Community Action articles from March 2008

Community Action archives from March 2008

Indifferent parents--us.(provincial government's duty in foster care)
March 20, 2008... "A small child you carry on your arm and a grown one you carry on your head," so says a Yiddish folk saying. These words remind us that most parents keep their children in mind long after their offspring have passed the legally mandated age of...

Need a transition process for youth who age out of care.
March 20, 2008... "Our key message and primary recommendation: youth from care need to have as gradual and extended a transition process to adulthood as youth in the general population," says Deborah Rutman and Carol Hubberstey after a 30 month study of young...

Quebec health minister rejects Castonguay's financing scheme.
March 20, 2008... Quebec Minister of Health and Social Services Philippe Couillard, rejected key recommendations of the Casonguay task force on the financing of the province's health care system. The Castonguay report expresses a serious concern of public...

Joint custody, disability support, kids Ontario court splits the difference.(Brief article)
March 20, 2008... Where there is joint custody of children, how should the Ontario Disability Support Program payments for dependent children be allocated? This question exposes a gap in this program. The law had not anticipated joint shared custody has no clear...

Violence to staff in long term care.
March 20, 2008... Long-term care workers in Canada are almost nearly seven times more likely to experience violence than similar staff in the Nordic countries, according to a study at York University, co-authored by Sociology professor Pat Armstrong. The main...

Calendar Canada.(Calendar)
March 20, 2008... Mar. 27-28: Supporting Trauma Survivors--Essential Skills for Frontline Workers; CAST Canada; Oakville, ON; www.cast-canada.ca Mar. 28-29: Continuing Education Workshop; Relapse and Recovery: Strategies to Maintain Change; TAPE Educational...

Foreign calendar.(Calendar)
March 20, 2008... Mar. 26-28: International Conference: Organizational Behaviour in Health Care; Sydney, Australia; www.obhc2008.org Mar. 26-29: World Congress: Health Professions; Perth, Australia; www.worldhealthcongress.org Apr. 3-6: International...

Vancouver aboriginal agency takes on full child welfare services.(CHILDREN, YOUTH & FAMILIES)
March 20, 2008... The Vancouver Aboriginal Children and Family Services Society will take on full child welfare services to its functions under an agreement with the Ministry of Children and Family Development, the first such arrangement in British Columbia. ...

Funding formula and benchmarks for agencies still lacking--Ontario Auditor.(Jim McCarter's report)(Brief article)
March 20, 2008... Ontario Auditor General Jim McCarter found "good progress has been made in several areas" since his 2006 review of child welfare in the province. The review had covered four programs of the Ministry of Children and Youth Services and four...

Father's long term contact affected by separation period.(Brief article)
March 20, 2008... The period immediately following separation is crucial for the long-term contact between fathers and their children with whom they no longer live, according to a study conducted through Statistics Canada's Research Data Centre program and...

Physical punishment has no useful role joint statement declares.(Brief article)
March 20, 2008... "The evidence is clear and compelling--physical punishment of children and youth plays no useful role in their upbringing and poses only risks to their development, says the statement on a new edition of The Joint Statement on Physical...

300 sign for Alberta class action.(CHILDREN, YOUTH & FAMILIES)
March 20, 2008... Edmonton lawyer Robert P. Lee has received approval from a Jugde to proceed with a class action suit against the Alberta government. The suit includes all children who had been in provincial care. About 300 people have so far signed to the...

Virginia trains child abuse reporters.(CHILDREN, YOUTH & FAMILIES)
March 20, 2008... The Virginia Department of Social Services has created a free online course for "certified mandated reporters." The reporters will be trained to report on suspected child abuse and neglect. This self-paced, interactive training offers an...

Citizenship and Immigration Canada.(Brief article)(List)
March 20, 2008... Citizenship and Immigration Canada 613-954-1064 Halton District School Board, Burlington. $2,072,946 Halton Multicultural Council, Oakville. $1,311,987 Halton Multicultural Council, Oakville. $874,629 Halton...

Trillium Foundation, Ontario.(foundations)(List)
March 20, 2008... Trillium Foundation, Ontario 800-263-2887 Whitefish River First Nation. To construct a softball field as a means to increase physical activity and improve the health of residents of this First Nation community. $75,000 over one...

The Maytree Foundation Ontario.(FUNDING)
March 20, 2008... The Maytree Foundation Ontario 416-944-2627 Canadian Council for Refugees (CCR), Montreal. To strengthen CCR's communications capacity, which will include working more effectively with the media; educating the public on refugee...

Public Health Agency of Canada.(FUNDING)
March 20, 2008... Public Health Agency of Canada 613-957-2991 Association canadienne franeaise de l'Alberta, Calgary. To improve the health and well-being of children and their families living in conditions of risk; reduce developmental delays at the...

International body criticizes Canada for its drug policies.(International Narcotics Control Board)(Brief article)
March 20, 2008... Two international organizations are at odds over Canada's programs for dealing with drug addictions program. While the World Health Organization and most international health authorities support Canada's harm reduction programs, International...

No clear return on public safety as U.S. jail rates reach 1 in 100, cost $49 billion.(Brief article)
March 20, 2008... For the first time in history, more than one in every 100 adults in America are in jail or prison--a fact that significantly impacts state budgets without delivering a clear return on public safety, according to the Pew Center on the States'...

New domestic violence centre for Edmonton.(JUSTICE)
March 20, 2008... Edmonton's planned Domestic Violence Centre will aim to help 3,000 Aboriginal and immigrant girls and women a year in a new building that is being designed. The planners estimate about "one third of these people will be in high-risk situations...

Ontario child benefit starts in July.(Brief article)
March 20, 2008... The new monthly Ontario Child Benefit begins in July 2008. The Ontario Child Benefit will provide $100 a month to a family with two children under 18 and with an income of under $20,000. This amount will grow to about $180 a month in July...

Multi-cult disability job agency opens.(INCOME & EMPLOYMENT)
March 20, 2008... THEO BC and S.U.C.C.E.S.S launched the first multicultural employment program for persons with disabilities, which was initiated in Vancouver as a joint venture project of THEO BC and S.U.C.C.E.S.S. It has the financial support of the...

Publications.(Bibliography)
March 20, 2008... The publications listed below are for information purposes only. To obtain copies contact the publisher. The entries in this section are listed free of charge, and are limited to material published in Canada and by Canadian authors. Publishers...

Periodicals received.
March 20, 2008... Canadian Social Trends, Winter 2007, Statistics Canada, Ottawa, ON. Community Report, Fall 2007, West Park Healthcare Centre, Toronto, ON. Deaf Manitoba News, December 2007, Deaf Resource Centre, Winnipeg, MB. making waves, Autumn...

Massive money infusions won't help NS health care, transformation needed.(HEALTH)
March 20, 2008... "Even massive infusions of money would not provide the services needed, were the status quo maintained," a report on Nova Scotia's health care system states. "Overall, the system is stressed to capacity and at the same time, is not contributing...

Stay in India, mental health grads.(HEALTH)
March 20, 2008... "You are a privileged lot. Please stay in India. The country, especially the poor people, need you badly," India's Minister for Health and Family Welfare Anbumani Ramadoss said while addressing the National Institute of Mental Health and...

Postpartum depression more common among immigrant new born mothers.(HEALTH)
March 20, 2008... Postpartum depression symptoms are more common in newcomer women than in Canadian-born women, a research team at McMaster University reports in the Feb. 08 issue of the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry. "Our results confirm that newcomer women...

Mental health commission sets five projects for homeless.(HEALTH)
March 20, 2008... The Mental Health Commission of Canada will set up five demonstration research projects across Canada. Vancouver, Winnipeg, Toronto, Montreal and Moncton have been selected as sites for the research programs. Each project will focus on a...

Dissatisfied nurses have higher absenteeism rates.(HEALTH)
March 20, 2008... "Nurses who reported low satisfaction or a lack of respect in the workplace, or who had lower nursing work index scores, also reported some of the highest rates of absenteeism," according to the second analysis on absenteeism from the 2005...

Drop charges in CRC blood case.(HEALTH)
March 20, 2008... Six charges against Roger Perreault, the former national medical director of the Canadian Red Cross Society's blood transfusion services have been dropped. The charges were related to the mid-1980s tainted blood scandal. Perreault had...

Suicide watch on obesity pills by FDA.(HEALTH)
March 20, 2008... The US Food and Drug Administration has been issuing letters requiring a comprehensive suicide assessment for trials of drugs used to treat obesity, urinary incontinence, epilepsy, smoking cessation, depression and other conditions, according...

Out of pocket health spending up.(HEALTH)
March 20, 2008... Health care accounted for $1,870 from the average household budget in 2006, a 6% gain from 2005, according to Statistics Canada. Canadians reported an 11% increase in out-of-pocket spending for pharmaceutical products. Households in Alberta...

CCAC workers vote OPSEU.(HEALTH)
March 20, 2008... Office and clerical employees of the Hamilton, Niagara, Haldimand, Brant Community Care Access Centre voted to join the Ontario Public Service Employees Union. The vote came about as a result of a CCAC merger caused by the province's...

Bingo's falling off.(HEALTH)
March 20, 2008... Net spending on games of chance was down 5% to $260 per household. The decline occurred in non-government bingos and raffle tickets. www.statcan.ca

Doesn't pay to be a woman--CLC.(Canadian Labour Congress' report)
March 20, 2008... "It just doesn't pay to be a woman in Canada," the Canadian Labour Congress says in a report, Women in the Workforce: Still A Long Way from Equality, issued for International Women's Day. Regardless of education, working women, they earn...

Ontario Network of Employment Skills Training Projects.(APPOINTMENTS)
March 20, 2008... Sandra Arsenault, Executive Directo, Ontario Network of Employment Skills Training Projects, Toronto

Durham Family Court Clinic.(APPOINTMENTS)
March 20, 2008... Julie Cashin-Osterm, Resource Development Coordinator, Durham Family Court Clinic, Oshawa.

Human Resources and Social Development.(APPOINTMENTS)
March 20, 2008... Helene Gosselin, Associate Deputy Minister of Human Resources and Social Development, and Deputy Minister of Labour, previously Deputy Head of Service Canada.

Mental Health Commission of Canada, Ottawa.(APPOINTMENTS)
March 20, 2008... Michael Howlett, President and CEO, Mental Health Commission of Canada, Ottawa, previously President and CEO of Canadian Diabetes Association.

Parkview Children's Centre.(APPOINTMENTS)
March 20, 2008... Sukhy Jawanda, Executive Director, Parkview Children's Centre, Oakville, formerly with Jessie's Centre for Teenagers.

Durham Family Court Clinic.
March 20, 2008... Lorraine Joynt, Clinical Director, Durham Family Court Clinic, Oshawa.

Ontario Long Term Care Association.(APPOINTMENTS)
March 20, 2008... Janet Lamhet, Executive Director, Ontario Long Term Care Association, Toronto former president, President of BIOTECanada

Arthritis Society.(APPOINTMENTS)
March 20, 2008... Steven McNair, President and CEO of the Arthritis Society, Toronto, previously with CIBC Wealth Management.

Statistics Canada.(APPOINTMENTS)
March 20, 2008... Munir Sheikh, Chief Statistician, Statistics Canada, Ottawa, previously Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Human Resources and Social Development.

Big child care in trouble, forcing Oz to rethink funding policies.(GENERAL)
March 20, 2008... Australia's new Labour government faces a renewed challenge over the issue of government funding of privately owned child care centres. Until now, Labour has been reluctant to change the policies of the previous government, that encouraged...

Three lauded for bridging foreign trained social workers.(GENERAL)
March 20, 2008... "In a city such as Toronto, where close to 50 percent of the population was born outside of Canada, it is important that internationally educated social workers have the opportunity to be working in the profession as quickly as possible," says...

CRA revokes charitable status of Montreal foundation.(GENERAL)
March 20, 2008... Francis Jude Wilson Foundation, a Montreal area charity, has lost its registered charity status, the Canada Revenue Agency announced. CRA's Charities Directorate accuses the foundation of lending its receipting privileges for inappropriate...

Bond raters warn U.S. social programs.(GENERAL)
March 20, 2008... Having failed to foresee the subprime mortgage fiasco, the influential bond rating services, Moody's and S & P, are demanding the United State's plan to privatize Social Security & Medicare. Otherwise, they threaten to reduce the rating of U.S....