Building on individual and family strengths which support growth and healthy lifestyles. Annual General Meeting (AGM) July 20, 2017

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1 1415 Cliffe Avenue, Courtenay, BC V9N 2K6 Ph.: Building on individual and family strengths which support growth and healthy lifestyles Annual General Meeting (AGM) July 20, P a g e

2 Comox Valley Family Services Association Annual General Meeting 1415 Cliffe Avenue, Courtenay, BC V9N 2K6 Date: July 20 th, 2017 Location: 1415 Cliffe Avenue, Courtenay, BC V9N 2K6 (downstairs space) Time: 4:00 pm. Refreshments and meet and greet at 3:30 pm Member Notice: sent by and posted on webpage and in the newspaper. AGENDA 1. Call to Order- Introductions 2. Adoption of Agenda 3. Adopt Minutes from July 21 st, Financial Statements: Review Engagement Report by Presley & Partners 5. Appointment of Accounting Firm 6. Approval of new By-Laws ( BC Society Act) 7. Appointment of Directors 8. Executive Director Report 9. Program Reports ( short versions full reports submitted to funders) Program Name: Page Collaborative Planning Program (CPP) 5 Community Based Victim Services Domestic Violence & Sexual 5-6 Creating Calm (Child Youth Mental Health Anxiety Group) 6 Family Development Program 7 Healthy Families Program 7-8 Sexual Abuse Intervention Program (SAIP) 8 9. Adjourn 2 P a g e

3 Executive Directors Report How quickly this last year has gone by! I d like to take this opportunity to welcome each of you to our 42 nd Annual General Meeting. I continue to represent our agency at the Early Years Leadership Committee/ Early Years Collaborative, Child Youth and Mental Health Substance Use Collaborative, North Island College Human Services Worker Committee as well as two local non-profit leadership committees. Of course there are funder meetings as well. These are all wonderful chances to network with other Societies to learn what is working and try to bring fresh ideas to our community. Thank you to all who contribute to our work whether it s through financial support, volunteering, or a simple word of encouragement given to our clients. The smallest action could lead to someone transforming their life. A few key points Strategic Planning: This past year has been focused on reviewing our past strategic plan and directions. Very simply put, strategic planning identifies where the organization wants to be at some point in the future and how it is going to get there. A comprehensive plan includes a statement of vision to be realized, strategic directions and priorities, desired tangible outcomes, timeframes, responsibility and accountability, and evaluation methods. To build on previous comments of the staff from June 2016 and to recognize the best in the organization and the people involved, an Appreciative Inquiry (AI) approach was used for the Board strategic planning aspect February This approach was intended to build links between past and present capacities of the organization and visions of a valued and possible future. These topics were discussed in 5 breakout sessions through the lens of: Board Governance, Capacity to Respond, Strategic Partnerships, Communication Strategy/Profile Raising, Human Resources, and Financial Viability. We are just finalizing our priorities for in the operational plan and will be using the plan to guide where our resources will be directed moving forward in CARF Accreditation- the accreditation survey team will be arriving September We look forward to their arrival as it confirms the good work we know we are doing for our clients and the community. A few initiatives during the past year: Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics (NMT), one of our counsellors is currently participating in this twelve-month training community program, through the Child Trauma Academy. The agency is supporting the additional costs of having her participate. This program provides intensive training for assessing the effects of traumatic injury on brain development in children. The goal is to have many people in our community trained in the usage of this process to help families. CV Arts Youth Media Project, October- November We participated in The Youth Media Project, which provides intensive hands-on training in video production and more to young people between 16 and 30 who face barriers to employment. The students produced a small video on our staff. For 2017 we have applied to be considered for additional projects to further develop promotional material. 3 P a g e

4 We attended the Witnessing Ceremony for the Community Critical Incident Response Protocol September As original signing members (2009) we signed the new updated document adopting the protocol for our agency. We are new partners in Toddler Development Instrument (TDI) pilot project. The lead partner is Human Early Learning Partnership (HELP) UBC. Currently there is an Early Development Instrument (EDI) which our agency participates in. Data gathered from the EDI are used to report on childhood vulnerability rates. Donation and Grant: This past year we received grants and donations from many places that are not events such as long term benefactors. A new trend is 3 rd party fundraising and this past year we have been the beneficiary of funds raised through third party events. We are grateful to all of the community who share their time and commitment to raise monies on our behalf. Technology: Our website continues to be easy to use to post our news and events. We plan to make a new investment in technology including a new case management system to be launched in 2018 (which is still a work in progress), training for staff and looking at other social media options to promote the work we do. Thanks and Appreciation: As you know, non-profit agencies are dynamic and evolving to look to find creative solutions to address pressing issues. As the old saying goes, necessity is the mother of invention, and it is this spirit of creativity, pursuit of opportunities, and determination that has ensured the strength and vitality of CVFSA for so many years. We continue to have good working relationships with our funders and donors and appreciate our connections with them. I would be remiss if I didn t thank all the people who make our agency such a success. First there is the staff and volunteers both present and past; we couldn t do the work we do without their support. I also want to thank Lisa our Board president and the whole Board for their dedication, support and guidance; especially Karen on our Board for her tireless efforts on helping bring our agency up to speed with the new BC Society Act. Respectfully submitted by Gillian Normandin - Executive Director 4 P a g e

5 PROGRAM REPORTS For more detailed program information please go to our website at: Collaborative Planning Program (CPP): Goal is support and facilitation of Family Case Planning Conferences (FCPC) and coordination and facilitation of Family Group Conferences (FGC). We also offer Youth Transition Conferences (YTC) to youth ages 16, 17, and 18 that are either on youth agreements, independent living or aging out of permanent care. The role in all three programs is to facilitate meetings that involve immediate family, extended family, supports and community. Family Case Planning Conferences: 105 Family Group Conferences: 5 Youth Transition Conferences: 43 Indigenous families/participants: 54 Number of family participants in total for all conferences: 329 Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) Social Workers use all aspects of the CPP program. FCPCs and YTCs have continued to increase this year. Social Workers are ensuring the youth receive YTCs as well. FGC referrals are increasing but FGC statistics are lower due to only one worker in the program managing all 3 aspects. This has been discussed with MCFD. Many community partners have been a part of one of the processes so they are more comfortable and can better prepare families for the experience. Many teachers, community workers and family have stated that the meetings encourage more communication so they can better support the youth or family. Being co-located in the MCFD office is very beneficial. It makes in convenient to schedule FCPCs and for MCFD social workers to ask questions on which process would work for a particular family. Two Aspects: Community Based Victim Services (CBVS) 1) Domestic Violence (DV) Section: provides crisis and emotional support, information, risk recognition and safety planning, assistance with understanding the justice system and accompaniment to court to victims of domestic (gender) violence. To date CBVS has been involved in fifteen (15) Interagency Case Assessment Team (ICAT) meetings; which is a partnership of local agencies who review highest risk domestic violence cases with the goal of keeping domestic violence victims and their 5 P a g e

6 children safer. Victims need a variety of support systems to help them deal with the physical, emotional, financial, and legal consequences of their victimization. Client feedback is that they are very appreciative that we offer Court support and weekly Court updates; and how grateful they are that workers are knowledgeable of the Justice System and can make appropriate referrals for their needs. Total number of clients served DV: 126. Thank you for being here for me. The court process is intimidating and confusing and it is so helpful to have someone that understands what is going on and explain it to me. 2) Sexual Assault (SA) Services: We serve all victims of sexual crimes, recent and historical. We accept self-referrals and police based referrals. We offer crisis support, court and RCMP accompaniment, and court orientation, liaison with RCMP, Crown and Probation; and assistance with victim impact statements and crime victim assistance forms. Clients reported that they were thankful that the service is available. They appreciated the support from beginning to the end. Frustrations, clients and family members had, were the long waits with investigations and the court process. December 2016 this worker was invited to be on a panel at the 19 Wing Defense Women s Advisory Organization s Educational Forum on Sexual Misconduct and Sexual Assault. Isabel received a Certificate of Appreciation for her role on the panel. Total number of clients served SA: 40 Creating Calm : Therapeutic Anxiety Group Creating Calm s goals and objectives are the following: provide children and their parents with some practical coping methods to manage anxiety and fear; educate parents about the signs and symptoms of anxiety in children; offer parenting options to encourage greater self-reliance in children; help children develop self-awareness about personal anxiety triggers; and help children experience positive relationships with other group members. Creating Calm utilizes a combination of therapy approaches such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Narrative therapy techniques, mindfulness meditation, and expressive arts. These approaches are delivered in a developmentally sensitive way that combines games, exercises, role-plays, discussion, and arts/crafts activities. The emphasis is on learning skills in playful, fun ways. This therapeutic group is offered 3 times within a fiscal year; this past year we had two groups for 7-9 year olds (October 2016 and April 2017) and one group for year olds (January 2017). Each group (3 in total) does not take more than 8 children per session, due to the nature of the group content. Number of children served this fiscal year: 22. Note: this group has received additional funding for year to add a fourth group. 6 P a g e

7 Family Development Program: All participants are referred by Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) social workers, and we work together to address the youth/family's needs by planning and delivering the right type and level of support to meet their specific and unique service needs and goals.the Family Development Program offers individualized outreach support to families and youth who require intensive intervention and support; and are receiving direct MCFD service. Although the 'child is the client', workers go into a home and work with the whole family and identify resources for all family members. The goal is to help children/youth, who may be at risk of being taken into care, to stay with their families. Services include early interventions, youth work, supervised visitation, and parenting and life skill enhancement and development. The aim is to help children/youth (who may otherwise be taken into care) to stay with their families. During this period there were 74 new referrals. In total 130 families were served which are composed of children/youth and parents/guardians/foster parents. There are 5 workers who work with families who have children under 12 years and 2 youth focused workers who work with youth (and their family) 12 to 18 and a Manager who helps oversee the program. We were assigned a worker and I couldn t be more grateful for her assistance. She was very accessible, compassionate, and resourceful and The worker is encouraging, friendly and respectful also calls me on any mistakes or ways I could handle things/situations better and is patient Healthy Families Program (HFP) This program offers free weekly drop-in groups for pregnant women and families with children 0-6 years to provide opportunities for social networking, reduction of isolation and provision of educational information, support and advocacy for families living in conditions of risk. One-on-one support, including home visits, is an important aspect of programming, especially in our pregnancy outreach program. We are committed to promoting healthy birth outcomes and the healthy development of children. The HFP is also actively engaged with other community organizations to develop and sustain relationships with the goal of enhancing services by collaboratively identifying gaps in services to address these needs through a community-based planning process. 7 P a g e

8 Two of many examples are Healthy Babies Prenatal Nutrition (pregnancy outreach program) - for women who are pregnant or have a baby less than 6 months of age and CAPC Parent Support - for parents and guardians with children from 2-6 years of age. The Healthy Families Program is an active participant in the Comox Valley Early Years Collaborative and works closely with more than 25 partner organizations which contribute to the management, coordination and/or delivery of services.the program was successful in finding supplemental funding to support the continuation of our food outreach program this past year we also have received funds to hire an assistant in the upcoming year. We currently serve 80 families who are registered with the Food Bank; in the past three months we provided outreach to 59 families and distributed 123 hampers. Our primary objective is to reach isolated families who are difficult to engage and do not typically participate in center-based services. The program is only available to pregnant women and families with children 0-6 years of age. We successfully consolidated a family literacy outreach program under the umbrella of the Healthy Families Program, achieving a means to offer a broader range of services to families living in a neighbourhood of high vulnerability. Working collaboratively reduces competition, prevents duplication of service and improves coordination of programming & the provision of outreach services in the area. This past year we served 513 adults and children. This is primarily long-term involvement as families move through a continuum of services. We had approximately 1000 hours of volunteer time along with a program manager, 5 part time staff and an additional 6 contract staff and 8 community in kind help e.g. community nurses. It has helped me feel more supported and to meet other parents; also the food coupons help a lot and getting to eat a meal. I honestly think it s pretty awesome and I feel like I am always asked for feedback so if I had needs or ideas they would be heard. Help with sleep, food, and parenting advice has helped me when I feel alone. The support of the workers has facilitated a healthy pregnancy and beyond. The vast amount of information has been amazing. Sexual Abuse Intervention Program (SAIP) Sexual Abuse Intervention Program (SAIP) is a specialized treatment program offering counselling and psycho-education for children and youth aged 3 to 19 years. The treatment team consists of parents or caregivers, the child or youth, the therapist, and a clinical consultant. SAIP also provides consultation, education, and support for community organizations and agencies such as School District 71, The Ministry for Children and Family Development (MCFD), Child and Youth Mental Health (CYMH), The John Howard Society (JHSNI), The RCMP, early childhood programs, parenting groups, the LINC, and others. Any community member may call SAIP with questions about child and youth sexuality issues. The goal is to lessen the impact of trauma associated with sexual abuse for the referred children and their families in the Comox Valley area. Winter of 2016, both counsellors attended a 2-day workshop hosted by the BC Play Therapy Association in Vancouver, BC. The focus of this workshop was on Synergistic Sand tray Therapy for pre-teens and teens. The workshop provided inspiration, and tools for connecting with clients through an attachment lens. Total number of children/youth seen: 58 this past fiscal year. 8 P a g e