The Alliance for Children and Youth was born out of two previous ancestors: the Children’s Interagency Collaborative Partnership (CHIC- P) and the Children’s Planning Forum (CPF).

CHIC-P originated in 1991 as an expansion of the Behaviour Resource Teams within the, then named, Waterloo County Board of Education. Its initial focus was to bring together a broad range of stakeholders that were working in various ways for the well-being of children, youth, and families. Most of the energy of this group was dedicated to initiating and preparing for two community projects that are still going strong today.

In 1996 the Children’s Planning Forum (CPF) was organized as a response to the void left when the Social Resources Council lost its government funding. There was still an obvious need among child-serving agencies for networking, planning, consultation and information sharing opportunities, but the energy eventually dwindled as members seemed to be looking for a more action-oriented approach.

In terms of membership, CHIC-P typically had more ‘front-line’ representation while CPF involved mostly agency directors and senior staff. The two groups, however, incorporated many of the same organizations, and ultimately concluded that the purpose of both groups could be better accomplished through one common alliance – one that combined the strengths and embraced a multi-level perspective.

And so, in the fall of 1998, the Alliance for Children and Youth of Waterloo Region was born. A coalition independent from government, it currently brings together close to 70 organizations as well as many community members. The following is an excerpt from the revised Terms of Reference – approved in February 2003:

“The strength of the Alliance lies in its membership and in the collaboration of the membership. The Alliance strives to build on the strengths and capacity already available within families and the community at large, while recognizing the challenges inherent in raising healthy children. The Alliance acknowledges that front-line community action and systems leadership are inter-dependent parts of the same continuum. By working together, both are better able to succeed in strengthening the community for children and youth.”

For more information pertaining to current membership, please consult our Who We Are web page.