“Albert, a young kangaroo, has been living with the Panda family until his parents can care for him again. One day, his caseworker Ms. Giraffe comes to take him home. Albert is ready—but his stomach is full of butterflies.” (courtesy translation)

Talking to young children about family reunification after foster care can be challenging. The Albert retourne à la maison toolkit was created to better equip professionals for these conversations.

The kit contains simple, hands-on tools: a children’s book for ages 4 to 8, a reading guide and 6 activity sheets. Using therapeutic storytelling and a participatory approach, this initiative helps children express their emotions and better understand and adapt to their family situation. It addresses the need for youth-focused resources and strengthens intervention work in community and institutional settings.

Drawing on research data and the psychosocial intervention expertise of CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l’Île-de-Montréal (CCSMTL), the toolkit was developed under the leadership of Hélène Savard, head of service responsible for implementation at Bureau La Fontaine, Marie-Pierre Joly, project lead at IUJD (Institut universitaire Jeunes en difficulté) and Marie-Andrée Poirier, professor at Université de Montréal’s social work school (École de travail social), associate researcher with the Research Team on Placement and Adoption in Youth Protection and researcher at IUJD.

Lead:
Marie-Ève Lefebvre, Knowledge Sharing Advisor and Editor at Éditions du CCSMTL

Contributors:
Marie-Andrée Poirier, Senior Professor at the School of Social Work at the Université de Montréal and Associate Researcher with the Research Team on Placement and Adoption as well as at the University Institute for Youth in Difficulty
Geneviève Ducharme, Human Relations Officer, Youth Program Directorate
Anick Charron, Psychologist, Youth Protection Directorate
Kim Roiseux-Racine, Social Worker, Youth Program Directorate
Marie-Pierre Joly, Project Manager at the University Institute for Youth in Difficulty