Our Work
Post-Secondary Pathways:
Study Tuition Free
Child Welfare PAC Canada is working with any post-secondary partners in Canada who wish to increase social mobility for current and former foster kids.
Finances are a significant barrier to post-secondary studies for people raised in care. Inspired by existing programs in British Columbia and Manitoba, Child Welfare PAC has partnered with colleges, universities, and non-profits like Futures Forward to create and highlight 640+ tuition free opportunities at 50 schools in 8 provinces. We are aiming to help create post-secondary opportunities for former youth in care from coast to coast.
Current Opportunities
640+ Placements
50 Schools
8 Provinces
MB
9 SCHOOLS
ON
21 SCHOOLS
QC
1 SCHOOL
NL
1 SCHOOL
PEI
1 SCHOOL
NS
8 SCHOOLS
NB
1 SCHOOL
BC
6 SCHOOLS
Vancouver Island University
Placements:
25 per year
Privacy Rights:
Making Landmark Legislation
Bill 237, Fostering Privacy Fairness Act, 2020 has passed Second Reading.
Did you know foster children have less privacy rights than juvenile offenders? Ontario's Bill 237, Fostering Privacy Fairness Act, 2020 restores equality of privacy to former foster children by sealing childhood files after aging-out, protecting our identities in adult life, and only permitting third party access to sealed files through the courts.
Related Links
Mental Health
and Wellness
Smart policy is having a comprehensive mental health strategy for youth in care.
Did you know that according to various U.S. studies, the rates of post-trauma stress can be double that of war veterans for youth who have aged-out of foster care? This special group deserves a comprehensive mental health strategy with priority access to healthcare to improve life outcomes after care.
Evidence-based
Policy Making
If you do not measure what happens to kids after foster care, how do you know if your earlier interventions worked?
It is no secret that kids struggle after foster care. Knowing that is not enough. Every government must take responsibility for the children it is parenting by measuring life outcomes after care. Without baseline data unique to every jurisdiction, you will never know if you have succeeded in caring for these kids. This is a question of accountability, ethics, and responsible governance. When the most vulnerable people in society are not set up to succeed, everyone bears the costs.
We're working with several research partners to measure the success of our free tuition for foster youth programs.
DR. TARA COLLINS, TORONTO METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY
International & Canadian Child Rights Partnership (ICCRP) SSHRC Project
A project with the goal of filling in major data gaps to advance child rights by transforming research, policy, and practice through intergenerational partnerships that support participation of children.
DR. CHRISTINE WEKERLE, MCMASTER UNIVERSITY
McMaster JoyPop Project
Partnering with Dr. Christine Wekerle and McMaster University on the Joy Pop resiliency intervention app for youth.
DR. JACQUELINE GAHAGAN
SSHRC Research Application
Ground-breaking research focused on understanding how tuition waiver programs for former youth in care impact the lives of recipients in Atlantic Canada.
