Read our news stories, below, and view our 2025-2030 Academic Plan to learn how FIFSW researchers, students, alumni and partners are working to create a more just, equitable and compassionate world.
Setsuko Thurlow, one of FIFSW’s prominent alumni who accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), delivered an inspiring talk at the Alumni Association’s annual Distinguished Speakers Series.
Cindy Blackstock is a champion for the rights of Canada’s Indigenous youth. Blackstock has advocated on behalf of Indigenous children on reserves to ensure they receive the same benefits as other youth in Canada. Blackstock, who earned her PhD in social work at U of T, has been an adviser to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, UNICEF and the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.
FIFSW Dean and Professor Faye Mishna discusses the new report and the ethical considerations of teens and sexting with Matt Galloway on CBC Metro Morning.
Four UofT students will be able to attend an Indigenous educational or experiential learning activity in 2017-18 largely thanks to the School of Graduate Studies’ Indigenous Graduate Travel Award (up to $1,000 in funding).
Two of the recipients are MSW-ITR students: Brianna Olson and Dustin Moreau.
Brianna Olson will attend the Think Indigenous conference in Saskatoon.
Dustin Moreau attended a First Nations and Inuit suicide prevention conference in Montreal.
For over 20 years, Dr. Barbara Fallon, Associate Professor in the University of Toronto’s Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work has been gathering data, both provincially and nationally, to help front-line workers address the needs of kids in the child welfare system.
In one study, she and her co-authors found that just four per cent of maltreatment cases involved physical abuse requiring medical attention. They suggested child welfare services may be focusing on rapid intervention to prevent physical harm instead of a broader assessment of a child’s needs.
More recently, she and her colleagues have looked at the overrepresentation of First Nations children in care. The rate of child maltreatment investigations is more than four times higher among First Nations children, the researchers found, using data from 2008. “The root cause is colonialism,” she says.
Fallon gathers information knowing that behind the statistics are real children and families in need of support.
Lynn Factor has been named a member of the Order of Canada “for her contributions to […]
The awards, which were established on Dec. 6, 2016 on the 27th anniversary of the Montreal Massacre, are reserved for one undergraduate and one graduate student “who have made distinctive contributions in the area of gender-based violence research and prevention.”
KENN RICHARD – Founding Executive Director, Native Child and Family Services of Toronto Kenn receives this Award for […]
Cheryl Regehr, University of Toronto’s vice-president and provost, will be awarded an honorary degree at Wilfrid Laurier University today for her work as a community builder, social worker, educator and researcher.
Professor Faye Mishna, dean of the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, and U of T President Meric Gertler, nominated Regehr for the honour, calling her a “mental health champion” and praising her impressive career as a social worker and academic.