Adoption Student

November 3, 2026

Student Placement Posting #2027-STU-04

New Role: Placement Student

Adoption & Permanency

[2 Vacancy – Unpaid – Winter Term]

The York Region Children’s Aid Society (YRCAS) is a non-profit community organization legally mandated to protect children and youth from abuse and neglect. As a leader within the child welfare sector, we partner with parents, caregivers, and community to provide a safe environment for children and youth, through equitable, culturally aligned services.

Comprised of interdisciplinary teams of diverse professionals who push boundaries in support of family centered care, we engage with children and families for a stronger, healthier community within the York Region.

YRCAS is fully committed to a culture of belonging and an inclusive environment that encourages every team member to lead within their role, generate innovative ideas that reinforce our mission and goal to create a healthy workplace and community where children youth and families thrive.

To support us on our journey, YRCAS is looking for an Adoption & Permanency Placement Student to support our Adoption Team.

Why Complete Your Student Placement With Us?

• Hybrid working model (working virtual and in person).
• Casual dress code.
• Shortened Summer hours.
• Mileage Reimbursement.
• Enhanced Wellness Initiatives and Virtual Fitness Classes.
• The support of a dedicated student mentor and committed team to enhance your learning and provide opportunities for knowledge and skill development within and beyond the placement student role, potentially including but not limited to: departmental shadowing opportunities, internal and external learning and development opportunities, opportunities to participate in Agency committees, projects and events, and more!

SUMMARY OF DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

Reporting to the Adoption and Permanency Supervisor, the Adoption and Permanency Placement Student will work within the Resource service area of the Child, Youth and Family Wellbeing Department. The Adoption and Permanency Placement Student may be asked to perform any of the following adoption and legal custody related responsibilities:

MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Utilize anti-oppressive, critical thinking and solution focused involvements to assist the studentmentor in carrying out interventions with children, youth and families to promote permanency for children and youth
• Assists in receiving and processing inquiries from potential adoptive applicants and clients.
• Assist your student mentor in completing intake interviews, determining eligibility of potential adoptive applicants, and recording the intake assessment.
• Assist your student mentor in home interviews both individually, and with the family, as part of the legal custody and SAFE home study assessment process; maintain clear and contemporaneous contact logs.
• Assist your student mentor in providing support to approved adoptive homes.
• Support your student mentor in providing training to prospective Adoptive Applicant(s) on various topics including but not limited to the adoption information sessions, and PRIDE pre-service training.
• Support adoption recruitment activities for assigned children to promote permanency planning and ensure concurrent tasks for adoption are completed.
• Support your student mentor to supervise children who have been placed in adoptive homes by adhering to legislative standards.
• Support your student mentor in the completion of adoption finalization activities, including report preparation and legal court documentation.
• Represents the Society at Adoption Resource Exchange meetings, and other local area adoption meetings, as applicable.
• Provides information on the Adoption and Permanency Team, and its procedures, to other staff/departments and liaises with other staff regarding children being placed for adoption and legal custody.
• Provides adoption and legal custody information to the community, birth families, and prospective caregivers.
• Support openness planning; by engaging in Alternative Dispute Resolution and participating in Court as appropriate to support openness planning and negotiations.
• Provides post legal custody and post adoption services such as managing openness between birth families and adoptive families, processing subsidies, provided advice regarding services available in community, and individual counselling.
• Develop and maintain effective and therapeutic casework relationships with service recipients with the objective of supporting and promoting child wellbeing and belonging.
• Ensure both internal and external record checks are completed via “Search Request” through the CPIN Support Team.
• Work with your student mentor to assess requests for financial assistance for clients and support the arrangement of such assistance if deemed justified and necessary.
• Provide referrals to appropriate internal and external resources to provide quality and culturally responsive service to Society service recipients, with the objective of promoting child wellbeing, safety and belonging.
• Participate actively and effectively at team meetings and support back up coverage as needed.
• Support the development of engagement tools and activities to support children and youth in sharing their voice
• Develop processes to support team efficiency (i.e., workflow, input to the Adoptive Parent resource binder, etc.).
• This position requires travel inside and outside of York Region to fully support children, youth and families.

REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS:

• Have awareness and competency in identifying and addressing bias, discrimination, and racism to disrupt systemic barriers that families, children, and youth are experiencing.
• Strong ability to connect, collaborate, and engage with individuals to ensure optimal service delivery to children, youth, and families.
• Excellent critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
• Curious, creative and innovative thinker.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills to share and document information in a clear, concise, and accurate manner.
• Organizational skills to priories tasks, be self-initiating and work independently.

REQUIRED EDUCATION AND QUALIFICATIONS:

• Currently enrolled in a Bachelor of Social Work, Master of Social Work, or a related human services program at the Bachelors or Masters level.
• Driver’s License and access to a reliable vehicle for the duration of the placement opportunity is required.
• Ability to work during evenings and occasional weekends is a required.

HOURS OF WORK: Up to 33.75 hours per week. Some flexibility is supported to meet the needs of the Placement Student’s Educational Requirements.

Candidates who meet the qualifications are welcome to apply through the ADP Student Portal no later than 11:59PM on November 24^th, 2026.

Please quote job posting #2027-STU-04 Adoption and Permanency Placement Student.

We appreciate all applications received. All communications will be held in strict and professional confidence. Only those candidates selected for an interview will be contacted. We thank all applicants for their submissions.

Employment at York Region Children’s Aid Society is conditional upon the verification of credentials, a satisfactory vulnerable sector check, a class “G” driver’s license with daily access to an insured vehicle, and proof of COVID-19 vaccination (2 doses required), as per YRCAS’ Mandatory COVID-19 policy.

York Region Children’s Aid Society works in a hybrid virtual and on-site working environment.

Anti-Oppression/Anti-Racism at York Region Children’s Aid Society

YRCAS is committed to having a workforce that is reflective of the diversity of York Region and strongly encourages application from all qualified individuals, especially those who can provide different perspectives and contribute to a further diversification of ideas.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

York Region Children’s Aid Society is committed to employment equity, diversity and inclusion in the workplace, and fostering equity, diversity and inclusion in recruitment practices is a key aspect of the search process. The current posting is in search of candidates who identified from the following equity seeking groups; women, racialized persons/persons of colour, Indigenous Peoples, persons with disabilities, and persons of the 2SLGBTQ+ community. If you are of the aforementioned identities, and feel comfortable making it known, you may choose to self-identify as member of a designated group. Any information directly related to you is kept confidential and used in a safe manner to inform our recruitment process towards being an equal opportunity employer.

Vaccination Policy

The successful candidate will be made an offer of employment on the condition of being fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Fully vaccinated is defined as having received all of the required doses of a Health Canada approved vaccine and having received the final dose at least 14 days before your employment start date. The candidate will be asked to provide York Region Children’s Aid Society with proof of full vaccination, prior to the candidate’s employment start date. Acceptable proof includes an Ontario Ministry of Health COVID-19 vaccine receipt which you can obtain through the Provincial portal https://covid19.ontariohealth.ca/, or other government-issued vaccine passport or certification. As described above, the requirement to be fully vaccinated is subject to the Ontario Human Rights Code. If the candidate is unable to receive the COVID-19 vaccine for a reason protected by the Code, requests for accommodation from the vaccine policy will be assessed on a case-by-case basis and will be subject to York Region Children’s Aid Society accommodation process.

Accommodation at YRCAS

We are committed to a selection process and work environment that is inclusive and barrier free. Accommodation will be provided in accordance with the Ontario Human Rights Code. Applicants that may require accommodation during the selection process are encouraged to notify the Department of People and Culture when contacted for an interview.

The Department of People and Culture will work together with the hiring committee to arrange reasonable and appropriate accommodation for the selection process, which will enable you to be assessed in a fair and equitable manner.

Children at the heart of all that we do!