First nations' child welfare broken
Excerpt: According to former auditor-general Sheila Fraser, first nations children are being placed in care at six to eight times the rate of other Canadian children. Most of us are probably familiar with that uncomfortable feeling of staying in a stranger's home, perhaps being billeted for a sports event or while on vacation. We don't know the rules, the expectations, or the way things work there.
Now imagine how that feeling must be magnified for children who have just been ripped away from their family. Worse still for first nations children placed in non-aboriginal homes, adding culture shock to the mix.
"We know that children in care are more likely [than those who stay with their families] to have substance misuse issues, more likely to have involvement with the criminal justice system, more likely to have mental and physical health concerns and are less likely to succeed at school," said Blackstock, who worked for 13 years on the front lines of child welfare and is now executive director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada.
There are situations where removing a child from their home is absolutely necessary, such as cases of sexual abuse where the child cannot be protected by a non-offending adult. Blackstock argues in many more cases, however, children are taken because of neglect resulting from poor housing and nutrition, substance abuse or the inability of impoverished families to meet the needs of a child with special needs.
Many of these problems could be solved in the home, allowing children to stay with their families, if the resources were made available. But for first nations families on reserves, the resources aren't there.
According to a study cited by first nations groups, children on reserves receive 22 per cent less funding per child for child welfare than other Canadian children, particularly for services that would help them stay with their families.
Blackstock says social workers dealing with first nations children are under-trained on the factors driving them into foster care, under-resourced, over-worked and overwhelmed.
Children on reserves are caught between governments.
Excerpt: According to former auditor-general Sheila Fraser, first nations children are being placed in care at six to eight times the rate of other Canadian children. Most of us are probably familiar with that uncomfortable feeling of staying in a stranger's home, perhaps being billeted for a sports event or while on vacation. We don't know the rules, the expectations, or the way things work there.
Now imagine how that feeling must be magnified for children who have just been ripped away from their family. Worse still for first nations children placed in non-aboriginal homes, adding culture shock to the mix.
"We know that children in care are more likely [than those who stay with their families] to have substance misuse issues, more likely to have involvement with the criminal justice system, more likely to have mental and physical health concerns and are less likely to succeed at school," said Blackstock, who worked for 13 years on the front lines of child welfare and is now executive director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada.
There are situations where removing a child from their home is absolutely necessary, such as cases of sexual abuse where the child cannot be protected by a non-offending adult. Blackstock argues in many more cases, however, children are taken because of neglect resulting from poor housing and nutrition, substance abuse or the inability of impoverished families to meet the needs of a child with special needs.
Many of these problems could be solved in the home, allowing children to stay with their families, if the resources were made available. But for first nations families on reserves, the resources aren't there.
According to a study cited by first nations groups, children on reserves receive 22 per cent less funding per child for child welfare than other Canadian children, particularly for services that would help them stay with their families.
Blackstock says social workers dealing with first nations children are under-trained on the factors driving them into foster care, under-resourced, over-worked and overwhelmed.
Children on reserves are caught between governments.
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