Equity Statement
Child Development Institute (CDI) is committed to contributing to the development of communities where all children, youth and families can thrive. The healthy development and well-being of our children is a shared responsibility, and we pledge to hold ourselves accountable and do our part.
CDI commits to ensuring its services are easily accessible to all individuals and groups in the communities we serve, regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, language, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, ability, state of health, socio-economic status or family differences. We acknowledge that health is shaped by a multidimensional overlapping of these factors (intersectionality). We recognize that biases and systemic barriers faced by individuals from underrepresented groups may prevent equal access to services.
We will work to address for opportunities and mitigate those barriers and commit to giving special attention to the needs of those at greatest risk of poor health outcomes, based on social and economic conditions. We will strive to work in a manner that does not discriminate against or oppress any individual or group. We will be proactive in our community engagement efforts to ensure potential clients are aware of our services and we will amplify our clients’ voices to ensure their needs are met. CDI is committed to identifying and building diverse partnerships to advance health equity.
Anti-Black Racism Statement
Hate crimes, police brutality and other forms of systemic racism perpetrated against Black communities have existed for generations and continue to have devastating impacts. We must do better.
CDI stands firmly with the Black community to condemning anti-Black racism. We acknowledge our responsibility to listen and respond to hard truths about the complicity of our systems, policies and procedures in perpetuating harms against the Black community. We commit to engaging in meaningful dialogue and to fostering a work environment in which our staff can thrive.
As a member of the Lead Agency’s Anti-Black Racism (ABR) Task Force, we will work with our partners and sister agencies in the children and youth mental health sector to develop a comprehensive anti-Black racism framework, and make a measurable impact in Toronto and across the province. We will leverage our platform to raise awareness of the issues, to lift up Black communities and to amplify Black voices. We commit to providing anti-racism training to CDI staff, leadership and Board members, and to championing learning, self-reflection and collaboration. We will engage with our clients and families to ensure our service planning and delivery takes an anti-oppressive approach. We will advocate for underserved groups by addressing systemic barriers to service and improving awareness
of our programs.
We recognize that we, as an agency, have a lot of work to do. Racism is a public health issue, and we have a role to play in creating a just and equitable society where Black families have a fair opportunity to reach their fullest health potential. Black lives
matter; black child lives matter.