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During Black History Month we celebrate the contributions, leadership, and resilience of Black children, youth and families. This year’s theme invites us to recognize the nation builders who paved the way and to celebrate the visionaries shaping Canada’s future today.
While systemic barriers and anti-Black racism have historically limited opportunities leading to inequities in income, employment, health and housing, Black communities are driving change and expanding pathways for future generations. But as much as it is a month to recognize progress, it is a reminder to all of us of the responsibility we share to continue advancing equity.
What does Black brilliance look like today, particularly among young people?
For Black youth who have experienced child welfare, brilliance shows up in a myriad of ways – through persistence, achievement, and leadership as entrepreneurs, academics, health-care professionals, artists, storytellers, and advocates. And despite the barriers they face and the trauma they’ve experienced, this does not define them. Instead, they are challenging narratives and expanding the definition of leadership. They are today’s leaders and tomorrow’s visionaries.
Black children and youth overrepresented in child welfare
However, any celebration must also be grounded in truth. Black children and youth remain disproportionately involved in child welfare systems in Canada. Recently published research led by Dr. Alicia Boatswain-Kyte at McGill drawing on data from the 2019 Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect, found that Black children are more likely to be investigated and placed in out-of-home care than white children, even when key reasons for their involvement in child welfare remained the same.
In Toronto, for instance, Black children represent 40% of kids living in government care, even though they account for just 8.5% of the city’s population. In Ontario Black children and youth are:
- More likely to be referred to a Children’s Aid Society by educators, police, and medical professionals
- More likely to be removed from their homes
- Less likely to be returned to their families
- More likely to grow up in foster care without being adopted or finding another permanent home
Similar disproportionalities have been documented in Quebec.
Some academics point to the impact of historical systems of oppression and anti-Black racism, and long-standing and generational inequities in income, employment, and housing. These structural factors often increase family instability and limit access to preventative support.
Others have identified institutional factors within child welfare itself, including risk-assessment tools that fail to account for cultural context, mandated reporting practices that can result in heightened surveillance of Black families, and service models that are not always culturally responsive. Increasingly, research suggests that both structural and institutional factors contribute to these disparities, and that understanding their intersection is essential to developing effective solutions.
What is the role of the Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada
As a national foundation, we are dedicated to improving the lives of children, youth, and families involved in the child welfare system. With a supportive community of donors, partners, and lived experts, we improve outcomes for children and youth by supporting evidence-informed, community-based programming and providing resources that enable them to thrive. Our focus is on both urgent and immediate needs, but with our Generation Impact, our new five-year strategy, we’re challenging ourselves to shift attention to intermediate and long-term outcomes and the systemic shifts that lead to lasting change.
Last year, CAFC supported programs grounded in trauma- and culturally informed approaches to working with Black families, including initiatives such as Kuponya and Engaging Fathers, which create dedicated spaces for Black fathers with child welfare experience. Funding also supports Black youth through life-skills development and mentoring programs like CHEERS, as well as opportunities such as Soul Journey, which connects young people with peers through culturally affirming trips and workshops, opening pathways to education, confidence-building, and early career exploration.
At the same time, we know there is more work to do. Strengthening outcomes for Black families and youth begins by learning from and partnering with those already innovating and leading in this space, organizations that are making powerful contributions to community well-being. From TAIBU Community Health Centre to Park Street Education important work is already happening. Our role is to deepen relationships with Black innovators and ensure their leadership, expertise, and lived knowledge help shape what comes next.
Our commitment over the next five years
We are stepping into this work with humility and intention. We know we cannot improve outcomes without deepening partnerships with Black-led organizations and leaders who are already advancing innovative, community-driven solutions. And we know progress must be demonstrated through action—not words. Over the next five years, we are committed to increasing the share of our resources invested in Black-led and Black-focused initiatives, with steady year-over-year growth.
Increasing investment in Black-led and Black-focused work is a critical step toward addressing systemic inequities. But lasting change requires more than funding alone. It requires listening, learning, and building enduring relationships with partners who are already leading this work. That is the lens guiding how we will invest, measure progress, and scale impact over the next five years,”
– Jeffrey Schiffer, Chief Impact Officer with CAFC.
We will measure progress not only by investing dollars, but by how and where those investments are made—across grants, programs, and ventures; across our four focus areas including education and employment; and beyond the Greater Toronto Hamilton Area (GTHA). We will also track the growth and depth of relationships with Black-led and Black-serving partners over time.
Celebrating young, Black, and brilliant
Too often, conversations about youth in care focus on difficulties and deficits. Black youth have told us that while they don’t want to hide the messy, traumatic stuff, they also want to share their own stories. And we believe it’s important to amplify their journey and the steps they take each day, and to honour their wins and achievements.
That approach aligns directly with this year’s theme. Celebrating Black brilliance across generations helps shift narratives, build belonging, and affirm what is possible when young people are supported to reach their full potential.
That’s why we’ll continue to be intentional about sharing (and, in some cases, resharing) stories from individuals who are doing amazing things and demonstrating their brilliance.
