Beyond Care: Elevating Youth, Facilitator

Job Posting #

2025-13

Title:

Facilitators for the course Beyond Care: Elevating Youth Voices in Planning and Decision Making.

Location:

Toronto, ON

OACAS is seeking experienced child welfare professionals and/or social service professionals to deliver a two-day Beyond Care: Elevating Youth Voices in Planning and Decision Making child welfare course, both virtually and in-person, depending on the need.

Course Description

This course strengthens child welfare professionals' ability to engage, advocate and plan with youth—particularly those aged 16 and 17—through trauma-informed, culturally safe, and youth-centered practice. Participants will learn to centre youth voice in planning, understand adolescent development and the impact of trauma, and apply strategies in their investigations and assessments that increase their capacity to understand the unique risks older youth face and empower them to lead in their planning.

The course explores legislative frameworks, protection services, and advocacy supports such as the Office of the Children's Lawyer and the Ombudsman. Learners will also develop skills in considerations for Voluntary Youth Services Agreements, holistic safety planning and supporting youth transitions to adulthood through the Ready, Set, Go program. By the end of the course, participants will be equipped in how to carry out authentic engagement, youth centered collaborative planning, youth empowerment, and supportive transitions for youth in and from care.

Job Summary

Facilitators should have backgrounds in training and/or facilitation, working within a trauma-informed, culturally safe, and youth-centered framework and deep understanding of:

• adolescent development
• legislation and policy directives that impact youth ages 13+
• power relationships, anti-Black racism, anti-colonialism, anti-oppression and equity and how they are connected to child welfare
• holistic and collaborative planning with youth and their families, community and cultural connections
• youth voice and youth experiences of the child welfare system

Duties and Responsibilities

• Attend the Facilitator Development workshop as scheduled by OACAS
• Attend ongoing professional development opportunities for facilitators
• Deliver the course to staff within your agency, zone or training consortium in-person or online.
• Follow the policies, procedures and expectations outlined in any materials provided by OACAS.
• Enhance learner experiences by bringing forward an understanding of equity and inclusion, especially as it relates to youth
• Facilitate discussions from a youth-centered perspective
• Deliver curriculum to a diverse audience, including new workers, more experienced workers, supervisors and those with varying levels of understanding of youth experiences in child welfare

Qualifications

Education and Experience

• Minimum of 2 years of experience training adults (either as a current OACAS facilitator, or delivering other training sessions/courses/workshops for CAS staff or other audiences outside of a CAS)
• Minimum of 5 years of experience in child welfare working with youth ages 13-23 and advanced knowledge of the experiences of youth across the spectrum of services
• Experience working with diverse stakeholders within a trauma-informed, culturally safe and youth-centered framework
• Strong group facilitation skills, coaching skills and the ability to facilitate difficult conversations
• Excellent problem-solving skills and ability to adapt to varying audiences
• Experience using technology to enhance learning (e.g. experience with learning management systems, virtual classrooms, etc.).

Assets

• Additional experience working with youth outside of the child welfare system
• Bilingual English/French
• Experience working in different areas of service, i.e. Investigation, Ongoing and Children's Services
• Experience in collaborative family engagement

Facilitating Learning Curricula

OACAS works with agencies to onboard and qualify facilitators delivering OACAS curricula – including agency-based as well as sessional facilitators. Agency-based facilitators are those who are qualified to deliver OACAS learning curricula at their home agency. Agency-based facilitators provide training on agency time as part of their day-to-day duties. There is no contractual relationship nor is compensation provided to agency-based facilitators from OACAS for this role.

Sessional facilitators are contracted and compensated directly by OACAS to travel across the province to deliver training where scheduling gaps may exist. As sessional facilitators are compensated directly by OACAS, the expectation is that they engage in this work on their own time.

Candidates who can lend their time to this important curriculum, are encouraged to share their CV.

Successful candidates will be requested to train on as-needed basis, and therefore may continue their current employment. Please note, training requests are occasional.

APPLY ONLINE at

by 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday January 6th, 2026.

We thank all candidates for their interest; however, only those considered for an interview will be contacted. OACAS is committed to building a diverse workforce representative of the communities we serve. We encourage and are pleased to consider applications from all qualified candidates, without regard to race, colour, citizenship, religion, sex, marital / family status, sexual orientation, gender identity, indigenous status, age or disability.

Accommodation at OACAS

We are committed to a selection process and work environment that is inclusive and barrier free. Accommodation will be provided in accordance with the Ontario Human Rights Code.

Applicants are required to make any accommodation requests for the application, interview or selection process known in advance by contacting the Human Resources Department at or .

Human Resources will work together with the hiring committee to arrange reasonable and appropriate accommodation for the interview or selection process which will enable you to be assessed in a fair and equitable manner.