner, Hodgson Law
In this panel, legal practitioners will discuss how they integrate anti-racism and cultural safety into their legal practice. Panelists will share their experiences identifying, and addressing racism and white supremacy in the child protection system, also known as the family policing system.
Participants may claim up to 1.5 hours of CPD with the LSBC.
The experiences of black, indigenous and racialized children and families impacted by the child welfare system: research guidance
When: February 27, 2023, 1 PM PT
Who:
- Sarah Wright Cardinal, Assistant Professor, School of Public Health and Social Policy at UVic
- Barbara Lee, Assistant Professor, School of Social Work at UBC
- Mandeep Kaur Mucina, Associate Professor, School of Child and Youth Care at UVic
- Rupaleem Bhuyan, Associate Professor, Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work at UoT
- Thaila Dixon, Community Development and Outreach Coordinator at The Collective of Child Welfare Survivors
- Moderated by Humera Jabir, staff lawyer at West Coast LEAF
In this panel, researchers and organizers will discuss their work amplifying the experiences of Black, Indigenous and racialized children, youth, kin, and families impacted by the child welfare system, also known as the family policing system. Panelists will discuss topics such as alternatives for supporting families and children outside of family policing, and how the pandemic has affected this work.
Participants may claim up to 1.5 hours of CPD with the LSBC.
The legacy and future of social work, colonialism, and child welfare in BC
When: November 28, 2022, 1 PM PT
Who: Tara Williamson
Co-Research Director at Indigenous Law Research Unit
Leslie-Ann Paige
Coast Salish Initiatives Manager at NIȽ TU,O Child and Family Services Society
In 2022, NIȽ TU,O Child and Family Services Society and the Indigenous Law Research Unit released a toolkit on Coast Salish Laws Relating to Child and Caregiver Nurturance and Safety. The purpose of the toolkit was twofold:
- to educate the public about the intersection of colonialism and child welfare
- to highlight the role Coast Salish law could and should play in the support of families and children caught in the system.
This presentation will highlight key sections in the toolkit and explore the role that communities, governments, agencies and individuals can play in revitalizing and incorporating Coast Salish law, and more broadly, Indigenous law, into legislation, policy, and practice.
Participants may claim up to 1.5 hours of CPD with the LSBC.
Making visible the discriminatory foundations of Canada’s child welfare system and the impact for first nations children and families today
When: October 24, 2022, 1 PM to 2:30 PM PT
Who: Brittany Mathews, Reconciliation and Research Coordinator, First Nations Child & Family Caring Society
For the first webinar in the series, Brittany Mathews, Reconciliation and Research Coordinator with the First Nations Child & Family Caring Society (Caring Society), will be providing a foundation of understanding around the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal findings of discrimination in the Canadian government’s provision of child welfare and implementation of Jordan’s Principle. Brittany will also be sharing insight about what does it mean to be doing this work in the time of Bill C-92, and what are the possibilities and cautions under the new federal act.
Participants may claim up to 1.5 hours of CPD with the LSBC.
Learn more about the Child Welfare Advocacy Communities of Practice project.