Ethnocultural Action Framework
The Ethnocultural Action Framework (EAF) is Correctional Service Canada’s (CSC) national approach to addressing the needs of ethnocultural offenders.
CSC employees use the EAF to consider activities, services, and interventions for offenders and their families.
It enhances their capacity to meet the needs of ethnocultural offenders, and respond with:
- agility
- inclusivity
- collaboration
- cohesion across institutions, regions, and the country

Principles of the EAF
- Respect: for the totality of someone’s identity, policy and law, operational requirements, as well as an individual’s roles and responsibilities (for example, employees, volunteers);
- Inclusion: with an intersectional lens, approaching every effort with the goal of engaging as many individuals as relevant, and possible; and
- Access: ensuring what is offered can be reached, utilized, participated in, and beneficial for the offenders who need it.
Phases of the EAF
The EAF employs a cyclical, open design. CSC employees can action the EAF’s 4 phases at any time, independently or simultaneously.
Identify needs
- Determine if a specific activity, service, or intervention is warranted at a site, and/or at the regional or national level (for example, site event, inmate survey, CSC research);
- Review the effectiveness of activities, services, and interventions; and
- Enhance analysis of, and contributions to, reports, policy, and relevant research.
Develop the team
- Ensure the right people are involved at the right time;
- Nurture the collaborative and collective mindsets required for success; and
- Participate in internal and external activities, groups and committees.
Teams may include CSC employees, offenders, volunteers, advisory committees, working groups, partners and stakeholders.
Make strides
- Deliver responsive activities, services and interventions to ethnocultural offenders;
- Collaborate with staff, partners and stakeholders, both internal and external to CSC; and
- Pause for reflection, analysis, creativity and innovation.
Maintain momentum
- Build on work started in the other phases;
- Maintain and improve partnerships;
- Observe and respond to changing needs and circumstances, when needed;
- Deliver sustainable and successful outcomes; and
- Identify and integrate lessons learned.
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