Message from the Executive Director
By Mary Ballantyne

I am delighted to write to you as the new Executive Director of the Ontario Association of Children‘s Aid Societies (OACAS). I have joined OACAS at a very exciting time – we have a new Board of Directors, we have increased training opportunities for the field and we are continuing with our public engagement and education campaigns at the same time that the child welfare sector is evolving in Ontario.

I have had the opportunity to be a subscriber of the Journal for over 25 years while I was at the Children‘s Aid Society of Simcoe County and believe it is a valuable tool for sharing best practices, collaborating and for advancing the child welfare field. I now have the pleasure of being part of the team involved in producing and developing the Journal in the coming year, raising the levels of excellence in the quality of the publication.

Included in this edition of the Journal are two articles that focus on topics I am passionate about- Aboriginal issues and youth. Dr. Robert Flynn and Katharine Filbert have written an article about the role of First Nations and Métis young people in out-of-home care and Adam Diamond and Jade Maitland, YouthCAN coordinators, have shared the Youth Declaration they signed as part of the International Forum Child Welfare World Forum 2010 in New York City. It is my hope that the Journal will feature more articles on Aboriginal issues and youth in 2011, further educating and creating discussion within the child welfare field on these two areas.

Also in this edition is part one of a three part series of excerpts from "Clinical Counselling: A vital part of child welfare service" produced by the Clinical Counselling in Child Welfare Committee. This paper discusses the role that critical counselling plays in worker-client relationships and encourages agencies to move forward with the revitalization of a critical counselling role. In the future, the Journal will showcase research papers, practice guides and toolkits produced by field that are endorsed by the Provincial Project Committee of the Association. These projects are on trend setting and thought provoking topics that will be shared with the field through symposiums and the Journal. They take months, and even years, to produce because of the research, knowledge, consulting and expertise involved.

Over the last two editions, the Journal has been pilot-testing a new peer review process. This practice has further elevated the quality of the publication through the expertise of the Editorial Board who come from academic, research and service backgrounds. The Winter 2011 edition will feature the Editorial Board, members of the Board and more information on the new review process.

Lastly, as we plan for the coming year, we would be interested in hearing your feedback. Are there topics or issues you would like to read about, types of articles, such as academic papers or book reviews, you‘d like to see more of or authors you‘d like to hear from? Send us an email at journal@oacas.org with your thoughts.

I wish you all the best for the end of the year and look forward to the year to come,

Mary Ballantyne
Executive Director

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