Child and Youth Care

An astonishingly honest look at the world of youth and drug addiction, told by those who have been there. A culturally diverse group of seven high school students meets the member of the Odd Squad - Vancouver police officers who, since 1998, have been filming people addicted to drugs. The students talk to the cops, then meet young people who are in recovery, and others still struggling with drug addiction. In the process, their views on drugs and the people who use them undergo important shifts. The students become more understanding and empathic -- and they reveal their own drug experiences.

In 1931, Molly and her younger cousins, Gracie and Daisy, were three half-caste children from Western Australia who were taken from their parents under government edict and sent to an institution, were taught to forget their families, their culture, and re-invent themselves as members of "white" Australian society.

Grace is a twenty-something supervisor at a foster-care facility for at-risk teenagers. Passionate and tough, Grace is a formidable caretaker, and in love with her long-term boyfriend and co-worker, Mason. But Grace's own difficult past, and the surprising future that suddenly presents itself, throws her into unforeseen confusion, made sharper with the arrival of a new intake at the facility, a gifted but troubled teenage girl with whom Grace has a charged connection.

This film examines the lives of 4 young people who grew up in the child welfare system. It is also a critical exposé of a system that couldn't meet their needs, as well as a stirring tribute to the strength, courage and resilience of these foster kids.

In this feature-length documentary, Alanis Obomsawin tells the story of Shannen’s Dream, a national campaign to provide equitable access to education in safe and suitable schools for First Nations children. Strong participation in this initiative eventually brings Shannen's Dream all the way to the United Nations in Geneva.

Nearly 50,000 Canadian children are in foster and group homes. Most will stop receiving support at age 19. Compared to their peers, youth aging out of care do not fare well. Too often they drop out of school, suffer PTSD and substance abuse, end up on welfare, in jail or homeless. In St. Catharines, Ontario an innovative non-profit believes connecting youth aging out with biological family could make all the difference. Next of Kin is a detective story in which the goal isn’t to catch a killer but save a life. The persons of interest: long lost or unknown family members.