Building a future together

This film follows five youth as they prepare to leave the child welfare system and face life “after care.” The reaction to the film was overwhelming and the filmmaker teamed up with Peter Dudding, Executive Director of the Child Welfare League of Canada, to provide professional education workshops across the country. [...] The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child follows in the footsteps of laws around the world recognizing the age of 18 as the legal demarcation of adulthood. [...] In an effort to not only identify what a youth needs to be successful but also why, this paper brings together the current research, experience of the authors and the voices of youth themselves, to provide a solid knowledge base that can help build stronger policies and practices for youth exiting child welfare systems across Canada and the world. [...] Ensuring this relationship exists, when possible and in the best interests of the child, can help youth both in the present and in the future. [...] Couple this with the lack of skills expected of children in the school system and a child is behind in school before the first day of kindergarten and before entering the child welfare system (Jones Harden, 2004).