Canadian Human Rights Complaint on First Nations Child Welfare

On February 23, 2007, the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) and First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada (FNCFCS) formally filed a complaint with the Canadian Human Rights Commission regarding lack of funding for First Nations child welfare.

In her speech, the Executive Director of FNCFCS, Cindy Blackstock, states that, “A fundamental change in the funding approach of First Nations Child and Family Services Agencies to child welfare is required to reverse the growth rate of children coming into care, and in order for the agencies to meet their mandated responsibilities”. There are more First Nations children living in state care today than at any time in history but First National Child Welfare agencies receive approximately 22% less than provincial agencies.

What this means is that the federal government needs to invest an additional 109 million in the first year of a seven-year funding cycle to achieve a basic level of equity to what other Canadian children receive. Both AFN and FNCFCS endorse the recommendations of the Wen:de report (pdf) to redress the funding shortfall, which have not been acted upon by the federal government.

The AFN provides an excellent overview of the issue; here are some highlights:

1 out of 10 First Nations children (approximately 27,000) are placed in care compared to 1 out of 200 non-First Nation children to Canada. The Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (CIS): Final Report 2005 reports that the primary reason why First Nations children come into care is “neglect”, the root causes of which are linked to poverty, poor housing and high instances of alcohol and substance abuse.

According to the World Health Organization, for every dollar the government invests in prevention services, it saves $5-7 in costs in future services.

What can individuals and organizations do? Amongst others, the FNCFCS calls for the following actions:

1. Register support for the Jordan Principle
2. Endorse the Reconciliation for Child Welfare: Touchstones of Hope for Indigenous children and youth
3. Write your MP and urge him/her to support the adoption in full of the Wen:de Recommendations.
   

For more information, visit First Nations Child & Family Caring Society of Canada or Assembly of First Nations.