On May 21, Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Lisa Beare and Speaker and MLA Darryl Plecas attended one of Xyólheméylh’s family culture nights. The visit was to celebrate Xyolhemeylh receiving a Community Resilience Grant from the BC government.

“Arts and culture help lift people up, especially during times of adversity. They are an essential part of our identity and fuel a spirit of resiliency,” said Lisa Beare, Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture. “Through these grants, we are working to make life better by supporting projects that harness the power of arts and culture to build healthy, connected communities.”

The program supports arts and culture events, festivals and initiatives led by groups in communities that are experiencing hardship, historic oppression or other challenges. Funding is also focused on cultural revitalization within Indigenous communities, with more than 80% of grants going to projects centred on Indigenous culture. Xyólheméylh will be using the money for cultural programming in Abbotsford.

We’re embarking on a new chapter as an Agency and introducing a new service delivery model we’re very excited about.

For many years Stó:lō First Nations have been asking for dedicated resources for families on reserve. We made a proposal for additional funding for prevention services to the federal government and it was approved, which allows us to finally fulfill this need. This, as well as a commitment to continuous improvement, has led to a major overhaul of how we deliver services for those on reserve as well as those away from home.

In addition to creating a team dedicated to the 18 First Nations bands we serve and physically placing staff in those communities, we are also creating a  screening team and  teams dedicated to serving youth and families with youth ages 13 to 19, particularly those at risk and those transitioning out of care.

Our objective is to have better outcomes for children and families, and this means an increased focus on family strengthening and on permanency.

How we got here

Eighteen months ago the creation of a second Permanency Team was approved. This decision was based on the need to increase the agency’s capacity and effectiveness in finding permanent placement for its high number of children in care. There was also approval to develop a specialized High Risk Youth Team, in response to a recommendation by the Representative of Children and Youth. The implementation of these decisions has been delayed due to the need to reconfigure caseloads.

We also conducted a comprehensive audit and file review and identified areas for improvement and a need for more consistency.

What it will look like …

We are moving from a geographic model to a functional model. There will now be five “baskets” of service:

1. Stó:lō Teams with social workers located in the 18 communities we serve. These teams will work collaboratively with families on reserve to develop relationships and find solutions to problems.
   
   
2. Family Development Response and Screening Teams, which will be the first point of contact and will work collaboratively with families to address concerns and make referrals. This will also include a Family Strengthening and a Rapid Response Team.
   
   
3. Family Services Teams will work collaboratively with families on strengthening cultural connections, implementing clinical strategies to address family needs and connect them with services and programs. The team will focus on children 0 -12 years of age.
   
   
4. A Youth and Guardianship Teams will provide wrap around services to youth age 13-19, with a focus on connecting the youth with community and culture, family preservation, and increased supports for transitioning out of care, in addition a 0-12 guardianship team will continue to focus on permanency.
   
   
5. Residential Resource Teams will focus on caregiver recruitment, out of care support, and establish a placement review process to address the high number of overcapacity and specialized contracted placements.

What are the Next Steps?

We are taking an incremental approach to the changes. We have consulted with our First Nations, and this month held a number of information sessions for staff, our community partners, and caregivers.  This summer we will be assigning staff, reviewing and assigning caseloads, and determining how best to use our administrative resources to support this new model. We will also be busy finding office space for staff in the Stó:lō communities. Our goal is that there will be minimal disruption of services while this is happening. As we move forward, it’s critical that we collaborate and have conversations with our external partners to make sure we’re integrated and collectively, be able to achieve the best outcomes for the families we serve.

A New Screening Number

With the creation of a Screening Team, we now have a new screening number: 1-866-851-4619 / after hours: 1-800-663-9122 / Kids Helpline: 310-1234.

More Information

If you have any questions or would like more information, contact Laura-Dawn Wilkin at [email protected].  Some questions may require further consultation as we move forward.