Programs built on the promise of the Ontario Black Youth Action Plan are at risk — threatening a generation of Black youth who cannot afford to lose their support systems
Toronto, ON — Delta Family Resource Centre (DFRC) is raising urgent concerns following recent provincial funding decisions that place essential programs serving Black children, youth, and families at serious and immediate risk. These programs, built on the foundational commitments of the Ontario Black Youth Action Plan (BYAP), are not simply services. They represent years of community trust, culturally rooted relationships, and a government promise to address the systemic barriers that have long shaped the lives of Black youth in this province.
The Ontario Black Youth Action Plan: A Promise Built on Evidence
The Ontario Black Youth Action Plan was launched in 2017 in direct response to decades of documented evidence that Black youth in Ontario faced disproportionate and compounding disadvantages in education, the justice system, mental health, and the labour market. Rooted in the province’s commitment to equity and anti-racism, the BYAP acknowledged what Black communities had long known: that mainstream, one-size-fits all programming consistently failed Black youth, and that targeted, community-led investment was both necessary and overdue.
The BYAP was not a temporary measure or a standalone initiative. It was a recognition that systemic change requires sustained, embedded, culturally responsive supports, not periodic interventions. It was designed to create a pipeline of services that would walk alongside Black youth from adolescence through adulthood, addressing the intersecting realities of race, poverty, educational inequity, and limited access to opportunity.
“The BYAP was built on a simple but powerful premise: that Black youth deserve programs designed for them, by communities that understand them — programs that do not ask them to leave their identity at the door in order to receive support.”
Core pillars of the Plan included supports for academic achievement, youth employment, mental health, and family stability, all delivered through organizations with authentic ties to Black communities. Delta Family Resource Centre has been a central delivery partner in this ecosystem, providing the kind of holistic, wrap-around programming that the BYAP envisioned from its inception.
Why Wrap-Around Supports Are Not Optional
Black youth navigating the path to adulthood frequently do so while managing multiple, overlapping barriers, including racialized school discipline practices, under resourced neighbourhoods, inadequate mental health services, and a labour market that remains structurally unwelcoming. No single program addresses all of these realities. What works is an integrated model of support, one where advocacy, mental health, education navigation, and employment readiness are woven together rather than siloed.
This is the model that programs such as the Student and Family Advocate (SFA) initiative, the Black Youth Career Advance program, and the Innovative Solutions for Black Parents (ISBP) have operationalized at Delta Family. These programs do not function in isolation. They function as a system, and the strength of the system depends on its continuity.
When a young person’s academic advocate also understands their mental health struggles, their housing instability, or their family’s immigration experience, the quality of support changes fundamentally. This is the promise of wrap around care. And this is precisely what is now under threat.
“These programs are specifically designed to meet the needs of Black youth and families in ways that mainstream services often do not. Their loss creates a gap that will not be filled by generic programming.”
Black Youth Unemployment: The Case for Upstream Investment
Black youth unemployment remains a persistent and troubling reality in Ontario. Research consistently shows that Black youth face higher unemployment rates than their peers, rates that cannot be explained by education or skills gaps alone, but rather reflect systemic barriers embedded in hiring practices, professional networks, and access to mentorship and opportunity.
Employment-focused programs have an important role to play. However, employment programming alone, absent the foundational supports that prepare young people to enter and sustain workforce engagement, is insufficient. Seamless, early-stage support must begin well before a young person submits their first job application. It begins in the classroom, in the family home, in the mental health session, and in the community organization that a young person trusts.
The BYAP understood this sequence. It was designed precisely to create a continuum, a pipeline of supports that would equip Black youth not just to find a job, but to be positioned to thrive in a workforce and society that has not historically been designed with them in mind. Dismantling the foundational layers of this continuum while preserving only the employment facing end is not a solution. It is a shortcut that will cost far more in the long term, in human potential, in community wellbeing, and in public resources.
“Employment programs are important, but they cannot stand alone. Without addressing mental health, educational barriers, and systemic inequities, we are setting young people up to navigate systems without the support they need to succeed.”
What Is Now at Risk
The current direction of provincial funding signals the discontinuation of key funding streams, including Student and Family Advocate (SFA) roles, Black Youth Career Advance programs, and initiatives under the Innovative Solutions for Black Parents (ISBP). These programs have been foundational in supporting families through culturally responsive, community-based approaches that address systemic barriers across education, mental health, and family wellbeing.
DFRC, alongside other Black-led organizations across Ontario, is now experiencing:
- Significant risk to staffing stability, with potential layoffs impacting frontline workers who deliver critical, relationship-based services
- Immediate service disruption for families who rely on advocacy, mental health supports, and system navigation
- A complete absence of bridge or transitional funding, placing continuity of care at serious and immediate risk
- Limited or absent consultation with Black-led organizations prior to these decisions being made
“This is not simply a funding shift, it is a disruption to relationships, trust, and essential services that Black children and families rely on every day. These programs are not interchangeable. They are deeply rooted in community, and their sudden loss will have lasting, rippling impacts. — Shequita Reid, Executive Director, Delta Family Resource Centre”
A Question of Equity and Accountability
Beyond the immediate operational impact, these funding decisions raise serious questions about equity, accountability, and the sustainability of the province’s commitment to Black communities. Ontario made a public promise through the BYAP. That promise was made because the evidence demanded it. The evidence has not changed. Black youth in this province continue to face disproportionate barriers and they continue to need the programs that were built to address them.
Delta Family Resource Centre remains steadfast in its commitment to the communities it serves. We will continue to support staff and sustain services to the fullest extent possible during this period of uncertainty. However, we are unequivocally calling for a coordinated, responsible approach to any transition, one that actively minimizes harm and centres the communities most impacted.
Key Calls to Action
- Immediate reconsideration of the current funding direction and its disproportionate impact on Black-serving organizations
- Emergency or bridge funding to prevent disruption of essential services while a long-term plan is developed
- Meaningful, ongoing, and transparent consultation with Black-led organizations before decisions are finalized
- Long-term, sustainable investment in comprehensive, wrap-around supports — consistent with the original mandate of the Ontario Black Youth Action Plan
- A clear transition framework that protects the continuity of services, relationships, and community trust that have been built over years
Delta Family Resource Centre urges all levels of government to work collaboratively with the sector to ensure that any transition is thoughtful, coordinated, and grounded in the needs of the communities most impacted.
About Delta Family Resource Centre
Delta Family Resource Centre is a community-based organization committed to providing integrated, culturally responsive programs and services that support the wellbeing and success of Black children, youth, and families. Through advocacy, education, mental health, and employment programs, DFRC has served as a trusted community anchor across the Greater Toronto Area for decades.
Organization Contact for Media Inquiries:
Shequita Reid, Executive Director | 416-747-1172 Ext 54 | sreid@dfrc.ca
Designate: Shabina Arfeen, Operations Manager | 416-809-8060 | om@dfrc.ca
Delta Family Resource Centre