Our sturdy trunk is comprised of our council representatives. The council representatives, otherwise known as our board of directors under the law, ensure that our group adheres to all relevant laws and regulations and operates ethically. This includes managing the finances and developing internal policies.
The branches of our organization are represented by our collective members, including council representatives and founding members. These branches reach out in many directions, extending from the core of our mission, reaching outward to shape and support the collective’s overall direction. They provide the necessary support for the entire structure, ensuring that our organization remains strong, resilient, and adaptive. As our decision-making hub, these branches are responsible for setting our strategic direction, anchoring us firmly in our purpose while guiding the various projects and initiatives that give life to our work.
Extending from these branches are the twigs (our associate members), which includes our dedicated volunteers and placement students. While these twigs might appear smaller, they are crucial to the health of our tree. They are the hands-on contributors who are vital in the day-to-day work of the CWTTC. They connect closely with specific projects, providing essential support and contributing their skills and perspectives to the collective's ongoing efforts.
Lastly, our friends of the collective, symbolized by the leaves and fruit, are the familiar faces that interact with and nourish our work. Like leaves that absorb sunlight and fruit that spreads seeds, these individuals support our efforts and help us grow by attending our events and engaging with our initiatives. Though they may not be directly involved in the decision-making process, their engagement and contributions ensure that our work reaches far beyond the core structure of the collective, spreading awareness and fostering connections within our broader community.
If you’d like to be part of The Child Welfare TRUTH-Telling Collective, we warmly invite you to connect with us at info@childwelfarecollective.org
our membership
As part of The Child Welfare TRUTH-Telling Collective, we have various types of membership. Each individual, regardless of membership type, makes us who we are, a collection of people working to better the child welfare system. As best we can, we try to work in a decolonial, non-hierarchical manner. Each person’s voice matters and is of equal importance to the rest. We do this through circle sharing and discussion which involves “a facilitated gathering where participants sit in a circle and take turns sharing their thoughts, feelings, and experiences related to a specific topic. [...] Participants are encouraged to listen actively, show empathy, and offer support to each other” (citation)
To better understand our membership types, we will once again turn to an image of a tree to symbolize our connection to one another and to the work.
Our founding members are the roots that began this work. The Original 6 as they are referred to, came together to reflect on what it was like to truly work in the child welfare system. Through these conversations, they discovered there are hidden truths within the system and there was power in sharing and witnessing these truths. These conversations were the impetus to forming what is now known as the CWTTC or ‘the Collective’ as many refer to it. Since these conversations, four of the Original 6 have remained connected to the work.