Child abuse isn’t always obvious
Ontario’s Children’s Aid Societies launch public education campaign

The Ontario Association of Children’s Aid Societies (OACAS) and its member agencies are educating Ontarians about child abuse through this year’s public education campaign during October’s Child Abuse Prevention Month to ensure children and youth are safe, healthy and well cared for.

This year, the public is reminded that “Abused children don’t always look it,” because child
abuse isn’t always obvious. Ontarians can learn more about child abuse, how to recognize the subtle and obvious signs of abuse and how to report it at useyourvoice.ca or parlezpoureux.ca.

The Sparrow Lake Alliance strongly endorses the vision and recommendations set out in Out of the Shadows at Last - Final Report on Mental Health, Mental Illness and Addiction,of the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology, chaired by Senator Michael Kirby.

If you would like to add your personal or organizational support for this effort, please feel free to print and use the draft letter we have provided.

THEME: “Children & Youth - From Child Welfare to the Justice System”

An Unintended Journey: From Child Welfare to the Youth Justice System

Now that spring is upon us, it's time to return to Sparrow Lake! We believe that we have an outstanding conference this year. Our Annual Meeting will take place on May 7th and 8th at Bayview-Wildwood Resort.

In this Olympic Year, the Ontario government is seeking a gold medal by establishing the Ministry of Children and Youth Services! A high point of our meeting will be hearing from the Deputy Minister of Children and Youth Services 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.

In our program this year, we will follow up our work on "Crossover Kids" by trying to gain insight into the experience of youth as they enter and experience the justice system.