The family and children’s services that covers the Napanee – Lennox and Addington area is marking its 125th anniversary on Thursday.
The Children’s Aid Society began in Napanee in 1899.
The Napanee and Kingston branches amalgamated in 2012 becoming the Kingston Frontenac Lennox and Addington Family and Children’s Services.
Since that amalgamation the number of children and youth in care has been reduced by 60%.
Executive Director Steve Woodman tells Quinte News 170 children are in care.
Woodman noted Child Welfare played a role in what he called the “sad legacy” of Indigenous peoples and cultures. “They are now helping to ensure the future is brighter for their families.”
Woodman said “We are getting better at keeping families in crisis together.”
A statement marking the anniversary notes, “When families are in crisis we turn first to their extended family. Foster care is increasingly a temporary measure. We haven’t forgotten our history, both good and bad. It both inspires and challenges us in every step we take.”
