The Equitable Standards for Transitions to Adulthood for Youth in Care In Action
Topic(s): 
Anti-Oppressive Practice
Child Welfare
Professional Practice
Youth
Webinar event date: 
nov 10, 2026 12:00 pm EST
Webinar link
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Webinar Presenters: 
  • Mark Laforge, Program Manager for children, youth and young adults - permanency and opportunities, Child & Youth Well-Being Provincial Branch, Department of Social Development, Government of New Brunswick

    Mark Laforge is from Grand-Falls, New-Brunswick, and has been working for the provincial government with the Department of Social Development for 25 years. He holds a Bachelor’s in Social Work as well as a Public Administration Certificate. Mark’s work experience has always been with children and youth services where he held numerous different positions as a front-line social worker in Child Protection, as a Family Group Conference Coordinator and as an After-Hours Emergency Service supervisor. Since 2015, his responsibilities have been in management as a Provincial Program Manager in service delivery and program design. Currently Mark is leading the work being done in New Brunswick in expanding and modernizing services under the newly established Youth Engagement and Young Adults (YEYA) program and the implementation of the new Child & Youth Well-Being Act.

    Dr. Melanie Doucet, PhD Social Work, Executive Director & Project Lead, National Council of Youth in Care Advocates (NCYICA)

    Dr. Doucet has been working to improve the lives of youth in care for nearly 20 years. She is a former youth in care originally from New Brunswick, and is now based in the unceded traditional territory of the Kanyenʼkehá꞉ka (Mohawk) Nation in Montreal, Quebec. She holds a PhD in Social Work, is an expert consultant, an Adjunct Professor at the McGill University School of Social Work, a member of the McGill Centre for Research on Children and Families (CRCF) and the Executive Director of the newly established lived experience-led organization, the National Council of Youth in Care Advocates (NCYICA). Dr. Doucet is a renowned public and keynote speaker on the importance of equitably supporting youth in and from care from a rights-based and humane perspective, and is an award-winning researcher. She continues to work as part of provincial, territorial and national youth in care advocacy communities on child protection policy and practice reform initiatives, and is currently leading the Equitable Transitions to Adulthood for Youth in Care project alongside the members of the National Council of Youth in Care Advocates.

Description

Following the release of the Equitable Standards for Transitions to Adulthood for Youth in Care in 2021, the accompanying Evaluation Model was developed and released in 2022. The Equitable Standards Evaluation Model offers a step-by-step approach for child welfare Ministries, agencies and community organizations to assess their fidelity to the Equitable Standards and create a 5-year Action Plan to increase their fidelity over time. The aim is that youth in care across Canada can experience equitable, supportive, and successful transitions to adulthood via a framework that emphasizes lived expertise, youth voice, best practices, and accountability in child welfare policies and practices. Since 2023, 12 partners across Canada have been piloting the Evaluation Model, including 3 government Ministries (N.B., P.E.I, & NWT) and 9 community based organizations (BC, MB, ON, N.B., NL & NWT). This webinar will highlight how partners have implemented the Equitable Standards in practical ways so they are embedded into policies, programs, and frontline practices - from increasing youth voice, reducing access barriers to supports, to strengthening culturally responsive services. Together, these early efforts are not only improving services for youth in care but also laying the groundwork for long-term, national-level systemic change.

During this webinar, the audience will learn about:

  • An overview of the Equitable Standards for Transitions to Adulthood for Youth in Care, the accompanying Evaluation Model and the evaluation pilot phase (2023-2026)
  • Examples of the Equitable Standards in action and impact
  • The implications for child welfare policy and practice
  • Key next steps