Mr. Speaker, I have a Return to Oral Question asked by the Member for Kam Lake on February 28, 2023, regarding Child Care Funding Supports for Teen Parents.
The department will take the Member's suggestions into consideration, particularly as we advance the Child and Family Services Action Plan and explore ways in which we can work with other departments to provide integrated services.
As the department continues to enhance the delivery of services, we recognize there is a need for options. Currently, child and family services has two types of voluntary support services agreement options available to teen parents that can include funding for child care: the Support Services Agreement or the Voluntary Services Agreement. The difference between the two agreements is that one directly supports the youth while the other supports the family who is supporting the youth.
To access these options, the individual youth would meet with a community social services worker to determine the services that best meets their needs. The community social services worker guides the youth through the program options. All agreements incorporate a philosophy of maintaining family, culture, and community connections and can include support from relevant Indigenous organizations.
Mr. Speaker, child and family services acknowledges that colonization has created systemic barriers for residents. All NWT residents, including teen parents, deserve to feel safe, free from discrimination and racism when accessing health and social services. We are making some important progress in this area. For example, the cultural safety and antiracism team tailored the existing cultural safety and antiracism training specifically to focus on harmful historical and presentday child and family services policies that have contributed to antiIndigenous racism and systemic barriers for clients. This training was delivered to child and family services staff in November 2022 and will be delivered again in November 2023. As a second example, the department is developing cultural safety and antiracism principles in 2023 with guidance from the Indigenous Advisory Body. These principles will shape how we operate as a system, towards a culture of cultural safety. Child and family services continues to make improvements based on feedback from families, communities and stakeholders, and we are committed to continuing these discussions, no matter how uncomfortable they may be. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Minister. Returns to oral questions. Minister responsible for Infrastructure.
