Jamie Pfau, PhD(c)

Jamie Pfau and her partner have been treatment foster parents for over 12 years. She has helped raise eight children. Throughout her fostering journey, Jamie has been dedicated to promoting positive outcomes for children in care. She went back to school and received her undergraduate honours degree in Psychology (2016), then her master’s degree in Social Work (2022). Jamie is currently a PhD candidate in Community Health Sciences.
Throughout her education journey, Jamie has developed an understanding of the systemic racism that has created an undeniable overrepresentation of Indigenous children who are apprehended from their families, their communities, their culture, and their land. She understands that as an uninvited white settler, and as a foster parent, she has contributed to the harms of Child and Family Services. As such, she has changed the focus of her research.
Jamie has been funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) throughout her PhD. Her dissertation aims are to explore the varied child apprehension rates among Child and Family Services Agencies with a goal of creating a model to promote positive outcomes for families, and to keep children safe at home.
In 2020, Jamie and her partner created a non-profit housing initiative called Peace For All of Us. This initiative provides affordable, safe, and nice housing for youth aging out of foster care (to promote positive outcomes for youth aging out of care), and survivors of domestic violence and her children (to prevent more children from being apprehended). The mandate of Peace For All of Us is to promote dignity.
Recently, Jamie has accepted a role as a Program Evaluator for the CARe RTP team to evaluate the pilot project currently taking place, which focuses on three research projects on child welfare and child maltreatment. Jamie is also involved in other research teams that explores outcomes of children in care. She loves being part of a multidisciplinary team and is grateful to have formed so many impactful relationships with other students and mentors.