JIAS Evaluation Report: Anti-Racism & Mental Well-Being Curriculum

Anti-Racism & Mental Well-Being Curriculum Development Project

Evaluation Report — March 2026

Commissioned by COSTI Immigrant Services and JIAS Toronto

Project Overview

This evaluation examines the development and delivery of a joint anti-racism and mental well-being curriculum created by COSTI Immigrant Services and JIAS Toronto — two of Ontario's leading immigrant and refugee settlement organizations.

The curriculum was designed to equip frontline settlement sector staff with tools to recognize and address racism in service delivery contexts, while also building awareness of mental well-being dimensions unique to newcomer populations.

Scope & Methodology

The evaluation was conducted between 2025 and 2026 and included document review, stakeholder interviews, participant surveys, and direct observation of training sessions. The evaluation assessed curriculum design quality, delivery effectiveness, participant learning outcomes, and recommendations for sustainability and scaling.

Key Findings

  • Participants reported increased confidence in identifying and addressing racism in client-facing interactions
  • The integration of mental well-being content with anti-racism training was identified as a distinctive and valued feature
  • Facilitator quality and training were cited as critical success factors
  • Organizational culture and leadership support significantly influenced whether training translated into practice change
  • Participants from smaller organizations reported stronger individual impact relative to those in large bureaucratic settings

Recommendations

  • Develop a train-the-trainer model to expand reach beyond direct COSTI/JIAS delivery capacity
  • Create follow-up peer learning communities to sustain behaviour change post-training
  • Adapt curriculum modules for leadership and management audiences
  • Establish shared metrics across partner organizations to track practice-level change over time
  • Explore provincial funding pathways to sustain and scale the curriculum sector-wide

Significance

This project represents a meaningful contribution to the Canadian settlement sector's capacity to address structural racism and mental well-being simultaneously. The curriculum model developed here offers a replicable framework for other settlement organizations across Ontario and Canada.

Oded Oron served as project lead and primary evaluator, drawing on his experience managing programs at JIAS Toronto and his academic background in social policy and community education.

For more information or to discuss the curriculum model, contact oded@odedoron.com