Department for Communities’ Post

On July 11, 2024, the AFN, Chiefs of Ontario, Nishnawbe Aski Nation, and Canada reached a $47.8 billion Draft Agreement on long-term reforms to the First Nations Child and Family Services Program. The agreement is available to read online. Find it here: https://ow.ly/Peyf50SJvvp. The AFN is hosting a series of online information sessions on the Draft Settlement Agreement on Long-Term Reform of First Nations Child and Family Services! Each session will explore a specific topic related to reform, providing an in-depth look at the Draft Settlement Agreement on Long-Term Reform. Register for individual chapters or all sessions here: meetings.afn.ca. The AFN and Indigenous Services Canada will also host in-person Regional Engagement Sessions on the Draft Settlement Agreement on Long-Term Reform of First Nations Child and Family Services. Dates for these sessions will be announced in the coming days. Please continue check the AFN website regularly for the latest updates: www.afn.ca.

This is what Regional Councils of Governments do best: Help local governments serve our residents better. Invisible to most, the 16 regional councils of government of North Carolina address regional issues through high levels of collaboration. #localgovernmentmatters #regionalcollaboration

Our Executive Director Jacob Choji Pwakim handed over to a new leadership of the Plateau Peace Practitioners Network -PPPN. Here are some key highlights of their accomplishments: 1. Establishment of a New Memorandum of Understanding. 2. Enhanced Online Presence and visibility: they thy launched a website and social media platforms to showcase publications, activities and information. This is the website https://lnkd.in/dsE8U5Yf. It has a two years subscription. https://lnkd.in/dsE8U5Yf 3. Promotion of the Welfare of members: they prioritized the welfare of members, providing support during times of illness or bereavement, fostering a sense of community and care. This has been standardized in the MoU to avoid conflict. 4. Capacity Building Initiatives: Leveraging internal resources and networks, they conducted training sessions on crucial topics such as artificial intelligence, freedom of religion and belief (FoRB), and research methodologies, empowering members to improve on programming along those paths. 5. Improved Data Management and transparency: they implemented robust data management systems, ensuring transparency and accountability, with detailed records of member organizations and financial commitments. They now know how many organizations they have, their offices, strength, challenges etc. They utilized such a database to make recommendations. They developed a template where every member can see the financial commitments of all through Google spreadsheet. Transparency! 6. Strengthening Civil Society Engagement: they facilitated dialogues with political party candidates, observed elections, and engaged with stakeholders, amplifying their impact and influence. They organized the first of its kinds engagement of the Gubernatorial candidates of Plateau state to which, the present governor of Plateau state, two other candidates, and three other deputies attended. This is a deviation from the past! 7. Advocacy and Publications: they published position papers, organized press conferences, and issued press releases, advocating for important causes and raising awareness on critical issues of peace and security. 8 Establishment of Plateau Civil Society Forum: We've spearheaded the creation of a unified platform for civil society organizations in Plateau state, fostering collaboration and ending leadership disputes, setting a new standard for collective action. 9. Setting up of Board of trustees of the network. Access their performance through the stewardship report. https://lnkd.in/dRyMqvSK #PPPN #Peacebuilding #ProgressInProgress

Time is running out, Chancellor … Every moment you look away, another voice from #ProvidersUnite cries out for change. After 15 years, Labour returned to power with an ambitious agenda outlined in the King’s Speech on July 17th, promising economic stability, improved health services, and national security. But the harsh reality of October’s budget has left business owners, particularly those in the care sector, grappling with unprecedented challenges. This isn’t just a fight for survival—it’s a fight for the future of our communities. Over 10 National Trade Associations, 29 Regional Trade Associations, and now more than 1,200 care and support providers have united under #ProvidersUnite to call for immediate action. Alongside thousands of concerned citizens, we are demanding a review of these measures and asking for exemptions similar to those granted to the NHS. If exemptions are not possible, the Treasury must adjust the Local Government Finance settlement to address this devastating £1bn funding gap. The care sector is at breaking point, and without urgent intervention, the consequences will ripple across every corner of society. Providers, staff, unpaid carers, and the vulnerable people we serve cannot withstand these pressures alone. We stand stronger together. If you’re a care provider, GP, dentist, pharmacist, unpaid carer, or someone who cares about the future of social care, please join us. Add your voice to the movement and sign the open letter today. Visit www.providersunite.co.uk to sign and be part of this crucial fight. Together, we can make the government listen. Let’s show them the strength of our united front! #SaveSocialCare #StrongerTogether Rt Hon Rachel Reeves Keir Starmer Raj Sehgal Geoffrey Cox Nadra Ahmed CBE DL 💚 Jane Townson OBE Homecare Association National Care Forum National Care Association Victoria Buyer Dr Christian Hornung Jagdeep Dosanjh Kyle Stewart Lorri Haines

🔊 Two weeks ago, a new government was elected to power. We've heard the new government priorities. Now, it is important for us to know what are your priorities, what matters to you the most. So, we created this survey to find out: https://lnkd.in/dNtfGs_V Also, in this blog you can read our key priorities and what are we working towards: https://lnkd.in/dbv9Ts2c Together Trust

Children and young people placed in Alternative Care Arrangements like hotels and caravan parks are missing out on the relationships they need to thrive. There are many insightful and heartbreaking observations from kids placed in ACAs, in this final report of the Special Inquiry from the Office of the Advocate for Children and Young People (ACYP). Their voices reflect the extent to which these children and young people are missing out on safety, stability and love. For example, interactions with ACA workers are described as “an exchange only focused on gaining access to basic necessities, such as food, phone credit or transport, rather than a kind, caring and supportive relationship.” One NGO submission to the inquiry observed that adolescence is a time for consolidating life skills but “instead of being in a stable, secure environment where they’re feeling that they’re loved and connected, these kids are sitting in a motel room where they’re consolidating the idea that they are unloved.” The report notes a young person who, willing to participate in a private hearing for the Special Inquiry, later chose not to unless it led to a change in her current placement. Here is a young person trying to use any leverage available to get out of their ACA. 🙏 Thank you to the ACYP for continuing to give a voice to these young people and pushing for system change. As the report concludes: “There is an opportunity to reimagine how we support children, young people and their families to thrive – jointly with government, non-government and services that support children and young people. This process should be done with the outcomes of children and young people as the focus, and in a manner which takes account of their experiences.” Once again, we have a clear indicator of why we urgently need a complete transformation of NSW child protection and OOHC into a Child Connection System, with relationships at the centre: ⭐ Where children and young people in child protection and out-of-home care can have meaningful, enduring and genuine relationships with the adults who are raising them.   ⭐ Where carers and care workers are actively supported in building meaningful relationships with children and families.  ⭐ Where there are strong community networks with the resources they need to deliver relational programs to children and families, so children don’t need to enter the child protection system. Stay tuned for our upcoming report, in partnership with the James Martin Institute for Public Policy, which examines how to transform NSW child protection and OOHC into a Child Connection System, placing relationships at the centre. #childconnectionsystem Zoë Robinson Shannon Longhurst Una O'Neill Allan M.

Adding to the list of crucially important items for the next programme for government: 1. Transition to a system of universal, rights-based, public early childhood education and care (a right for every child, from birth) 2. Alignment of parental leave and ECEC rights and policies 3. Integration of ECEC in a multi-sectoral policy framework in line with the EU Child Guarantee and international standards 4. A Minister of State for ECEC

If you have time to share this short survey it will help shape our response to the consultation.

It's National Reconciliation Week and this year's Now More Than Ever theme, is a reminder to all of us that no matter what, the fight for justice and the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people will —and must —continue. The week commemorates two significant milestones in the reconciliation journey. The first being the 1967 referendum, where Australians voted to change the Constitution so that like all other Australians, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples would be counted as part of the population and the Commonwealth would be able to make laws for them. A resounding 90.77 per cent said ‘Yes’ and every single state and territory had a majority result for the ‘Yes’ vote. It was one of the most successful national campaigns in Australia’s history. People can get involved by attending a range of events taking place this week, including locally: • 27 May-3 June: Central Victorian Indigenous Film Festival in Bendigo https://lnkd.in/gNkGn2Hb • 28 May: MDAS Reconciliation Day in Swan Hill https://lnkd.in/gWvVVJV5 • 28 May: Event with First People’s Assembly in Kyneton https://lnkd.in/gpPJxy2F • 29 May: First Nations Palliative Care webinar https://lnkd.in/g-Fs8Rb2 • 29 May: Community reconciliation morning tea in Gateway Island https://lnkd.in/gPugNARW • 30 May: Luku Ngärra: The Law of the Land in Castlemaine https://lnkd.in/g5HMubYs • 30 May: MDAS Reconciliation Day in Mildura https://lnkd.in/gFJCRGiB • 1 June: Reconciliation and allyship planning workshop in Bendigo https://lnkd.in/gN7ectbR To see a calendar of all events and to learn more about reconciliation, visit: https://lnkd.in/fRGry5x

In this piece I talk about how the next UK govt needs to engage with #Charities and #CivilSociety much more and much better, to meet the UK's big social, economic and environmental challenges. This includes: 1. Parity of engagement/influence with other sectors - treating civil society leaders and orgs on a par with business and the public sector. 2. More robust policy scrutiny - so we can help improve govt decisions at the outset and spend less resource fire-fighting bad policy after the fact. 3. Reversing the financial meltdown in local government - this is vital for a multitude of services that help millions of people across the country and millions of people that rely on them. 4. Boosting philanthropy and giving - not to replace the state but so civil society as a whole can recover resilience after the pandemic and cost of living crises. 5. Protect charity independence - including the independence of the Charity Commission and of individual charities, as well as trustees, volunteers, donors and beneficiaries who engage in public debate and the democratic process.