January 2021

Written by Dianne Mathes R.S.W. Executive Director, ACO Over the past month we have heard the voices of families who are living in adoption and permanency journeys with their children.   We...

Written by Sherri Kinch I was taken from my mother at birth, placed with a foster family for three months before I was adopted by my parents. I don’t remember being told that I was adopted, I...

Written by ACO's Kathy Soden, Sylvia Gibbons, and Dianne Mathes Earlier this week, we explored Pathways, our specialized training program for adoptive, kinship and customary care families and the...

Written by ACO's Kathy Soden & Sylvia Gibbons, adoptive parents   We adopted from Ontario's public system many years ago with excitement, lots of love and high hopes, but in retrospect, not much...

Let's Learn Together When September rolls around it is not just the children who 'go back to school'.  Education in Ontario is a whole family ​commitment.  Parents and professionals also...

Over the winter, ACO piloted a Pathways training specifically for Kinship caregivers in the Simcoe County area.  We often have kin family members in our Pathways trainings. Based on feedback, we...

I had heard the advice around self-care,” you need to take care of yourself first or you wouldn’t be any good to the kids”. I had also heard the analogy of putting your air mask on...

This month we shine a spotlight on the Peer Support Enhancement Training Day for support group leaders that took place on Saturday March 30, 2019. We were delighted that 20 parent support group...

Parent Group Leader: My involvement with the Adoption Council of Ontario started in the Pathways to Permanence 2 course in January 2016. It has been a fantastic journey ever since. This course...

In 24 hours of training, I now have understanding of all the behaviours our child is exhibiting. I have multiple strategies to use which are working, a support group, and connection to...