TRANSFORMING THE CHILD WELFARE SYSTEM
THROUGH THE LEADERSHIP OF
CHILDREN, YOUTH AND THEIR EXTENDED FAMILY GROUPS
HOW WE CREATE CHANGE
Name and uproot the child welfare system’s colonizing codes and replace them with equity and inclusion
Train, mentor, and provide clinical supervision for Family Group Conference coordinators
Provide direct service provision of Family Group Conference or other services that are rooted in equity and inclusion
Lead training, workshops and webinars for child welfare service providers and community service providers
Policy creation, review, and revision
Participate in academic research and writing
Marilee Sherry
Founder, Family Group Leadership
Marilee Sherry, MSW, RSW has been in private practice since 2010. She was employed by Brant Family and Children’s Services in Brantford, Ontario from 1998-2019. Prior to becoming the Family Group Conferencing (FGC)/Family Group Decision Making (FGDM) Coordinator and Manager for Family Group Decision Making Team in 2005, she was a direct service child protection worker and manager of a direct service child protection team primarily in community based settings. She is an FGC/FGDM trainer and mentor for new coordinators in Ontario and has provided training for coordinators and other interested service providers in New Brunswick, Taiwan, and the United States. Her passion is transforming child welfare through the leadership of the children and their families who are receiving child welfare services, particularly through FGC/FGDM. She has been focused on embedding these values and principles in the child welfare system locally and provincially. More recently, she has focused on transitioning in-person FGC/FGDM and other group services to a virtual format. Marilee has her BA from St. Francis Xavier University (Antigonish, Nova Scotia) and her MSW from Wilfrid Laurier University (Waterloo, Ontario).
"Reconciliation means not having to say sorry a second time."
CINDY BLACKSTOCK
First Nations Child and Family Caring Society
Territorial Acknowledgment
I acknowledge that the land on which I live and work is the traditional territory of the Anishinaabe, the Mississauga of the Credit, the Haudenosaunee and the Neutral.
As a White settler occupying stolen land, I am a member of the Haldimand Treaty of 1784. When my ancestors arrived in North America 400 years ago, they brought the historical and
current Canadian mainstream systems with them.
Every generation since then, including me, has supported and solidified these systems that protect Whiteness. As a Treaty member, I am committed to assuming my responsibility to decolonize the child welfare system.
Contact Us
Family Group Leadership
422 Grey Street, Unit A
Brantford ON
N3S 7N3