The Executive Director of the Highland Shores Children’s Aid Society says despite the best intentions of child welfare agencies, much still has to be done to offer the right supports to Indigenous children and their families.
Mark Kartusch told the Annual General Meeting of the Highland Shores CAS Board of Directors Thursday that he had been thinking Highland Shores and other agencies were doing alright with programs serving Indigenous families, but after reading the Truth and Reconciliation Report and another titled “They came for the children”, he realized his beliefs were wrong.
Kartusch described how upset he became after thinking deeply about how hurtful removing Indigenous children from their families had to have been, with effects still strongly felt to this day in First Nations communities.
“We have much to learn from these wonderful people, and we need to listen and take action to try to make things better and here at Highland Shores, we are committed to doing more for the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte and the people of the Alderville First Nation”.
While admitting shortfalls helping Indigenous communities, the Executive Director also stressed a great deal of good work was being done by Highland Shores CAS staff, helped greatly by strong partnerships with many other organizations, both professional and volunteer, in the wider community.
“It might surprise some to hear that our goal as a child welfare agency is not to remove children from their homes. Quite the opposite.”
In the past few years, less that 1% of the total child population in the region was taken care of by the CAS outside of the home.
Kartusch said Highland Shores people and programs are keeping families together, which is a top priority for the agency.
The Highland Shores CAS 6th Annual General Meeting also featured recognitions for staff and board members.
Supervisor of the Kinship Program, Ann Garvin, was awarded the J.J. Kelso Award for her over 30 years of service to child welfare.
And board members Peter Knudsen and Phillip Peters, both retiring from the board after many years service, received Certificates of Appreciation.
October is Child Abuse Prevention Month featuring the purple ribbon awareness campaign. The campaign’s theme this year will be “it takes a village to raise a child”.
