CRUJeF Research – DÉFIS Podcast: To better understand the reality of children and families

DÉFIS, an acronym for Discussions sur l’Enfance, la Famille et l’Intervention Sociale, aims to put in plain words the issues and challenges faced by young people and families in vulnerable situations. It is produced by Le Centre de recherche universitaire sur les jeunes et les familles (CRUJeF), a partner of the FFARIQ.

Our president Geneviève Rioux participated in this third episode, which focused on the need to provide better support for foster families.

Three perspectives, but the same attention to the children’s well-being

The podcast presents the points of view of three experts:

• Doris Châteauneuf, institutional researcher at CRUJeF
• Murielle Cheylan, Human Relations Officer, Équipe Poly les Chutes, Direction du programme jeunesse du CIUSSS de la Capitale-Nationale, as well as a former foster family
• Geneviève Rioux, President of the FFARIQ and also a foster family

Although they each see the situation from their own point of view, the three participants share one common desire: that everyone finally works together for the good of the children.

Expectations and hopes for the Laurent Commission

Broadcast on April 30, 2021, a few days before the tabling of the Laurent Commission final report, this podcast paints a good picture of the foster families’ realities and the improvements expected following this report.

Our president was able to shed some very relevant light on these issues. As a foster family for 16 years and president of FFARIQ for the past 5 years, it is with the heart of a mother as well as her pragmatism as the spokesperson for the FF that she communicated what truly concerns us in our role of properly accompanying the children we foster.

Here are the highlights of her testimony:

• The importance of taking advantage of the time between the accreditation of a foster family and the arrival of a first child to properly form the family.
• Prepare the new families, inform them about what their reality will be. Being a foster family is both difficult and beautiful at the same time.
• Give proper training to foster families, with tips and tricks that can be applied in their everyday life.
• Decompartmentalize the various stakeholders involved in the child's case. Make sure that the principle of confidentiality is not used as an Omerta. A foster parent should be able to know what a child has been through in order to interact with him/her accordingly, so the child can develop a sense of security faster.
• Include the FFARIQ in the process of meeting with foster care applicants and encourage a mentoring system of peer helpers for the new foster families.
• Review the Act respecting the representation of family-type resources and certain intermediate resources (ARR), which has created a climate of institutional control over the foster families rather than a supportive, coaching relationship with the agencies.
• Establish more direct communications between policymakers and the foster families to avoid different interpretations from region to region or even stakeholder to stakeholder.

This podcast is full of thoughts, recommendations and hopes towards a better future for children and foster parents. You can listen to the entire discussion by clicking on the following link:

https://anchor.fm/crujef/episodes/Pour-mieux-soutenir-les-familles-daccueil-evtiob