Resources
Resources
Placement Resources
Kinship Care
Kinship care involves children residing full-time with relatives or members of their community when they cannot live with their parents. This approach aims to reduce trauma for children and parents while bolstering the family’s existing skills and connections. Strong families nurture resilient children, aligning with our core belief that ‘Métis families and communities are the foundation of the Métis Nation.’
Our kinship care program supports approximately 300 kinship homes with training, advocacy, and essential resources, harnessing the valuable wisdom and knowledge inherent within families.
LIFE Program
The LIFE (Live In Family Enhancement) Program offers a distinctive opportunity to preserve family unity during periods of child care. Each family is matched with a trained LIFE mentor who serves as a role model, supporter, advocate, and guide, aiming to enhance the overall health and well-being of all family members.
Families typically reside in a LIFE home for a minimum of eight months, with the option to extend as needed. LIFE mentors work closely with parents to enhance parenting skills, life competencies, and ensure the safety and welfare of children in the program.
Foster Care and Specialized Foster Care Program
While our primary focus remains on keeping children connected to their families or communities, there continues to be a critical demand for both general and specialized caregivers, particularly within the Métis community. Many Métis children still face the challenge of being raised outside of their own cultural and familial contexts.
Our General Foster Care and Specialized Foster Care programs are responsible for recruiting, screening, training, licensing, and providing ongoing support to foster parents who care for children of all ages and diverse needs.
The General Foster Care Program successfully expanded emergency placement services last year, addressing urgent needs.
We are actively recruiting for emergency, short-term, and long-term foster homes. For youth requiring specialized care tailored to their specific needs, the Specialized Foster Care Program offers customized homes equipped and supported by highly experienced staff.
Group Care Resources
Gladys Cook / Eagle's Nest
Gladys Cook House and Eagles Nest are now licensed as short to long-term homes. This allows staff to build meangingful relationships over time and gives the children and youth a feeling of stability and commitment. Staff in both facilities are very busy meeting the needs of the children and youth in their care.
Staff help ensure there is one less change in the youth’s lives by driving them to their familiar school which allows them to maintain relationships with friends and teachers.
They also offer recreational opportunities such as community centres, YMCA, camping, fishing, MCFCS Cultural Camp and any other interests the children and youth have.
Rails
Rosedale Adolescent Inter-dependent Living Services (RAILS) is a 7 unit/9 bed inter-dependent living program. It supports youth living on their own with the support and guidance of having staff available on site 24 hours a day.
Staff mentor the youth in areas such as: budgeting, proper nutrition, smart shopping, educational support, personal health and hygiene among other independent living skills.
Staff help youth prepare meals for group functions in the common area for educational, employment and recreational activities. When a youth leaves RAILS they are able to receive supports from staff for up to 3 months as they move on their own to independent living.
Mazoun
The Mazoun Infinitii Pakoshayimoohk (House of Hope) is a transformative initiative aimed at providing culturally safe urban transition homes for Red River Métis Youth who are aging out of care or have already aged out. This facility will serve as a beacon of support, offering essential education in life skills, therapeutic interventions, and culturally enriching programming.
Mazoun will feature emergency suites dedicated to youth formerly involved with Métis Child and Family Services, ensuring they always have a supportive environment to return to, with specialized care. Additionally, Mazoun will extend its support to young mothers striving to keep their children out of the system, providing them with essential resources and guidance.
Mazoun aims to offer temporary housing solutions for families working towards reunification, promoting stability and nurturing family bonds wherever possible.
Family Resources
Family Services
Our Family Services teams have continued to collaborate closely with just under 400 families to support children in remaining at home with their loved ones, whether that be with their parents or other family members in alternative care arrangements, thus avoiding the need for Agency care.
During this period, approximately 28 children were in private arrangements across about 60 families, enabling them to stay out of care. Among these families, around 20 children were in care but being cared for by with family members. In cases where children did require entering care, our primary goal of reunification was achieved for 67 children.
Central to our work is the emphasis on building relationships and connections, with a strong commitment to keeping children at home with their parents whenever feasible and ensuring children are being cared for by family if they cannot remain with their parents. Our Family Service teams are dedicated to supporting families in making decisions and creating plans that align with their own wishes and goals.
Ongoing Care
As the Agency progresses with the development of the All My Relations perspective, our Ongoing Care program provides crucial support to children who are being cared for by individuals other than their parents.
This program emphasizes the importance of maintaining cultural connections and ensuring that children remain rooted in their community and heritage.
Our staff are dedicated to building strong, trusting relationships with families. They walk alongside families to explore and create opportunities where the responsibility of care can be returned to the family whenever possible. This involves regular communication, personalized support plans, and ongoing assessments to ensure that both the children and their caregivers receive the necessary resources and assistance.
By fostering these connections and providing comprehensive support, the Ongoing Care program aims to strengthen family bonds and promote stability and well-being for the children in our care. Staff members are trained to approach each situation with sensitivity and respect, recognizing the unique challenges and strengths of each family. Through this approach, we strive to create a supportive environment where families feel empowered and capable of resuming their caregiving roles.
Métis Connect
The Métis Connect Program aims to facilitate a transformative shift in practice among the staff at Métis Child, Family and Community Services. The goal is for staff to consistently honor and include family and community as essential partners in the support, planning, and decision-making processes for their children.
The Métis Connect Mentor plays a crucial role in guiding and mentoring Métis Child, Family and Community Services workers. This mentorship focuses on adopting a Family Seeing approach, which emphasizes the importance of connecting with, and welcoming family and community as active partners in the planning and decision-making for their children. This approach is characterized by genuine and respectful engagement.
Métis CART
The Métis CART (Creating Authentic Relationships Together) Program acknowledges the impact of intergenerational trauma on parenting. Many parents who have experienced trauma face challenges with substance misuse and mental health, leading to difficulties in safely caring for their children.
As most of the referrals MCFCS receives involve such cases, the CART program provides relationship-focused, trauma-informed wraparound services to these families, with a strong emphasis on harm reduction strategies.
The Métis CART program serves as an early intervention initiative, assisting approximately thirty (30) families at any given time. The program pairs a Family Services Worker with a Peer Mentor, who has lived experience with mental health or addiction, to collaborate with a counselor from the CART team and the family. Together, they work towards offering comprehensive support, treatment, and services. Peer Mentors also extend their support to other family members working with different teams within the agency, demonstrating their openness and willingness to help.
Family Enhancement
The MCFCS Family Enhancement (FE) team continues to walk alongside families who come to the agency’s attention due to difficulties in parenting their children. The team engages with families to identify the best approaches to help them heal and address their challenges while keeping their children at home.
The FE team operates with a trauma-sensitive approach, acknowledging that all families possess strengths, wisdom, and natural support networks.
This year, the Family Enhancement team has encountered situations involving more critical safety issues, resulting in a greater number of children needing temporary out-of-home care. Most of these children are being cared for by kin caregivers as the team continues to support families on their healing journey.
