Southeast Child and Family Services was mandated by the Province of Manitoba in 1982 to provide statutory services for on-reserve children and families affiliated with Brokenhead, Berens River, Black River, Hollow Water, Little Grand Rapids, Pauingassi, Poplar River, and Buffalo Point First Nations. Provincial laws apply to the current child welfare system including The Child and Family Services Act, The Adoptions Act, and the Child and Family Services Authorities Act.
VISION
MINO-PIMATIZIWIN – living a good life for our children, families, and communities
Mission Statement
Southeast Child and Family Services support the children, families, and communities with providing respectful and caring supportive, preventative, and protection services that incorporates a revitalization of the Anishinaabe system of care that is rooted in the customs, traditions, and values of the communities we serve.
Agency Objectives
- To value each child as a gift from the Creator and treat our children with the care and respect they deserve.
- To respect and realize the child and family’s relationship with their community of origin, and ensure the Agency’s actions build and support that connection.
- To maintain the focus of services on the healing of the child, family, and community in all aspects of the services the Agency delivers.
- To respect and understand the diversity of the members and communities the Agency serves.
- To practice respect, honesty, kindness, caring, love, humility, and wisdom in our decision-making processes to provide the most compassionate services to the children and families we serve.
- To partner with our communities to enhance their capacity and strength to take responsibility for the well-being of their children and families.
- To support and build a confident and healthy workforce to provide the best quality of services to the children and families we serve.
- To promote inclusion with the communities to prevent children from coming into the care of the child welfare system, and to focus on the strengths of the families to keep them intact.
- To continuously review the quality of services provided by the Agency to ensure the children and families served are receiving the best services possible.
- To work in partnership with the communities and their resources, and the government funding sources to deliver the most culturally sensitive and respectful service possible.
The Brokenhead SECFS staff supported:
- The Annual Sobriety Powwow to honor those who remain sober and to promote sobriety
- The community Halloween dance and contributed treats at the school for the younger children, and treats were offered at the SECFS office for the older children
- Various children’s events during the Brokenhead Treaty Days
- A family violence workshop
- The Maternal Child Health Camp Manito Program
- A few member children to attend hockey tournaments
- The community carnival
- The after-school boxing program
- Case Aide salary
- Christmas Open House held in December
- Emergency support services as needed i.e. emergency food
Goals
- Continue to provide culturally appropriate foster homes in the community and, where possible, return children to be in community placements
- Extensively explore extended family/kinship homes when a child is in need of placement
- Actively recruit more community members to become foster parents
- Decrease the number of children coming into care
- Decrease the number of change of placements for children in care
- Work more closely with collaterals to develop more wrap around services to families to keep them intact and support the reunification of children with their families
- Further develop the Resource Committee to ensure that community resources, staff, and community members have the opportunity to identify and share issues, and develop plans to address
- Develop an emergency home in the community so that children who come into care do not have to leave the community
- Maintain funds for emergency support services
- Provide ongoing training to staff to increase their skill set to provide quality services to the children, families, and community members
- Hire a full-time support staff i.e. resource worker or intake worker
- Continue to support staff to participate in community events
- Continue to sponsor annual community events including Christmas Open House, Elders Program, Parent Aide, summer activities, fishing derby, Treaty Days celebrations, powwows, Maternal Child Health events, and emergency supports