November marks Adoption and Permanency Education Month, an opportunity to reflect on what it means for children and youth to have lasting relationships and a lifelong sense of belonging.
Permanency goes beyond legal arrangements or placement stability. It means having relationships with people children and youth can count on throughout their lives. This means people who know them, care about them, and support their sense of belonging.
There is no single pathway to permanency. Reunification, kinship and customary care arrangements, legal custody, adoption, and enduring connections to family, community, culture, and caring adults can all support permanency. Each child and youth’s pathway must reflect their unique needs, relationships, and circumstances.
Children and youth play a critical role in planning for their futures. Their perspectives, priorities, identities, relationships, and hopes guide permanency planning. This means listening to what matters to them and supporting their participation in decisions that affect their lives.
Connections to family, culture, identity, and community are essential to permanency. Planning must be culturally responsive and support these enduring connections. This is particularly important for First Nations, Inuit, Métis, Black, and other racialized children and youth who have been disproportionately impacted by systemic inequities within child welfare.
Across all pathways, the focus is on supporting lifelong belonging, well-being, and meaningful relationships. Families, caregivers, communities, and child welfare agencies all have a role in nurturing these connections and helping them endure as children and youth grow.
This month, OACAS encourages reflection on how we can work together to support permanency in all its forms. Every child and youth deserves people they can count on and a sense of belonging that lasts throughout their life.
Resources
OACAS
Adoption Council of Ontario
Interwoven Connections
To learn more about the adoption process in Ontario, or to find education and connection opportunities, visit the Adoption Council of Ontario and Interwoven Connections.
