Maybe her social worker

suggested she write a letter to "show her feelings"  

Original photo at Jeff Simmermon's photostream

I first saw this on And I Am Not Lying

Don't Tell

My 8 year old's understanding of confidentiality: "Clients are people who are secret"

Now why can't we just write that on the forms and get people to sign it?  Hmm???

This Week Sucks Because....(drumroll please)

1. I have only completed 2 out of 9 assessments that are due shortly (usually we only have 1 a week)
2. AM is away so I'm lonely and looking after kiddo by myself
3. I've got a vicious head cold
4. It's cold outside (there was snow yesterday)
5. I haven't written any of my notes for this week yet, and still have some from last week to input
6. I can't even say TGIF because I am going to have to work from home this weekend to catch up
7. I also have to survive taking a car load of obnoxious noisy excited kids to the Santa Claus parade

*whine*bitch*moan*complain*

Thank you, internet, for being there for me.

System Shock

The thing that never happens HAPPENED. The system saved the day!

Allow me to explain.

My client is on long-term disability from his job due to his mental illness. His wife works full-time at a fast food restaurant. They have had subsidized daycare for their 6 year old daughter for the past two years.

They received notice recently that their subsidy would end as of September, as their daughter will begin attending full day school. They asked me to call Children’s Services to advocate keeping the subsidy, as they can’t afford the full rates. Children’s Services explained to me that once a child is past the preschool age, and in full day school it is presumed that they do not require the same level of care, and the parent should be able to manage this. Apparently, this is policy. She said she had never heard of any exceptions being made. I kinda see their point, but have these people never heard of P.D. days? Winter and spring break? Summer vacation???? There are many days when the little one will not be in school.

My client is doing well in his recovery, but is not yet able to take care of his daughter by himself for extended periods. He has appointments with various therapists, doctors, clinics pretty much daily, and has difficulty staying awake for long periods of time and handling stressful situations.

So today, 3 days before they are to be cut off the Children’s Services worker calls me back. Apparently the department has just finished approving a new policy which states that approved disability leaves will continue to qualify for supports beyond preschool age, and this already applies to this family.

Hallelujah! We must have saved up some good karma or something. I was all set to do battle with the higher-ups if need be, but they pre-empted me! Any of you readers who work in or receive social services will know just how rare an event this is indeed.

Not bad for a Monday morning.

Circle of Care

Earlier this week I joined a client during a CAS (Children's Aid Services) intake interview. It took over two hours. I was the one who had called CAS in. She was aware that I was going to do so, and was more or less okay with it. She's had involvement from them before, and wants to get the help that she and her kids need.

As much as she's on board with using services and accessing supports, I still can't help but sigh when she starts signing consent forms and there are 7, 8, 9 or more of them.

There is a fine line between helping, and invading somebody's life. I fear that line fell closer to helpers number 3 or 4. Maybe 5, but definitely somewhere way before 10.

A Lesson in Democracy

My kiddo’s school is doing a number of things in April to celebrate Earth Day (April 22). One of these is a fundraiser to “help protect wild animals” with the Earth Rangers. According to kiddo, her teacher presented them with four different animals and let the class vote to choose which one to support.

Kiddo and her deskmate/bff voted for the wolverine* but they were the underdogs, so to speak. The rest of the class supported other animals, and ultimately the Peregrine Falcon was the winner.

“It’s so not fair” she says, as “now those other animals will not get our help. It’s so not fair that some of us wanted to pick other animals, but they don’t count because some more people wanted the falcon.”

As a perennial left-wing voter in this current Canadian election campaign, I can totally feel her pain.

It really sucks to feel like your voice is not being heard. I’m sure Elizabeth May knows how the kiddo feels right about now.

The English language debate happens tonight.



*according to her, because it is “such an unusual animal, but maybe we wouldn’t think it was so unusual if it was not endangered and there were more of them.” Her friend picked the wolverine because of XMEN.

The World Cares About Homelessness

As with most major events of its kind, when Canada hosted the Olympics in Vancouver a few months ago, there was much skepticism about the benefits of the event to the city. The population was divided between those excited to be on the world stage, and those who felt strongly that resources would be better put towards dealing with the highest HIV rate in North America, a growing homeless population, and other social issues in the city.

While I for one really do like to believe that these events can offer a chance for a positive legacy in a city, I was appalled but not totally shocked when I read this article about the “affordable housing units” that are now up for rent in Vancouver. They were constructed as part of the Olympic Village development plan, and were promised to be turned into badly needed “social housing” for the city.

Please tell me how teachers, paramedics, police, and public sector workers are being discriminated against by landlords, or facing chronic rates of homelessness? Why on earth would these professionals be the target population for any “social housing” project? And can even they afford the $1600 rent (for only 640 sq. ft.)!!!!!!!

Canada has been "working on" a national housing strategy to end homelessness for 17 years now. Is this as far as we've come?

In related news, street children in South Africa are being forcibly moved to remote areas prior to the World Cup tournament.

Maybe I'm Not Such a Bad Influence

My six year old (blessedly) has learned to get up on her own on weekends. I can usually count on her entertaining herself for an hour or two before I need to get out of bed. So this Saturday when I awoke particularly late to a quiet house, I knew she must be really engrossed in something. My first thought was “what kind of mess am I going to walk into downstairs?”

I arrive in the living room to see that she has been setting up a “store”. She was very thoughtful and attentive to detail, setting up displays, keeping a little broom and dustpan for cleanup, making a sign for the store (“Baby Fiatt” which apparently is her creative spelling for “Baby Fit” as it was all her baby doll stuff) and getting out her toy cash register.

Next to the register, she had a little bowl to which she had taped a sign (I’ll spare you more creative spelling): Please help the homeless people.

When my sister came over later with my baby nephew, she was made to “shop” the store, and instructed to put her “change” in the bowl.

Soapbox pt. 2

So I figured if I could blog about it, I could also do something more productive. Write a letter. This is what I have written to the premier:*

April 23, 2010

Dear Premier,

I was very encouraged when I heard the recent announcement of the changes being introduced to Ontario’s curriculum regarding sex education. I understand that this is a sensitive and therefore particularly challenging subject matter, and I felt that your plan did a good job reflecting the diverse experiences of children and families in Ontario. It was disappointing then when you decided to place these changes on hold.

I am the parent of a six year old who attends public school. As a mother, I have a great responsibility to impart my knowledge and values to my child, but I also recognize that she is constantly being influenced by other sources. Between sexist and homophobic messages in popular culture, hyper-sexualized images in the media, and often misguided information from her peers, I would like to trust that the education system is a place where she and other children can receive sound knowledge and resources. It is not helpful to her or the other students to continue using language in the classroom that is vague or non-inclusive.

I sincerely hope that the government of Ontario will proceed with the proposed changes to the elementary curriculum. Cultural attitudes and information available about sex and relationships are always changing, and the curriculum needs to keep pace. Our schools provide a safe environment for children to hear these messages.

Sincerely,

(Nectarine)

Also, I tried to find some groups or articles supporting the change, but have come up short so far. I did find this informative comparison.

*feel free to copy/paste/share/plagirize!

Is that a soapbox? Let me at it!

So this is what I get for procrastinating on posting.

I kept meaning to blog something about how pleased I was with the government of Ontario’s new changes to the sex ed curriculum. It involved a new focus on teaching younger students the correct terms for their body parts including genitals, and using more inclusive language throughout the curriculum to recognize families and relationships outside the heterosexual norm. This would include not using terms like “mother and father” or “husband and wife” exclusively when talking about relationships and sex. It would also weave this information throughout the school curriculum to normalize it, instead of confining it to the giggling sessions of health class.

Apparently, this new curriculum has been posted on the government’s website for months, although I can’t find the link. It was formally announced this week, and drew the expected criticisms from social conservative and religious groups. At first, the premier defended the changes, but now he has backed down and “shelved” the curriculum until “further consultation with parents”.

Now, I have a lot to say about this but I’ll focus on one thing for now. It really irks me that social conservatives seem to have a strangle hold on the word “family”. The opposition to this plan is continually referred to in the media as “family values focused”, “pro-family” etc. as though there is only one definition of “family values” and anything else is amoral.

Look, just because we don’t all have a mommy and a daddy who got married in a church and then planned and had some babies and will stay together forever, doesn’t mean we don’t care for and love one another and comprise a FAMILY. And because of this, it means kids need to have a safe and well-informed environment to learn about sex and relationships.

Bear with me, I may have more on this later.