Exploring the Practices of Refugee Settlement Practitioners in Toronto: An Institutional Ethnography

Abstract

<p>Using Institutional Ethnography as a method of inquiry, this study explores the institutional ruling relations that regulate refugees’ settlement process in Toronto from the standpoint view of practitioners. The research team conducted 13 semi- structured, in-depth interviews with practitioners and “mapped out” their everyday living experiences. The institutional map serves to illuminate how governance structures shape the professional practices of practitioners, which shape the settlement experience of refugees. The findings indicate that practitioners strategize to meet refugees’ needs and engage in work outside of the system due to funding constraints. </p>

The absence of language: A critical race discourse analysis of Ontario’s child welfare legislation and the impacts on Black families

“…Ultimately, Parada's (2004) study found that some directors and practitioners felt the policy reform made social work overly mechanical and task-based, which limited practitioners' ability to perform 'social work. ' Parada (2004) found concerns that social workers interpreted the language in the new legislation and ORAM as a reason to investigate and involve more families in the child welfare system (Parada, 2004).…”

“…However, scholars have voiced concerns that the language of policy and practice standards contributes to disparities for Black families in Ontario's child welfare system (Adjei & Minka, 2018;Clarke, 2011Clarke, , 2012. Parada (2004) conducted an institutional ethnography to investigate the effects of the Ontario government's child welfare reform strategy on child welfare practice. The strategy included policy changes across the child welfare system, including, as previously noted, amendments to the CFSA (1999), the previous legislation that governed child welfare services in Ontario (Parada, 2004).…”

“…Parada (2004) conducted an institutional ethnography to investigate the effects of the Ontario government's child welfare reform strategy on child welfare practice. The strategy included policy changes across the child welfare system, including, as previously noted, amendments to the CFSA (1999), the previous legislation that governed child welfare services in Ontario (Parada, 2004). These policy changes also instituted mandatory service and compliance standards across the child welfare system, including at intake, investigations, and ongoing supervision (Parada, 2004).…”

“…The strategy included policy changes across the child welfare system, including, as previously noted, amendments to the CFSA (1999), the previous legislation that governed child welfare services in Ontario (Parada, 2004). These policy changes also instituted mandatory service and compliance standards across the child welfare system, including at intake, investigations, and ongoing supervision (Parada, 2004). Examples of new standards included time limits for investigations and widening the scope of child welfare intervention to include children at risk of harm.…”

“…Examples of new standards included time limits for investigations and widening the scope of child welfare intervention to include children at risk of harm. These standards translated into specific practice behaviors, and every decision and action must be explicitly based on the instructions of these documents (Parada, 2004).…”