Please share and encourage your team to subscribe | | ALIGN'S ANNUAL CONFERENCE | | |
ALIGN’s 18th Annual Conference, Strengthening Today, Building Tomorrow, on Feb. 5-6, 2026, W.E.M. Edmonton, AB
This two-day learning event, held in Edmonton, is designed for employees in the human services sector. It includes presentations tailored for senior leaders, board members, supervisors, and front-line workers.
We are excited to introduce our first keynote speaker, Jody Urquhart, a motivational speaker and former stand-up comedian. She will kick off the Conference on Thursday morning with her presentation titled, "This Would Be Funny… If It Wasn’t Happening To Me! Navigate Change by Mastering Human Connection."
| | Maximizing Cost Relief: Understanding Premiums and Strategies for Success. October 7, 2025, ZOOM | | |
Free! Join us October 7, 2025, 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. on ZOOM for ALIGN's Maximizing Cost Relief: Understanding Premiums and Strategies for Success.
Join Tom Kurian, Employer Advisor with the Advisor Office for Alberta Workers’ Compensation, for an informative session focused on the concept of cost relief within the Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) system. This event is designed for employers and HR professionals who want to learn how claim costs impact future premiums and the circumstances under which costs may be removed from their accounts.
| | Indigenous Cultural Understanding Framework Training for Foster and Kinship Caregivers. October 18, 2025, Edmonton | | |
Free! Join us on October 18, 2025, from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. in Edmonton for ALIGN's Indigenous Cultural Understanding Framework Training for Foster and Kinship Caregivers.
Exciting opportunity for Foster and Kinship Caregivers! ALIGN is offering an in-person Indigenous Cultural Understanding Framework (ICUF) training for Foster and Kinship Caregivers, where we will provide a foundation for walking together with Indigenous peoples, including the children you serve. We will explore the ICUF's parallel sharing and learning journey. There are limited spaces available—register early to secure your spot!
| | Get-To-Know Alberta Mentoring Partnership November 19, 2025, ZOOM | | Did you know that the AMP can help strengthen your organization's programs by offering support, exposure to a network of partners, and resources that may be relevant in guiding your work? Join us on November 19th to learn more! | |
From Principles to Practice: Implement the ALIGN Well-Being Toolkit, November 21, 2025, ZOOM
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Join us on November 21, 2025, 12:00 - 1:00 p.m. on ZOOM for From Principles to Practice: Implement the ALIGN Well-Being Toolkit. $25.30
In collaboration with PolicyWise for Children & Families, we’ve developed a principle-based, culturally rooted Framework and a practice-oriented Toolkit that reflect diverse ways of being and knowing—grounded in Indigenous perspectives and designed to validate practice through parallel approaches.
The Toolkit is flexible and adaptable, allowing agencies to integrate components at their own pace, based on their capacity and evolving needs. It’s a resource built to support meaningful, culturally responsive practice.
Let’s work together to strengthen well-being in our communities.
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ALIGN is excited to host Nicolette Miller, Senior Associate at Stack’d Consulting, as she leads four webinar sessions.
All sessions run from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. on Zoom.
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Save the Date! Alberta Disability Summit 2025 – Indigenous Cultural Understanding, November 27, 2025, Calgary
| | November is Indigenous Disability Awareness Month in Canada. To honour this, the inaugural Alberta Disability Summit will be held on November 27, 2025, at the Grey Eagle Resort & Casino, Tsuut’ina Nation (Calgary). This one-day gathering will bring together Indigenous leaders, families, persons with disabilities, governments, service providers, and community partners to advance disability inclusion and cultural understanding. Registration coming soon! | | ALIGN COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE | | |
Well-Being Community of Practice (CoP): Join ALIGN on
October 10, 2025, 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. (Virtual)
The Well-Being Community of Practice (CoP) is intended for service providers who are currently implementing the ALIGN Association’s Well-Being Toolkit.
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A reminder for service providers who are utilizing and implementing the ALIGN Well-Being Toolkit, our upcoming CoP is on Friday, October 10.
As we continue our deep dive into the domains of well-being, we will continue to focus again on "caring and stable relationships". In this session, Hannah Goa with the MCHB will share information on developmental relationships as an active ingredient in supportive relationships.
Briefly, this is how Hannah describes it:
The concept is Developmental Relationships as the "active ingredient" in child, youth, and family supports - like the yeast in bread, it may not be the biggest/flashiest element, but without it, nothing really happens. Developmental relationships have four criteria:
- Attachment
- Reciprocity
- Progressive complexity of joint activity
- Balance of power (over time, power shifts from the "developed" person to the "developing" person)
In understanding the developmental relationship and its role, focus often then shifts to considerations of whether "program, practice, and policy decisions promote or hinder developmental relationships amongst those who are served and those who serve."
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If you are currently implementing the ALIGN Well-Being Toolkit and would like to join this CoP session, please email wellbeing@alignab.ca indicating your intention to attend, and we will send you the ZOOM link.
If you’re not yet using the Well-Being Toolkit, contact wellbeing@alignab.ca to get started.
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ALIGN OHS Community of Practice
Join us December 2, 2025, 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. (Virtual)
Our Community of Practice brings together professionals from the sector to share knowledge, tools, and strategies for improving the quality and consistency of incident investigations. Regular meetings, case study reviews, and best practice sharing are central to building a learning-focused, safety-oriented community. ZOOM Link
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Have Your Say: Licensing and Care Concerns Transformation Project
Children and Family Services (CFS) is inviting contracted agencies and partners to share their perspectives through two surveys as part of the Licensing and Care Concerns Transformation Project. Your input is essential—by completing these surveys, you will help shape future licensing and care concern practices to ensure greater consistency and effectiveness across Alberta.
Survey Links:
We encourage participation from leadership, program managers, supervisors, caregiver practitioners, and frontline staff directly involved in licensing activities or the care concern (Placement Concern Response/PCR) process. Please note: these surveys are not intended for foster caregivers.
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The Nonprofit Chamber 2025 Provincial Mandate Letter Analysis
With new mandate letters recently issued to some Alberta Ministries, the Nonprofit Chamber compiled an analysis to help you understand what these changes mean. This is a nonpartisan review intended to support nonprofits navigating processes and partnerships within the provincial government.
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Applications now open for Public Policy Training Institute
The Max Bell Foundation’s 2026 Public Policy Training Institute is a six-month program in Calgary that helps staff and board members of Canadian charities strengthen their public policy and advocacy skills. Applications are due October 10, 2025.
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The F-Words Foundations Course Focused On A Strengths-Based Approach to Neurodevelopmental Disabilities/Disorder (NDD) Care Online Modules
The F-Words Foundations Course (Five one-hour online modules) is for families and professionals that are focused on a strengths-based approach to to Neurodevelopmental Disabilities/Disorder (NDD) care. The F-words for Child Development Family, Fun, Friends, Functioning, Fitness, and Future give us a new way to think about how children grow and develop. They help us think about the things that children CAN do versus what they cannot do and how to focus on their strengths. For anyone who works with, and/or cares for children and youth.
| | AMP has partnered with the Evaluation Capacity Network from the University of Alberta to offer your organization the opportunity to build your capacity to conduct and use meaningful evaluations.
Access their Pre-Eval Webinar Series on their YouTube channel or create a free account on the AMP Engage Website to access the Pre-Eval Webinar Series, evaluation resources and a Pre-Eval Certificate of completion. Learn More | | |
Alberta Foster and Kinship Caregiver Appreciation Month In AB.
Autism Awareness Month
Child Abuse Awareness Month
Disability Employment Awareness Month
Healthy Workplace Month
LGBT+ History Month
Mental Illness Awareness Week, October 5 - 11, 2025
Workplace Bullying Awareness Week, October 12 - 18, 2025
Invisible Disabilities Week, October 25 - 29, 2025
| | The ALIGN Grant Directory is a comprehensive resource designed to empower and support our province's diverse for-profit and non-profit organizations. Whether you are a grassroots initiative, an established charity, or a community-driven project, this directory connects you with vital funding opportunities tailored to your mission and goals. | | |
| Explore all the excellent career opportunities posted by ALIGN member agencies & organizations across Alberta that serve children, youth & families! | | Stay up-to-date with ALIGN & Sector events, news and resources. | | | | |
