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Home
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Conference Proceedings > 15th Annual Meeting | 2004 |
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In this Olympic Year, the Ontario
government is seeking a gold medal by establishing The Ministry of
Children and Youth Services! As
such, a high point of our 2004 meeting was hearing from the newly appointed
Deputy Minister of Children and Youth Services, Jessica Hill about the
future of services for children and youth. Our hope is to establish
a continuing dialogue with the Ministry about how to improve service
delivery and obtain
better outcomes. The rapid growth in the number of children in care and
the increase in the number of violent crimes committed by youth create urgency
for us to adapt the system to meet the complex needs of these children and
youth. The new Ministry of Children and Youth Services includes both
phase 1 and phase 2 Young Offenders as well as Child Welfare and Children's
Mental Health policy and programs. Thus, this year's meeting was focused
on the new possibility of achieving essential integration of policies and
programs.
In
our meeting program this year, we extended the work of the Alliance
on the issue of "Crossover Kids" by trying to gain
insight into the experience of youth as they enter and experience
the justice system. We heard presentations by clinicians and
practitioners (Dr. Clive Chamberlain, Dr. Dick Meen, Wilton Littlechild)
and policy administrators (John Rabeau, Jessica Hill) who have long
associations with the system. The Sparrow Lake Alliance Children in
Limbo Task Force also presented a panel discussion on the importance
of helping children and youth in care and custody understand their
history as they "grow
up" within the system. As well, parent advocate Susan Hess
(Parent's for Children's Mental Health) provided a moving presentation
on the "Quilt
of Honour," designed to be a visible testament to all children
- and families - who struggle with mental illness. Finally, the
group had the honour of viewing the newly completed video presentation
(produced by Alliance Members) that features the late Alliance
founder Dr. Paul Steinhauer speaking on topics related to child
development and capacity.
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| “The
Adolescent: From Culture Hero to Garbage”
Dr. Clive Chamberlain
Senior Staff Psychiatrist,
Centre for Addiction & Mental Health
Dr. Chamberlain opened by telling the story of
how the George Hull Centre for Children and Families came by its name.
George Hull was the Vice Principal of Etobicoke Collegiate and became
somewhat a mentor to Dr. Chamberlain when he was a student at this
school, repeating ninth grade for a second time.
One day the young
Dr. Chamberlain was called into the Vice Principal’s office – the
school had received a request from the CBC for a teenager to take part
on a panel. The fact that the Vice Principal chose him to participate
bolstered his self-esteem and had a lasting impact. Moved and inspired
by his capacity to reach out to kids, Dr. Chamberlain later worked
to name the centre after one of his early mentors when he became its
founding Director...
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“The Quilt of Honour”
Susan Hess, President,
Parents for Children’s Mental Health
“Reflections on Youth
in Conflict with the Law”John Rabeau, Deputy Minister Ontario Ministry
of Correctional Services
“What You See is Not What You Get - Observations & Experiences
with 'Crossover Kids' ”
Dr. Dick Meen,
Clinical Director,
Kinark Child & Family Centre
“The Experience of Aboriginal Youth within the
Justice System”
Wilton Littlechild, O.C., Q.C., I.P.C.,
Lawyer & Aboriginal Leader, Alberta
“Helping Children Know Their Story”
Children In Limbo Task Force,
Sparrow Lake Alliance
“The Status of the Ministry of Children and Youth Services”
Jessica Hill, Deputy
Minister
Ontario Ministry of Children and Youth Services
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| Thanks to the following members for
their personal donations:
 Richard
Howe
Margaret
Jarrell
Llewellyn
Joseph
Ryna
Langer
Harriet
Macmillan
Kristina
Reitmeier
Thanks to the following organizations for their donations:
Aisling-Discoveries
Child & Family Centre (Betty Kashima)
Ministry
of Child & Youth Services
(Suzanne Hamilton)
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The 2003-2004 year
has been a busy and productive time for the Sparrow Lake Alliance. Check
out some of the highlights of our activities since the time of the last
annual meeting summarized below.
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JUNE
2003
The
SLA Steering Committee finalizes its new Terms of Reference,
pertaining to the membership and responsibilities of the
Co-Chairs and members serving on the Steering Committee.
The document is intended to ensure that the goals of the
Steering Committee are in line with those of the Alliance's
and also to provide a more formal set of guidelines for the
functioning of the committee. |
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JULY 2003
The
SLA endorses the "Joint Statement on Physical Punishment of
Children and Youth," an initiative supported and facilitated
by the Coalition at the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario.
Please visit
www.cheo.on.ca for more
information.
Continued updates
and revisions to the content of the SLA website occur, as proceedings of past
annual meetings are archived on-line in a more user-friendly format. |
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AUGUST 2003
In
preparation for the new SLA planning year starting in September,
the SLA welcomes aboard new members James
Arthur (Thunder Bay), Marvin
Bernstein (Toronto)
and Llwellyn Joseph (Toronto).
The Steering Committee
thanks departing members
Wayne Greenway and
Jeannette Lewis. |
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SEPTEMBER
2003
The
SLA approves its new Terms of Reference.
The
SLA endorsees the "Pay the
Rent AND Feed the Kids" campaign. Please see www.paytherent.ca for
more information.
At
the request of long-time SLA member Sally
Palmer, the SLA corresponds with Federal and Provincial leaders
to add its name to those organizations that are in opposition to the "clawback" of
the National Child Tax Benefit by the Ontario Government.
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OCTOBER 2003
Under
the leadership of the Children in Limbo Task Force, the SLA
co-sponsors the Orthopsychiatry conference held in Toronto.
Many thanks to Sally
Palmer, Ryna
Langer, and Gitte
Granofsky for their excellent
work in making this event happen. The SLA Steering Committee
is especially grateful to have been the recipient of a sizable
gift from the proceeds of the conference. Thanks again, CIL TF!
The
SLA launches it's first online newsletter and e-bulletin of current
activities, Alliance news and events. |
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NOVEMBER 2003
The
SLA adds its name to the long list of organizations that endorse
the campaign to Repeal Section 43 of Canada's Criminal Code,
pertaining to the physical punishment children and youth, in
honour of National Child Day on November 20 th . Please visit www.repeal43.org for
more information. |
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DECEMBER 2003
Changes
to the SLA website are completed, including the archiving of
previous programs and keynote addresses from annual meetings
beginning in 2000. |
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JANUARY 2004
On
January 16th the SLA starts the new year off on an exciting
note by hosting a one-day event, “Expert
Symposium on Crossover Children and Youth” including
presentations by Ontario's Chief Advocate for Children and
Youth, Judy Finlay, and Dalhousie Social Work Professor,
Michael Ungar. |
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FEBRUARY 2004
Members
of the SLA Steering Committee meet with Deputy Minister of
Children & Youth Services, Sandra
Lang to present the
recommendations arising from the Expert Symposium on “Crossover
Kids” in January, and to introduce the work of the SLA and
its membership to the new Ministry. |
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MARCH 2004
The SLA finalizes its annual conference program and roster of distinguished
speakers. This year's annual meeting extends the previous work so far on the
topic of "Crossover Kids" and the "unintended journey" made by children and
youth from the child welfare to the youth justice systems. |
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APRIL 2004
Members
of the Steering Committee and the Education Task Force
also met with the Deputy Minister of Education Suzanne
Herbert at the end of
April.
Work is completed
on two important projects that honour the history and tradition of the SLA
and its founder, Paul Steinhauer:
the SLA History document is finalized and production on a video tape of Dr.
Steinhauer speaking on topics related to Parenting capacity is completed
in time for its first screening at the annual meeting. Thanks to Jim
Armstrong and
Angie Rosati for coordinating
these two initiatives, respectively. |
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MAY 2004
Members of the SLA Steering Committee meet with Minister of Children & Youth
Services, Marie Bountrogianni to
introduce the work of the SLA and
discuss how we can work with the new Ministry.
The 15th Annual
Meeting of the SLA at Bayview-Wildwood resorts. This year's meeting and exciting
line-up of speakers attracted one of the highest registration rates of the past
five years! Thanks to your continued support the annual meeting continues to
be a success and the SLA is thriving.
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A warm welcome goes out to our new members and “first-time” attendees
of this year's annual meeting including:
D. Bascombe , L. Brough , C.
Cesaorini ,
J. Colangelli , D. Gauthier , J. Gauthier ,
W. Jones
, D. Kalailieff , P. Lake , K. Mcleod , P. McDonald , C. Molloy . R.
Pittis ,
E. Saltzman , L. Seremetkovsk , G. Shaw ,
L. Soloman , T.
Windebank , J. Wright
Sorry if we missed you on this list. We look forward
to seeing you all again next year.
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To watch the photographs from the 15th Annual Meeting of the Sparrow Lake
Alliance »
click
here... |
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