CAB Overview
Caring Across the Boundaries is an interactive workshop that facilitates collaboration between First Nations child and family services agencies and the voluntary sector. The program was developed based on research which found that First Nations children and youth on reserve have almost no access to the broad range of prevention and quality of life services provided by the voluntary sector (FNCFCS, 2003).
A key finding of the research was that both First Nations child and family service providers and voluntary sector agencies want to ensure First Nations children and youth are able to access culturally appropriate voluntary sector supports. Identified barriers to collaboration expressed by voluntary sector and First Nations agencies include:
- Lack of time
- Lack of networking opportunities
- Hesitancy to initiate contact
- Lack of funds
- Lack of knowledge, information and understanding about each other
CAB provides a process for participants to make new connections and create joint visions of future collaboration. During the Caring Across the Boundaries workshop, participants work together to identify strategies to overcome these barriers. This activity quickly reveals that the vast majority of the barriers cited can be readily overcome.
