Provinces need to step up on child welfare

The Assembly of First Nations and the Canadian Council of Child and Youth Advocates are urging the provinces to take action to improve child welfare instead of waiting for the go-ahead from the federal government.

The 2011 National Household Survey indicated that 48 per cent of the 30,000 children and youth in government care across the country are Aboriginal, according to a report prepared for the premiers by a working group consisting of Cabinet ministers from the provinces and territories.

Indigenous peoples account for 4.3 per cent of the Canadian population.

“Wherever we land on the power structure in society, we all have responsibilities. At the local community level we all have a responsibility to make sure that children feel safe and noticed and cared for in community all the way up to the people who have the power to make legislation and make changes at policy level,” said Ashley Krone, spokesperson for Manitoba’s Office of the Children’s Advocate.

Manitoba’s child advocate Darlene MacDonald was a signatory to a news release issued by the CCCYA following the premiers’ meeting in late July. While the advocate organization “welcomed the premiers’ interest in the well-being of Indigenous children,” the organization also condemned the premiers for having “not found a way to address concerns for which they have jurisdiction and on which they must and should act.”

Alberta’s Child and Youth Advocate Del Graff, who also serves as vice-president of the CCCYA, says the provinces need to start working toward meeting the first five calls to action laid out by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in the report released in June. The TRC put welfare of children at the beginning of its 94 calls to action.

“The provinces could start taking action and action could be about bringing together leaders in provincial government and leaders in the First Nations communities to say, ‘How do we get started on a path toward reconciliation, on a path toward moving these TRC calls to action moving forward?’ Many of them are actions that are provincially driven,” said Graff.

British Columbia has taken a step. In September, the province appointed Grand Chief Edward John to the six-month position of senior advisor on Aboriginal child welfare to the Minister of Children and Family Development.

John is to work with First Nations leaders to help more children and youth secure permanent family outside of government care. MCFD has prioritized adoptions and other forms of permanency for children in long-term care. Statistics indicate that one in seven Aboriginal children in BC will be in government care at some point during their childhood.

The BC Government and Service Employees’ Union sees John’s appointment as encouraging, but says more is needed to bring about the “urgent, systemic change” required for Aboriginal child welfare services.

“Now is the time for the BC government to prioritize responsive, culturally appropriate and properly funded Aboriginal child welfare services, including child protection, fostering and adoptions, and for support services such as mental health and special needs,” said BCGEU president Stephanie Smith.

John’s appointment follows the MCFD’s decision to appeal a BC Supreme Court decision that found ministry staff had disregarded the safety of children from a Vancouver family, which resulted in at least one child being sexually abused by their father.

“First Nations children and youth are disproportionately represented within all aspects of the MCFD system and therefore we have extreme concerns with how the government has chosen to deal with this case rather than taking immediate steps to look at real on the ground solutions to mitigate any similar occurrences in the future,” said Cheryl Casimer, of the First Nations Summit political executive.

In early September, Assembly of First Nations Manitoba Regional Chief Kevin Hart urged the provincial government to work directly with First Nations to support and strengthen First Nation families and drastically reduce the numbers of children in care in that province. Of the 11,000 children in care in Manitoba, 87 per cent are Aboriginal.

“Working directly with First Nations communities is absolutely critical,” said Krone.

Cora Morgan, appointed in June by the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs as the First Nations family advocate, says there is already provincial legislation in place that calls for support mechanisms for families in need.

“Apprehension is supposed to be the absolute last resort, but we know there isn’t preventative programs being brought in because the funding isn’t there,” said Morgan.

While the plight of Aboriginal children in care remains dire, Graff says some hope can be taken from the fact that these horror stories are hitting mainstream media.

“I think there’s more attention. I think those processes like the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, like the Idle No More movement, like the human rights complaint that Cindy Blackstock and the Assembly of First Nations have brought forward, those kinds of events are bringing to public attention the real concerns of Aboriginal people in this country and in this province,” said Graff.

The AFN is also making the welfare of First Nations children an election issue. In response to the federal election, the AFN released a document entitled “Closing the Gap,” in which strengthening First Nations, families and communities is one of six stated priorities. The AFN calls for the government, within two years of its new mandate, to “commit to increased investments to ensure equality in child welfare services and programs for First Nations children, families, and develop with First Nations an equitable funding formula and escalator.”