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= Jane Kovarikova = Kovarikova is a Canadian lived experience advocate for kids in foster care. She is also a candidate in the Ontario 2022 election for the riding of London Fanshawe[of the 43rd Ontario general election].

Background
Kovarikova’s parents were political emigres from Czechoslovakia. They came to Canada in the late 1970’s, where Kovarikova was later born. Her early home life was unstable, complicated significantly by her parents' struggle as newcomers. Kovarikova only spoke Czech at home and learned English after entering foster care for the first time around age six following significant absences from school.

Kovarikova was moved multiple times between various foster homes and her home of origin. By age nine she it became apparent that Kovarikova would be unlikely to permanently return to the care of her biological parents and she was made a Crown Ward (a ward of the state) by age 12.

Between 6 and 16 Kovarikova had at least 5 different placements in central Ontario, some temporary, and others more permanent. At age 16, rather than remaining under the care of Children’s Aid, she elected to move out on her own, dropping out of high school and relying on a government allowance of $663 per month to survive. Kovarikova struggled to make ends meet, but eventually saved enough to buy her first home at age 19.

With the help of a resourceful academic counsellor, Kovarikova was able to enter community college as a mature student, and transfer her credits to complete a university degree. Kovarikova began her studies at Georgian College at age 17, and eventually transferred to Laurentian University where she completed a Bachelor’s of Arts in Psychology (Honours). Kovarikova went on to earn a Masters of Science in Human Rights from the London School of Economics in 2009. After living in Europe for a couple years, Kovarikova returned home in 2011 and was hired to manage the legislative office of Barrie MPP, Rod Jackson.

Kovarikova is now a doctoral candidate and lecturer at Western University in the Department of Political Science. She teaches a third year Interest Groups and Social Movements course.

Advocacy
In 2017, Kovarikova founded the Child Welfare Political Action Committee Canada (Child Welfare PAC), a cross-country advocacy and research network comprised largely of adults who have spent time in the foster care system. Kovarikova’s primary concern is the lack of federal and provincial data about foster kids, and she’s pushing for a longitudinal study of youth outcomes—everything from social contacts to death rates—after they age out of care. No official government body tracks these kids once they become adults, but academic research has overwhelmingly shown that they have significantly compromised life outcomes compared to peers who were not involved in care.

In 2021, as a co-applicant for a major child rights research project led by Dr. Tara Collins at Ryerson, Kovarikova won a $2.5 million Social Science and Humanities Research Council grant from the Canadian government. Internationally, 41 researchers and 30 partner organizations will be involved in the research over the seven years in Canada, the Americas, Africa, Europe, Asia, and Australia. Kovarikova will lead one research study as part of the broader project involving those with lived experiences in foster-care systems. It is expected to take about 18 months starting in January and will investigate how the greater participation of people with lived experience in advocacy roles across time can improve the child-protection sector.

Kovarikova has also led the creation of hundreds of tuition free post-secondary opportunities across provinces for current and former foster kids in Canada. Various schools participating in equitable access to education for this group now include: McMaster University, Western University (including Brescia, Huron, King's)  , Loyalist College , Seneca College  , Laurentian University , Georgian College , Wilfrid Laurier University ,  Confederation College , Mount Saint Vincent University , Nova Scotia Community College , New Brunswick Community College , Memorial University , Holland College , and more to come.

Legislation
As CEO of Child Welfare PAC, Kovarikova spearheaded the development of Ontario Bill 237, the Fostering Privacy Fairness Act, 2020. The bill was introduced by Sarnia-Lambton MPP Bob Bailey in 2020 and passed Second Reading on April 20, 2021. The bill restores equality of privacy to former foster children by sealing childhood files after aging-out, protecting their identities in adult life, and only permitting third party access to sealed files through the courts.

As part of her role in Barrie MPP Rod Jackson's office, Kovarikova was instrumental in the development of Ontario Bill 88, Youth Right to Care Bill, 2013, which was introduced to protect 16 and 17 year old children entering care for the first time, closing an age old gap that prevented these children from accessing welfare services from the province. Prior to this bill, youth would be redirected to homeless shelters if they needed help, and entirely shut out of the support available to their peers who were already in foster care.

Other Service
In June 2020, Kovarikova stepped into the role of Board Chair of Simcoe Muskoka Family Connexions, a regional child protection agency with a budget of about $50 million with 400 employees. Kovarikova is the first board chair with lived experience in foster care in the 126 year history of the region and second ever in Ontario.

In August 2020, Kovarikova was appointed to the Ontario Premier’s Council on Equality of Opportunity, a new government advisory group that makes recommendations to the Minister on how young people can overcome social and economic barriers to achieve success.

Between 2012 and 2019 Kovarikova also served as an election observer for Canadian and Czech governments in Ukraine, North Macedonia, Russia, and Belarus.

Other Websites

 * janek.ca
 * childwelfarepac.com