Our External Committees

PURPOSE: 

The SMFC OVOV Black Community Advisory Committee will provide advise and support in order to assist SMFC in its work to enhance services to Black children, youth, and their families toward equitable and inclusive outcomes through policy development, service delivery and associated practices. Desired outcomes include:

• To reduce and eliminate disproportionality, disparity, and discrimination towards children, youth and their families while ensuring child safety
• To support safety, permanency and overall well-being of Black children and youth served in and out of care
• To build organizational learning capacity that will enable SMFC to address systemic and structural factors that may lead to anti-Black-racism.

GOALS:

The SMFC OVOV Black Community Advisory Committee will provide advice and support toward influencing change that will enhance:

• reciprocal knowledge and shared understanding between the community partners, service recipients, child welfare (SMFC) staff, caregivers and volunteers;
• understanding and awareness of issues experienced by Black children, youth, families, caregivers and their communities;
• current activities/programs and appropriate resources to meet the needs of Black families, children, youth, and their communities.   Enhancing the knowledge, skills, and assets within the agency and the community to improve outcomes for Black children, families and youth;
• strategies for enhancing all staff, caregivers and volunteers knowledge of community assets and issues and awareness of how to engage Black children youth and their families in an equitable manner;
• identify obstacles to successful delivery of services;
• practices supporting community education to increase awareness and understanding of the child welfare system; and the delivery of service.
• Assist with providing information and reporting back to the community.

PREAMBLE

The Simcoe Muskoka Black Community Development Council (Hereafter referred to as “the Council.”) was formed in 2020 by the agency. The Council is a cross-sectorial planning table populated by grassroots, mid-size and large/mainstream institutions that are dedicated to advocating for and/or providing support towards the development of culturally affirming community services, supports and spaces with and for the Black community within Simcoe and Muskoka (e.g. clinical/remedial interventions and/or proactive supports towards the social determinants of health, etc.). The table is also tasked with sharing and advocating for ways to address anti-Black racism within member organizations and across both regions in a manner that is supportive and proactive.

PRIORITIES/CORE FUNCTIONS

Community Development and Alliance  

• Developing community services, supports and spaces with and for the Black community within Simcoe and Muskoka
• Supporting new and existing organizations and initiatives

Planning and Coordination:

• Planning table for specific operational projects: joint funding applications; support of applications by other member organizations; joint resourcing, reciprocal sharing of training resources, program locations, inclusion and equity-based practices between organizations;
• Planning for the future, advocacy, finding new funding opportunities, developing awareness, reporting on results to our sectors.

Advocacy and Growth:

• Commit to progress in addressing anti-Black racism in our organizations within our sector and across both Simcoe and Muskoka
• Sharing our Council ‘s promising practices with other planning tables
• Sharing with one another where our organizations are at in our equity journeys.

Information and Learning:

• Clearinghouse
• Promising practices
• Seeking and integrating feedback from community members into our work.