OHSWEKEN – On Tuesday, September 8, Six Nations Child Welfare Program “Taking Care of Our Own,” selected Crystal Doolittle as the first official Director of O Gwadeni:deo.
Doolittle holds a Diploma in Child and Youth Work from Mohawk College, a Bachelor’s Degree in Child and Youth Care from Ryerson University, and a Masters in Social Work from Laurentian; making her a well suited candidate for the position of director.
“As the Director of O Gwadeni:deo I’m looking forward to the opportunity to assist our community in obtaining the provincial mandate required to establish Six Nations’ own child protection services,” she said. “It’s exciting to be a part of a service that will respond to our children and families with our own community values,” she said.
O Gwadeni:deo is in the process of establishing a “Community Commission” that will include ten members; two with the ability to represent Six Nations’ social structure, traditional practices and knowledge of cultural heritage, and two from the Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC).
After the commission members are chosen, the commission hopes to assume responsibility for the operations of the program including; monitoring the mission statement, overall direction of the organization, financial management, personnel, organizational procedures, monitoring quality and effectiveness, direct supervisor responsibilities over the Director, and be responsible for the annual budget. The community Commission is looking forward to the help Doolittle can provide in moving forward.
“I’m working diligently to ensure the services we provide are based on the community feedback we have received over the past few years,” said Doolittle. “I’m confident we will be able to meet the needs of our community.”
