The Children’s Aid Society of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry launched a new program called Family Finding. The purpose of the program is to create life-long connections between children and youth living in care and family members or other adults in their circle. Our goal is to help these individuals develop and carry out a plan for helping children and youth achieve emotional and legal permanency.

At this time, our Family Finders are working on discovering, engaging, healing and strengthening families related to 40 children in care who are soon to enter adulthood without connections to family. Many of these youths had no solid plan for the future and know little about their roots. Through this process, we have found hundreds of family members. Some had no knowledge that a member of their family had been raised in foster care. Others hoped they would eventually be sought out to help their young lost family member.

As an agency, restoring dignity to youth and their families who long for each other is always our primary objective. Through this work, we realize that we must maintain connections between children, youth and families regardless of what circumstances they may find themselves in. The well-being and future of the children and youth we serve is at stake otherwise.