This action item was achieved through the establishment of the Accountability Framework and CFS Approval Process. These documents were implemented and communicated in January 2019.

The update to the Investigation section of the Child and Family Services Standards and Procedures Manual is a system feature improvement initiative. Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well ongoing staffing issues, this action will be postponed as priority is given to addressing immediate needs of the CFS system.

This section of standards, as well as the framework to guide this update process, will be developed at a later date through consultation with the 3 Authorities (NTHSSA, TCSA, HRHSSA).

The HSS system has completed and received accreditation through Accreditation Canada. Child and Family Services was included as part of the accreditation process.

The 2020-2021 NWT System Wide Audits will be completed February - July 2022.

Reviews continue on a quarterly basis.

Reviews continue on a quarterly basis.

Reviews continue on a monthly basis. The NTHSSA actively reviews the regional and territorial barriers and solutions in complying with child and family service investigation standards.

An oversight mechanism was created for the new standard on the practice of transferring guardianship in April 2019.

CFS prevention services have been updated in response to both the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the implementation of the Federal Legislation, An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit, and Metis children, youth and families.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Brief Service Agreements providing financial support were and continue to be offered to families experiencing financial hardship. The Ministerial Directive extending support services to youth and young adults was also extended to be in effect up to 90 days after the end of the public health emergency to support their transition to independence.

Since the implementation of the Federal Act, all CFS standards related to prevention services were revised to align with the principles of the Act, including the addition of providing prevention services to expectant parents.

In June 2021, the first round of training for family preservation staff on providing Wrap services was completed.

There are currently 11 family preservation worker positions in the NWT and recruitment for these new positions is underway.

The next phase of the family preservation program is to establish an evaluation framework of the program and this continues to be under development.

The project plan was developed by July 2019. Other jurisdictions are also actively working on similar projects. As described in the project plan itself, the NWT will continue to engage with other jurisdictions to inform and further refine the work completed to date in the NWT. This information will help to continue to evolve the approach to assessing workload and caseload.

The written protocol for quality assurance checks of the SDM tools was completed in February 2019.

A phased training framework was finalized in May 2021. The training framework includes but is not limited to:

• Enhanced Child Protection Worker Statutory Core training, which currently using a hybrid approach with both virtual and in-person training sessions;
• Returning worker training: This training is targeted to staff who are returning to CFS after an extended absence. Training is tailored to the needs of the staff member;
• Supervisor Manager training: This training is applicable to both new and existing Supervisors and Managers within the CFS system.

All training is offered according to an established training schedule and as requested.

An electronic training platform was activated in July 2021 and contains all training materials for staff. Staff have access to this platform and training materials on an as-needed basis.

In collaboration with the Foster Family Coalition of the NWT and the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs, a youth in care network is being piloted virtually through the GLOW (“Gaining Life Skills OUR Way”) program for the second year. This program will be available to youth living in care who are aged 12 – 23. This network will give youth opportunities to speak out on important issues about their experience in care and their transition to young adulthood.

To encourage feedback and support ongoing improvements to service delivery, Child and Family Services is currently developing a complaint process for individuals to share their experience of their interactions with the CFS system.

Participant knowledge assessments are regularly collected after training events. Questionnaires will be available to staff on the online electronic platform which will contain all aspects of training initiatives in one central location.

The Senior Advisor, Culturally Safe Child and Family Services position has been established and the position has been filled. This position will be co-managed through a collaboration between DHSS Child and Family Services Division and Community, Culture, and Innovation Division. This position is responsible for informing CFS strategic initiatives, standard and policy development, and training curriculums for staff and caregivers to promote culturally safe and anti-racism practices within the CFS system.

Discussion towards these community agreements will be integrated into engagement meetings with Indigenous governments. As of April 2021, Child and Family Services has met with 5 Indigenous governments to discuss CFS provision to their community members.

One Indigenous government has committed to working with CFS to develop a terms of reference and protocol in efforts to identify the best way to engage and collaborate on the planning for children/youth receiving services.

CFS will continue to explore options with Indigenous governments on community agreements or other types of protocols/processes for supporting families involved in the CFS system.

All Supervisors and Managers were trained by December 2018. The model was implemented in January 2019. The NTHSSA also launched online learning modules in June 2019.

The revised accountability framework was implemented in January 2019. Communication about the revised accountability framework occurred at different meetings and events, such as the All Child and Family Services Staff Meeting, Manager and Supervisor Forum, and Statutory Director’s Forum.

Routine quality assurance checks are being completed with Matrix NT. This work is ongoing.

The standard was implemented in November 2018.

COVID-19 has interrupted the progress of engagement efforts with Indigenous governments however CFS continues to reach out Indigenous governments, maintain commitments to data sharing, and provide opportunities to collaborate.

It is anticipated that when COVID-19 restrictions ease, opportunities to engage with Indigenous governments will expand.

It is acknowledged that improving communication and partnerships with Indigenous communities is an ongoing and evolving process. CFS remains committed to providing opportunities for engagement and partnerships with Indigenous governments.

The NTHSSA implemented a supervisory on-call model in April 2019.

The transition of NTHSSA regional staff to NTHSSA, Child, Family, and Community Wellness (CFCW) Division was completed as of February 1, 2021. These changes intersect and align with the delivery of Child and Family Services by the TCSA and HRHSSA.

The Department will continue to monitor this structure to ensure appropriate oversight over the CFS system and the effective intersection of services across all 3 Authorities (NTHHSA, TCSA, and HRHSSA).

The foster care curriculum and training continues to be under development and involves a collaboration between DHSS, NTHSSA, Tlicho Community Services Agency, and the Hay River Health and Social Services Authority.

Training will be guided by the Heart and Spirit program as well as subsequent updated practice standards related to placement services.

DHSS is in the process of securing an agreement to offer the Heart and Spirit program in the NWT. This program provides training as well as assessment tools for staff to assess caregiver readiness and support caregivers in building the skills needed to provide culturally safe care to Indigenous children and youth.

All training will be available to staff on CFS’s electronic learning platform

The Child/Youth Placement Services team within NTHSSA has been established. This team works with DHSS, Tlicho Community Services Agency (TCSA) & Hay River Health and Social Services Authority (HRHSSA) to review and update the foster care standards to ensure they align with the Child and Family Services Act, Federal Act and current best practice. Efforts are underway to ensure strong collaboration with DHSS, TCSA, and HRHSSA is in place with the goal of enhancing training and developing standards in a culturally safe and effective manner.

The enhanced Child Protection Worker Statutory Core Training continues to offer modules specific to interviewing and the investigation process.

Training videos for forensic interviewing have been developed, piloted in one region in the NWT, and are available to staff via the CFS online learning platform.

DHSS is currently developing a tiered training approach to include:

• Basic interviewing
• Motivational interviewing
• Forensic interviewing

The forensic interviewing training will be offered using a train the trainer approach, to support capacity building with the CFS system.

Child and Family Services has developed an approach for outreach and engagement with Indigenous governments for the purpose of providing an initial orientation to CFS service delivery and the implementation of the Federal Act. Outreach efforts have been ongoing since January 2020.

Since December 2020, CFS met with 5 Indigenous governments to discuss the implementation of the Federal Act and CFS service delivery to their community members.

CFS has committed to the ongoing sharing of information and data with these Indigenous governments on a quarterly basis.

CFS is working closely with 1 Indigenous government for the purpose of collaboratively building infrastructure to support Indigenous-led CFS service delivery in their communities.

This work is currently underway through a collaboration table that consists of both

CFS leadership and representatives from the Indigenous government.

As part of our COVID-19 response, virtual MatrixNT learning demonstration sessions and handouts have been developed for staff.

DHSS staff continue to work with frontline staff in each Authority to ensure electronic documentation of files are accurate and up to date.

NTHSSA Territorial Leads are also providing 1:1 training to staff on electronic documentation in MatrixNT.

This was completed in April 2019.

The standard was implemented in March 2019.

The Department continues to implement the Child Youth Care Counselor (CYCC) initiative. Through this initiative, children, youth, and families have increased access to mental wellness support and services.  This action aligns with the Child and Youth Mental Wellness Action Plan, which identifies the development of seamless care pathways to support children and youth.  The Seamless Care Pathway model is a collaborative approach where a variety of mental health and wellness services are matched to the needs of the individual.  Child and Family Services staff have been trained and continue to provide referrals to the Strongest Families Institute.

Additionally, opportunities for capacity building with local youth organizations are being explored to further support youth experiencing mental health concerns.

The minimum contact standard, tool and form were introduced to the system on November 1, 2019.

The Serious Occurrence standard, tool and form were introduced to the system on March 3, 2020. The form was amended to include situations related COVID-19 so that we can track the impact of this pandemic on children and youth receiving services.