Changing the Ontario child welfare system to better serve African Canadians One Vision One Voice Creating African Canadian Affinity Groups: A Framework for Children’s Aid Societies African Canadian Child Welfare Affinity Groups
One Vision One Voice Creating African Canadian Affinity Group: A Framework
Changing the Ontario child welfare system to better serve African Canadians
One Vision One Voice
Creating African Canadian Affinity Groups: A Framework for Children’s Aid Societies
African Canadian Child Welfare
Affinity Groups
One Vision One Voice Creating African Canadian Affinity Group: A Framework
What is an affinity group?
A ffinity groups consist of individuals or employees sharing a common characteristic, trait, or interest in order to discuss issues of shared identity (Segal, 2013) The empowered can ignore or walk away from conversations about race, while the
disempowered must confront racial issues on a daily basis (Singleton & Linton, 2006) Affinity groups provide emotional support or potential resources for employees (Douglas, 2008) Gathering persons sharing similar experiences and challenges provides an important feeling of unity. Affinity groups provide participants the opportunity to discuss emotional topics related to sharing identity characteristics such as race, sexual orientation, or religious beliefs, not readily available during work related discussions (Michael & Conger, 2012). Affinity groups include homogeneous groups, comprising of individuals sharing the same identity characteristic such as an African American affinity group, where all members must identify as African American. Heterogeneous groups include individuals with the same identity characteristic in addition to allies. Allies include supporters for equal rights, and gender or racial equality that do not share the unique characteristic of the group. Groups formed on the basis of affinity offer members greater support than groups that did not share similar bonds (Meenai, 2003) Affinity group purpose falls into two categories: emotional and instrumental The emotional purpose of an affinity group allows for an expressive outlet on highly sensitive topics. For instance, Parsons and Ridley (2012) claim “the relationships students gain through race-based affinity groups enable them to feel less alone with their emotions and help them build a stronger sense of self” (p. 40). Instrumental affinity groups move beyond emotional outlets to consider the actions needed to accomplish specific goals Companies such as Hewitt Packard, Microsoft, and Dell acknowledge the emotional purpose of affinity groups in retaining employees, and highlight the instrumental goals by sharing information, and increasing awareness of organizational policies and procedures (Lengnick-Hill, 2007).
One Vision One Voice Creating African Canadian Affinity Group: A Framework
Table of Contents
Introduction 4
Why does child welfare need an African Canadian Affinity Group? 5
What are the goals of an African Canadian Child Welfare Affinity
Group?
6
The Model: How can it work? 7
ACCWEN Framework 8
Recommended Guidelines to Support Affinity Groups within societies 9
ACCWEN Responsibilities for Youth Provincial Advisory Council 10
Terms of Reference Template for Provincial African Canadian Child
Welfare Affinity Group
11
ACCWEN Guiding Principles 14
One Vision One Voice Creating African Canadian Affinity Group: A Framework
Introduction “The values of whiteness are the water in which we all swim”
Kelsey Blackwell
We know that systems are not neutral. In child welfare One
Vision One Voice has been developed to address the
disparate outcomes and overrepresentation of African
Canadian children in care, that is a direct results of the non
neutrality of our system. To this end, we must also
acknowledge that in order to fully eliminate disparity and
overrepresentation for the African Canadian community, child
welfare must also turn inwards to look at and address the
disparity in employment experiences faced by staff of African
Canadian descent.
“In integrated spaces, patterns of white dominance are
inevitable. These patterns happen even when white people
are doing the work of examining their privilege. They can
happen even when facilitators design and model more
inclusive ways of being together. The values of whiteness
are the water in which we all swim. No one is immune. Those
values dictate who speaks, how loud, when, the words we
use, what we don’t say, what is ignored, who is validated and
who is not.” *
Affinity groups, are a recognized best practice approach to
inclusive work places. They bring together people with
something in common, this can be culture or race, gender
identity, interests or hobbies. This document lays out a
framework for a race-based affinity group in the child welfare
sector. Affinity groups can also be called: clubs, networking
groups, or employee resource groups.
By fostering an environment where affinity groups are able
to develop and group, Children's Aid Societies make it clear
that they are fully committed to hearing and addressing
concerns of staff who are often underserved and undervalued
within their place of work. If CASs across the province are
going to commit to equity and the elimination of
disproportionality for African Canadian families, they must
also make that same commitment to the African Canadian
staff they employ.
Affinity groups are effective organizations which can be
utilized to improve identified challenges within a CAS. For
example, a gender based affinity group for women, may
work to address improving the gender pay gap, or increasing
the number of women in leadership positions within an
organization.
One Vision One Voice Creating African Canadian Affinity Group: A Framework
Why does child welfare
need an African Canadian
affinity group?
In November 2018, One Vision One Voice held the first ever,
African Canadian child welfare staff symposium, All In!
Experiences shared at the symposium revealed that African
Canadian staff within the sector uniformly felt (to name a
few):
• Isolated
• Unheard
• De-professionalized/De-skilled
• Limited in career advancement opportunities
• Emotionally burdened by persistent microaggressions
• Silenced
• Afraid to speak up
Additionally concerning, when surveyed at All In!: 79% of attendees expressed that that they had experienced anti-Black racism within their Children’s Aid Society (place of work). 84% shared that they have experienced anti-Black racism from service users (including use of the N-word) and/or community partners in the context t of their employment (ex: Judges, Police). Teachers, Lawyers, Clients).
Providing staff with a way to collectivize, discuss these issues
and problem solve ways to address them can enable the
sector to grow more fully towards One Vision One Voice Race
Equity Practice 8, which identifies supporting African
Canadian staff to organize and participate in African
Canadian staff groups and province wide initiatives as a key
tactic.
One Vision One Voice Creating African Canadian Affinity Group: A Framework
What are the goals of an
African Canadian Child
Welfare group? • Connect with community. One Vision One Voice
believes African Canadian child welfare staff make up
roughly one third of the child welfare staff in the
province. This means that in many agencies Black staff
are often the only racialized person in the agency. Even
when they are not, the structure and working systems
within child welfare have been developed within White
European colonial context, this means that African
Canadian staff are experiencing systemic and anti-Black
racism with no where to turn. Being able to connect to
colleagues dealing with the same concerns provides a
safe sounding board and an opportunity for staff to
strategize solutions
• Deepen relationships and find mentors. We know
that lack of advancement and being persistently passed
over for promotion is a particular concern for African
Canadian staff. When they do get to leadership roles,
they are often isolated as the only Black person at the
table. This often leads to feeling silenced. An Affinity
Group will provide opportunities for mentorship and an
opportunity for staff to lean on and support each other
when necessary.
• Gain knowledge. Knowledge sharing and transfer for
African Canadian staff, means that by connecting they
can improve their practice skills and create
opportunities for themselves in their careers
• Find leadership opportunities. An African Canadian
affinity group charged with initiating programs, the All
In event and organizing speakers or activities, is a
visible way for staff to show leadership and gain
leadership skills that can be leveraged beyond the
affinity group in their day to day and career. The
affinity group is therefore a potential source of
professional development.
• Implement changes and improvements. One of the
most important roles of the African Canadian Child
Welfare Employee Network will be to collectively voice
concerns that African Canadian staff are dealing with
within the sector and hold sector leadership accountable
in addressing the concerns.
• Connect with community and Local Advisory
Councils. To understand the trends at a high level
regarding what is impacting the African Canadian
community.
• Connect with African Canadian Youth Provincial
Advisory Council (YPAC). ACCWEN should operate
using an Afrocentric approach and ensure connection to
Black youth within their CAS’ and provincially in order to
ensure that they are receiving relevant programing etc.
and that they have African Canadian role models able to
mentor and lead them effectively.
One Vision One Voice Creating African Canadian Affinity Group: A Framework
The Model: How Does It Work
• Regular meetings
• Two way sharing of information regarding African Canadian staff concerns
ACCWEN– Central ACCWEN—South West ACCWEN— Eastern ACCWEN—Grand River ACCWEN—Northern
CAS based
affinity group
Regular Meetings Sharing of Information with African Canadian staff WITHOUT a CAS based Affinity Group
Ontario African Canadian Child
Welfare Employee Network (O-
ACCWEN) Co-Chairs
ACCWEN Zone Co-Leads
All African Canadian Child Welfare Employees
Regular meetings Two way sharing of information for African Canadian staff WITH a CAS based affinity group
• Works to deliver ALL IN! Black African Canadian Staff symposium annually
OACAS Equity, Diversity and
Inclusion Director
YPAC/BLACK YOUTH
One Vision One Voice Creating African Canadian Affinity Group: A Framework
ACCWEN FRAMEWORK
Ontario African Canadian Child Welfare Employee
Network (O ACCWEN)
All African Canadian child welfare staff should be a
member of the Ontario African Canadian Child Welfare
Employee Network (O ACCWEN)
O ACCWEN would consist of two chair persons
O ACCWEN co-chairs should have regular meetings/
contact with the OACAS Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Director
O ACCWENs primary responsibility would be to:
• Filter/share information on behalf of African
Canadian staff with the OACAS Diversity, Equity
and Inclusion Director
• Share and advocate on behalf of Blacks staff to
the OACAS
• Connect only to zone co-leads to obtain
information from Black staff
• Provide support (where possible) to the OACAS
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Director for the
OACAS to hold an All In! African Canadian Child
Welfare Employee Symposium annually
ACCWEN by Zones
Zone based ACCWEN groups should also be created
• ACCWEN Central
• ACCWEN Southwest
• ACCWEN Northern and Northeast)
• ACCWEN Eastern
• ACCWEN Grand River
Each ACCWEN Zone can have two co-leads to
coordinate zone based meetings, teleconferences etc.
Zone Co-Leads should be in regular contact with the O
ACCWEEN Co-Chairs, to share updates and information.
Contact can be via email, in person or via
teleconference
Zone Co-Leads should also be in contact with African
Canadian staff in their zone, either directly or through a
societies existing or newly created African Canadian
Affinity group
CAS African Canadian Affinity Groups Some societies may choose to have, or already have,
their own existing CAS African Canadian Affinity
group. These groups are integral to ensuring that
African Canadian staff within societies have a safe and
supportive work environment.
Societies that have existing or newly created African
Affinity group, should continue to build and support
these groups.
Existing or newly created society based African
Canadian affinity groups should always be the first
point of contact for African Canadian staff
Societies that do not have their own African Canadian
affinity group, should always direct Black staff to their
zone co-leads who can arrange zone based meetings
for Black staff in those areas
One Vision One Voice Creating African Canadian Affinity Group: A Framework
An important distinction should be made between an African
Canadian affinity group and the benefits of affinity groups
and unions, which exist in whole part for the purpose
of dealing with the grievances or labor disputes or representi
ng members in their employment relationship. Instead,
affinity groups create community among staff and provide
opportunities for networking and development.
What should employees do if they wish to set up
an Affinity Group within their society?
Employees wishing to set up an African Canadian CAS based
affinity group or an ACCWEN Zone based group should
consult their CAS HR and Leadership team to find out what
the process for setting up affinity groups. If there is no
existing policy One Vision One Voice recommends the
following process:
1. Employees meet with HR and Leadership at the society
to express their desire in setting up and Affinity group
OR leadership can proactively arrange a meeting with
African Canadian employees to gauge interest in setting
up a group.
2. Co-leads for the group should be selected
3. Ontario ACCWEN co-chairs should be notified of the
following:
• The name of the group
• Name of the CAS or zone based Co-Leads
• The number of African Canadian Employees
the group serve, and provide:
4. The group should develop a Terms of Reference using
the template on pages 11-14 of this document.
5. A communication should be sent to all CAS staff
explaining the purpose of the group
How can Senior Leadership provide support to
affinity groups? CAS Supervisors, Directors of Service and Executive
Directors as well as all members of CAS senior leadership
teams are encouraged to:
1. Recognizing and encouraging the formation and
continued development and engagement of African
Canadian affinity groups.
2. Allowing a reasonable amount of time for co-leads to
devote to planning initiatives and activities for the
affinity group
3. Ensuring the affinity group is highlighted and mentioned
as part of new staff orientation and on other
communication channels
4. Reimbursement of expenses as coordinated and
delivered through CAS HR policies
Recommended Guidelines to Support Affinity
Groups within societies
One Vision One Voice Creating African Canadian Affinity Group: A Framework
ACCWEN and the Youth Provincial
Advisory Council (YPAC)
Populations of African descent across the
globe place a strong emphasis on showing
reverence and respect to elders within the
community.
A true Afrocentric approach considers this
and ensures that elders are present at the
table to provide mentorship and guidance
to African Canadian youth. As such,
ACCWEN leadership, either zone based for
those zones that do not have CAS based
affinity groups and CAS based for those
that do, should take the lead in organizing
their Zone and Local YPAC affiliate groups.
ACCWEN Responsibilities for YPAC:
• Zone Co-Leads will be responsible for
engaging African Canadian Youth in
their zone, where there is not existing
CAS based Affinity Group.
• Where there is a CAS based affinity
group, that affinity group should also
develop a CAS based YPAC and
actively engage and mentor Black
youth in care.
Please refer to the YPAC
Framework for more information
on how YPAC should be organized
One Vision One Voice Creating African Canadian Affinity Group: A Framework
Terms of Reference Template 1 of 3
This terms of reference template can be modified and edited to fit the needs of each CAS Affinity Group, Zone based ACCWEN:
African Canadian Child Welfare Employee Network (ACCWEN)
Terms of Reference
Purpose
The African Canadian Child Welfare Employee Network (ACCWEN) is an affinity group for all staff who identify as African Canadian. The purpose of the group is to act as a place where African Canadian staff can convene for support, as well as collectivize to address issues that uniquely affect Black staff working in child welfare, includ-ing at indigenous CASs.
Mandate and Role
• Enable African Canadian Child Welfare employees to share work related issues of common interest and concerns in a safe environment
• Provide a source of mutual support and an opportunity to identify solutions and improvements for these issues with employees and collectively with leadership
• Be a source of information and expertise on African Canadian employee service delivery and issues
• Work with OACAS Equity Team/One Vision One Voice to lead annual All In! African Canadian Child Welfare Staff Employee Symposium
• Ensure that the OACAS Equity Council, AOP Roundtable and Equity leads and Executive Directors at local societies are made aware of relevant issues and concerns for African Canadian child welfare employees
Assist in the identification of training needs, advise on the provision of courses to address gaps in experiences for African Canadian staff
Scope
ACCWEN Will:
• Share knowledge, experiences and concerns pertaining to African Canadian Child Welfare staff
• Address issues, concerns and experiences of Black staff at Society level, leveraging Society equity Tables
• Champion concerns and issues raised by African Canadian staff
• Meet with OACAS Director of Equity, Inclusion and Diversity in the form of regular meetings to bring con-cerns or initiatives to the table and develop a plan to address the challenges faced by Black staff
One Vision One Voice Creating African Canadian Affinity Group: A Framework
Terms of Reference Template 2 of 3
This terms of reference template can be modified and edited to fit the needs of each CAS Affinity Group, Zone based ACCWEN:
Membership:
Membership in ACCWEN is on a voluntary basis. All African Canadian staff working in the child welfare sector in Ontario, regardless of their position (front-line, admin-istrative, leadership etc.) can join an ACCWEN.
ACCWEN members must:
• Have African ancestry
• Identity as African Canadian/Black
Be employed by a Children’s Aid Society or an indigenous Children’s Aid Society in Ontario or Ontario Association of Children’s Aid Society
ACCWEN Structure
There are three tiers to ACCWEN:
• Ontario African Canadian Child Welfare Employee Network: All staff are members but are represented by two co-chairs. These co-chairs liase regularly with the OACAS Director of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
• Zone Based ACCWEN: Society staff where there is NOT a CAS based Affinity group for Black staff will join a Zone based ACCWEN. Each Zone based ACCWEN will have two co-leads.
CAS Affinity Groups: One Vision One Voice, encourages individual CASs to create African Canadian Affinity Groups. Where these groups exist. These groups are the main point of contact for Black staff. Leads within these groups can meet with their respective zone based co-leads as decided. (See page 7 and 8 of the One Vision One Voice: Creating African Canadian Affinity Group: A Framework document for more details).
Meetings
• ACCWEN – Ontario should meet with Zone based ACCWEN co-leads at least monthly or every other month to share issues, compare concerns plans or initiatives. Attendance will be available in person, teleconference, or other electronic means.
• Frequency of meetings will be determined by the ACCWEN co-chairs and Zone based co-leads
• Zone based Co-leads should meet with staff who do not have a CAS based Affinity group regularly (meetings can be in person or via teleconference)
• Zone based co-leads should also meet with the leads of any CAS based Affinity groups within their zone.
• CAS affinity groups should decide on their own structure to meet with staff but should also ensure that they are connecting regularly co-leads for their zone.
• A full ACCWEN meeting will take place annually in the form of the All In! Symposium, led by the Director, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.
One Vision One Voice Creating African Canadian Affinity Group: A Framework
Terms of Reference Template 3 of 3
This terms of reference template can be modified and edited to fit the needs of each CAS Affinity Group, Zone based ACCWEN:
Quorum and Decision-Making
• Quorum shall be 50% of full members.
• Recommendations and decisions are determined by consensus of present members, assuming quorum.
• Decisions and recommendations on which there is no consensus should be brought forward for a recorded vote.
Governance
• ACCWEN will operate using a co-chair model, potentially consisting of one OACAS Equity/OVOV chair and one co-chair from a Society
• ACCWEN co-chair should represent intersection of Black identities
• ACCWEN membership will self-nominate or nominate one of several candidates amongst the membership to act as chair.
ACCWEN Co-chairs will meet regularly with the OACAS Equity Director who will in turn relay findings, concerns, initiatives etc. to the Equity of outcomes strategic council
ACCWEN Responsibilities for YPAC:
• Zone Co-Leads will be responsible for engaging African Canadian Youth in their zone, where there is not existing CAS based Affinity Group.
• Where there is a CAS based affinity group, that affinity group should also develop a CAS based YPAC and actively engage and mentor Black youth in care.
One Vision One Voice Creating African Canadian Affinity Group: A Framework
ACCWEN GUIDING PRINCIPLES
GUIDING PRINCIPLES
Analyzing Power (Power Analysis)
Through the analysis of institutional power, ACCWEN commits to identifying and unpacking the systems of oppression for Black staff. As well, ACCWEN acknowl-edges that like other Canadian institutions, child welfare agencies have evolved within an historical context of white supremacy, colonialism, and anti-Black racism, all of which have been woven into the fabric of child welfare policies and practices, leading to the creation of long-standing disproportionalities and disparities for
African Canadian and Indigenous communities.
Listening
ACCWEN commits to making space to listen and solicit feedback from all members of the African Canadian child welfare sector in Ontario. ACCWEN commits to prioritize listening to the experiences of LBGT2SQ, members of religious minority groups, ability, as told by them.
Appreciation & Gratitude
Appreciation and gratitude for the whole of each other’s personhood. ACCWEN commits to respecting and nurturing all the intersections of blackness that make up each member. ACCWEN will resist arrogance and judgement, be willing to share weaknesses, will call each other out, and celebrate each other often
One Vision One Voice Creating African Canadian Affinity Group: A Framework
Questions? Contact Us: [email protected]