Illinois and Rhode Island change Adoption laws

ILLINOIS allows adoptees to obtain copies of original birth certificates!  

let's celebrate

Starting on Nov. 15, anyone surrendered or adopted in the state can receive a non-certified copy of their original birth certificate. These birth certificates usually will contain information such as names of parents and location where birth occurred. In this case, under the amended law, the birth parents can still request their names remain confidential. Birth parents can still release medical information to the Illinois Adoption Registry and Medical Information Exchange (IARMIE) to be passed on to surrendered and adopted children while remaining anonymous.



Forms for requesting a non-certified copy of a birth certificate and the Birth Parent Preference Form can be obtained by visiting here or by calling the Illinois Adoption Registry at 877-323-5299.

http://www.journalstandard.com/government/x227170539/Law-change-allows-adoptees-to-obtain-copies-of-original-birth-certificates

NEWS UPDATE in Rhode Island! The new adoption bill signed today will give adoptees 25 or older, who were born in Rhode Island, access to their original birth certificates.

http://www.wpri.com/dpp/news/local_news/governor-chafee-to-sign-adoption-bill

Illinois and Rhode Island change Adoption laws

ILLINOIS allows adoptees to obtain copies of original birth certificates!  

let's celebrate

Starting on Nov. 15, anyone surrendered or adopted in the state can receive a non-certified copy of their original birth certificate. These birth certificates usually will contain information such as names of parents and location where birth occurred. In this case, under the amended law, the birth parents can still request their names remain confidential. Birth parents can still release medical information to the Illinois Adoption Registry and Medical Information Exchange (IARMIE) to be passed on to surrendered and adopted children while remaining anonymous.

Forms for requesting a non-certified copy of a birth certificate and the Birth Parent Preference Form can be obtained by visiting here or by calling the Illinois Adoption Registry at 877-323-5299.

http://www.journalstandard.com/government/x227170539/Law-change-allows-adoptees-to-obtain-copies-of-original-birth-certificates

NEWS UPDATE in Rhode Island! The new adoption bill signed today will give adoptees 25 or older, who were born in Rhode Island, access to their original birth certificates.

http://www.wpri.com/dpp/news/local_news/governor-chafee-to-sign-adoption-bill

Illinois and Rhode Island change Adoption laws

ILLINOIS allows adoptees to obtain copies of original birth certificates!  

let's celebrate

Starting on Nov. 15, anyone surrendered or adopted in the state can receive a non-certified copy of their original birth certificate. These birth certificates usually will contain information such as names of parents and location where birth occurred. In this case, under the amended law, the birth parents can still request their names remain confidential. Birth parents can still release medical information to the Illinois Adoption Registry and Medical Information Exchange (IARMIE) to be passed on to surrendered and adopted children while remaining anonymous.

Forms for requesting a non-certified copy of a birth certificate and the Birth Parent Preference Form can be obtained by visiting here or by calling the Illinois Adoption Registry at 877-323-5299.

http://www.journalstandard.com/government/x227170539/Law-change-allows-adoptees-to-obtain-copies-of-original-birth-certificates

NEWS UPDATE in Rhode Island! The new adoption bill signed today will give adoptees 25 or older, who were born in Rhode Island, access to their original birth certificates.

http://www.wpri.com/dpp/news/local_news/governor-chafee-to-sign-adoption-bill

Illinois and Rhode Island change Adoption laws

ILLINOIS allows adoptees to obtain copies of original birth certificates!  

let's celebrate

Starting on Nov. 15, anyone surrendered or adopted in the state can receive a non-certified copy of their original birth certificate. These birth certificates usually will contain information such as names of parents and location where birth occurred. In this case, under the amended law, the birth parents can still request their names remain confidential. Birth parents can still release medical information to the Illinois Adoption Registry and Medical Information Exchange (IARMIE) to be passed on to surrendered and adopted children while remaining anonymous.

Forms for requesting a non-certified copy of a birth certificate and the Birth Parent Preference Form can be obtained by visiting here or by calling the Illinois Adoption Registry at 877-323-5299.

http://www.journalstandard.com/government/x227170539/Law-change-allows-adoptees-to-obtain-copies-of-original-birth-certificates

NEWS UPDATE in Rhode Island! The new adoption bill signed today will give adoptees 25 or older, who were born in Rhode Island, access to their original birth certificates.

http://www.wpri.com/dpp/news/local_news/governor-chafee-to-sign-adoption-bill

Illinois and Rhode Island change Adoption laws

ILLINOIS allows adoptees to obtain copies of original birth certificates!  

let's celebrate

Starting on Nov. 15, anyone surrendered or adopted in the state can receive a non-certified copy of their original birth certificate. These birth certificates usually will contain information such as names of parents and location where birth occurred. In this case, under the amended law, the birth parents can still request their names remain confidential. Birth parents can still release medical information to the Illinois Adoption Registry and Medical Information Exchange (IARMIE) to be passed on to surrendered and adopted children while remaining anonymous.

Forms for requesting a non-certified copy of a birth certificate and the Birth Parent Preference Form can be obtained by visiting here or by calling the Illinois Adoption Registry at 877-323-5299.

http://www.journalstandard.com/government/x227170539/Law-change-allows-adoptees-to-obtain-copies-of-original-birth-certificates

NEWS UPDATE in Rhode Island! The new adoption bill signed today will give adoptees 25 or older, who were born in Rhode Island, access to their original birth certificates.

http://www.wpri.com/dpp/news/local_news/governor-chafee-to-sign-adoption-bill

Illinois and Rhode Island change Adoption laws

ILLINOIS allows adoptees to obtain copies of original birth certificates!  

let's celebrate

Starting on Nov. 15, anyone surrendered or adopted in the state can receive a non-certified copy of their original birth certificate. These birth certificates usually will contain information such as names of parents and location where birth occurred. In this case, under the amended law, the birth parents can still request their names remain confidential. Birth parents can still release medical information to the Illinois Adoption Registry and Medical Information Exchange (IARMIE) to be passed on to surrendered and adopted children while remaining anonymous.

Forms for requesting a non-certified copy of a birth certificate and the Birth Parent Preference Form can be obtained by visiting here or by calling the Illinois Adoption Registry at 877-323-5299.

http://www.journalstandard.com/government/x227170539/Law-change-allows-adoptees-to-obtain-copies-of-original-birth-certificates

NEWS UPDATE in Rhode Island! The new adoption bill signed today will give adoptees 25 or older, who were born in Rhode Island, access to their original birth certificates.

http://www.wpri.com/dpp/news/local_news/governor-chafee-to-sign-adoption-bill

First Nation in danger of losing a generation (Ontario)

archival photo

By Linda Nguyen, Postmedia News (September 3, 2011)

The federal and provincial governments need to urgently improve basic living conditions for an impoverished, remote northern Ontario First Nations community if it wants to put an end to a "extraordinary rate" of teen suicides there, according to a yearlong review by the provincial coroner's office.
The 215-page report released Friday by the Ontario Office of the Chief Coroner identified a number of factors that it says contributed to the 16 child and youth suicides that have occurred on the Pikangikum First Nation reserve over a two-year old period.
The review found that the fly-in community of 2,400 in northwestern Ontario lacks basic infrastructure, such as easy access to clean drinking water, a sewage system, a school, recreational facilities, and health services, including substance abuse programs.
This has led to a sense of hopelessness among the younger generation in the community, concluded the report, which outlined more than 100 recommendations.
"What we require right now is action," says Assembly of First Nations Chief Shawn Atleo.
Atleo says the problems plaguing Pikangikum are not unique. Many Aboriginal communities feel like they are being "left behind" by the government.
"Canada stands for human rights around the world but the backdrop here is a deep and growing gap between First Nations and the rest of Canada," he said.
During 2006-08, 16 children and youth from 10 to 19 years old committed suicide. The majority of the deaths were hangings.
In the last two months alone, five young people have committed suicide. The latest death was of a 26-yearold on Aug. 29.
The Pikangikum First Nation has a suicide rate of 470 deaths per 100,000 people, which is 36 times the national average and one of the highest in the world, according to a 2004 article in the Canadian Journal of Native Studies.
One of the major recommendations calls on the federal government to fulfil a promise to rebuild a school in Pikangikum after the old one burnt down four years ago. Since then, classes have been held in 17 portables.
A building, says the report, would give students a sense of permanence in their community. Currently only 520 students are enrolled this year, with an estimated 300500 school-age children not attending classes at all.
Improving education prospects also would entice students to finish high school and pursue post-secondary education. None of the nine students who graduated from his school in 2009 went on to college or university.
None of those who died sought medical help in the month before their suicides. Almost all had a history of mental-health problems.
One of the most "troubling findings" was the rampant substance abuse among children in the community. The latest statistics show that 27 per cent of girls in Grades 3 and 4 self-reported sniffing gasoline to get intoxicated.
© Copyright (c) The Regina Leader-Post
Source: http://www.leaderpost.com/news/First+Nation+danger+losing+generation/5349336/story.html


Read more: http://www.leaderpost.com/news/First+Nation+danger+losing+generation/5349336/story.html#ixzz1X5C31NTP

First Nation in danger of losing a generation (Ontario)

archival photo

By Linda Nguyen, Postmedia News (September 3, 2011)



The federal and provincial governments need to urgently improve basic living conditions for an impoverished, remote northern Ontario First Nations community if it wants to put an end to a "extraordinary rate" of teen suicides there, according to a yearlong review by the provincial coroner's office.

The 215-page report released Friday by the Ontario Office of the Chief Coroner identified a number of factors that it says contributed to the 16 child and youth suicides that have occurred on the Pikangikum First Nation reserve over a two-year old period.

The review found that the fly-in community of 2,400 in northwestern Ontario lacks basic infrastructure, such as easy access to clean drinking water, a sewage system, a school, recreational facilities, and health services, including substance abuse programs.

This has led to a sense of hopelessness among the younger generation in the community, concluded the report, which outlined more than 100 recommendations.

"What we require right now is action," says Assembly of First Nations Chief Shawn Atleo.

Atleo says the problems plaguing Pikangikum are not unique. Many Aboriginal communities feel like they are being "left behind" by the government.

"Canada stands for human rights around the world but the backdrop here is a deep and growing gap between First Nations and the rest of Canada," he said.

During 2006-08, 16 children and youth from 10 to 19 years old committed suicide. The majority of the deaths were hangings.

In the last two months alone, five young people have committed suicide. The latest death was of a 26-yearold on Aug. 29.

The Pikangikum First Nation has a suicide rate of 470 deaths per 100,000 people, which is 36 times the national average and one of the highest in the world, according to a 2004 article in the Canadian Journal of Native Studies.

One of the major recommendations calls on the federal government to fulfil a promise to rebuild a school in Pikangikum after the old one burnt down four years ago. Since then, classes have been held in 17 portables.

A building, says the report, would give students a sense of permanence in their community. Currently only 520 students are enrolled this year, with an estimated 300500 school-age children not attending classes at all.

Improving education prospects also would entice students to finish high school and pursue post-secondary education. None of the nine students who graduated from his school in 2009 went on to college or university.

None of those who died sought medical help in the month before their suicides. Almost all had a history of mental-health problems.

One of the most "troubling findings" was the rampant substance abuse among children in the community. The latest statistics show that 27 per cent of girls in Grades 3 and 4 self-reported sniffing gasoline to get intoxicated.

© Copyright (c) The Regina Leader-Post

Source: http://www.leaderpost.com/news/First+Nation+danger+losing+generation/5349336/story.html





Read more: http://www.leaderpost.com/news/First+Nation+danger+losing+generation/5349336/story.html#ixzz1X5C31NTP

First Nation in danger of losing a generation (Ontario)

archival photo

By Linda Nguyen, Postmedia News (September 3, 2011)

The federal and provincial governments need to urgently improve basic living conditions for an impoverished, remote northern Ontario First Nations community if it wants to put an end to a "extraordinary rate" of teen suicides there, according to a yearlong review by the provincial coroner's office.
The 215-page report released Friday by the Ontario Office of the Chief Coroner identified a number of factors that it says contributed to the 16 child and youth suicides that have occurred on the Pikangikum First Nation reserve over a two-year old period.
The review found that the fly-in community of 2,400 in northwestern Ontario lacks basic infrastructure, such as easy access to clean drinking water, a sewage system, a school, recreational facilities, and health services, including substance abuse programs.
This has led to a sense of hopelessness among the younger generation in the community, concluded the report, which outlined more than 100 recommendations.
"What we require right now is action," says Assembly of First Nations Chief Shawn Atleo.
Atleo says the problems plaguing Pikangikum are not unique. Many Aboriginal communities feel like they are being "left behind" by the government.
"Canada stands for human rights around the world but the backdrop here is a deep and growing gap between First Nations and the rest of Canada," he said.
During 2006-08, 16 children and youth from 10 to 19 years old committed suicide. The majority of the deaths were hangings.
In the last two months alone, five young people have committed suicide. The latest death was of a 26-yearold on Aug. 29.
The Pikangikum First Nation has a suicide rate of 470 deaths per 100,000 people, which is 36 times the national average and one of the highest in the world, according to a 2004 article in the Canadian Journal of Native Studies.
One of the major recommendations calls on the federal government to fulfil a promise to rebuild a school in Pikangikum after the old one burnt down four years ago. Since then, classes have been held in 17 portables.
A building, says the report, would give students a sense of permanence in their community. Currently only 520 students are enrolled this year, with an estimated 300500 school-age children not attending classes at all.
Improving education prospects also would entice students to finish high school and pursue post-secondary education. None of the nine students who graduated from his school in 2009 went on to college or university.
None of those who died sought medical help in the month before their suicides. Almost all had a history of mental-health problems.
One of the most "troubling findings" was the rampant substance abuse among children in the community. The latest statistics show that 27 per cent of girls in Grades 3 and 4 self-reported sniffing gasoline to get intoxicated.
© Copyright (c) The Regina Leader-Post
Source: http://www.leaderpost.com/news/First+Nation+danger+losing+generation/5349336/story.html


Read more: http://www.leaderpost.com/news/First+Nation+danger+losing+generation/5349336/story.html#ixzz1X5C31NTP

First Nation in danger of losing a generation (Ontario)

archival photo

By Linda Nguyen, Postmedia News (September 3, 2011)

The federal and provincial governments need to urgently improve basic living conditions for an impoverished, remote northern Ontario First Nations community if it wants to put an end to a "extraordinary rate" of teen suicides there, according to a yearlong review by the provincial coroner's office.
The 215-page report released Friday by the Ontario Office of the Chief Coroner identified a number of factors that it says contributed to the 16 child and youth suicides that have occurred on the Pikangikum First Nation reserve over a two-year old period.
The review found that the fly-in community of 2,400 in northwestern Ontario lacks basic infrastructure, such as easy access to clean drinking water, a sewage system, a school, recreational facilities, and health services, including substance abuse programs.
This has led to a sense of hopelessness among the younger generation in the community, concluded the report, which outlined more than 100 recommendations.
"What we require right now is action," says Assembly of First Nations Chief Shawn Atleo.
Atleo says the problems plaguing Pikangikum are not unique. Many Aboriginal communities feel like they are being "left behind" by the government.
"Canada stands for human rights around the world but the backdrop here is a deep and growing gap between First Nations and the rest of Canada," he said.
During 2006-08, 16 children and youth from 10 to 19 years old committed suicide. The majority of the deaths were hangings.
In the last two months alone, five young people have committed suicide. The latest death was of a 26-yearold on Aug. 29.
The Pikangikum First Nation has a suicide rate of 470 deaths per 100,000 people, which is 36 times the national average and one of the highest in the world, according to a 2004 article in the Canadian Journal of Native Studies.
One of the major recommendations calls on the federal government to fulfil a promise to rebuild a school in Pikangikum after the old one burnt down four years ago. Since then, classes have been held in 17 portables.
A building, says the report, would give students a sense of permanence in their community. Currently only 520 students are enrolled this year, with an estimated 300500 school-age children not attending classes at all.
Improving education prospects also would entice students to finish high school and pursue post-secondary education. None of the nine students who graduated from his school in 2009 went on to college or university.
None of those who died sought medical help in the month before their suicides. Almost all had a history of mental-health problems.
One of the most "troubling findings" was the rampant substance abuse among children in the community. The latest statistics show that 27 per cent of girls in Grades 3 and 4 self-reported sniffing gasoline to get intoxicated.
© Copyright (c) The Regina Leader-Post
Source: http://www.leaderpost.com/news/First+Nation+danger+losing+generation/5349336/story.html


Read more: http://www.leaderpost.com/news/First+Nation+danger+losing+generation/5349336/story.html#ixzz1X5C31NTP

First Nation in danger of losing a generation (Ontario)

archival photo

By Linda Nguyen, Postmedia News (September 3, 2011)

The federal and provincial governments need to urgently improve basic living conditions for an impoverished, remote northern Ontario First Nations community if it wants to put an end to a "extraordinary rate" of teen suicides there, according to a yearlong review by the provincial coroner's office.
The 215-page report released Friday by the Ontario Office of the Chief Coroner identified a number of factors that it says contributed to the 16 child and youth suicides that have occurred on the Pikangikum First Nation reserve over a two-year old period.
The review found that the fly-in community of 2,400 in northwestern Ontario lacks basic infrastructure, such as easy access to clean drinking water, a sewage system, a school, recreational facilities, and health services, including substance abuse programs.
This has led to a sense of hopelessness among the younger generation in the community, concluded the report, which outlined more than 100 recommendations.
"What we require right now is action," says Assembly of First Nations Chief Shawn Atleo.
Atleo says the problems plaguing Pikangikum are not unique. Many Aboriginal communities feel like they are being "left behind" by the government.
"Canada stands for human rights around the world but the backdrop here is a deep and growing gap between First Nations and the rest of Canada," he said.
During 2006-08, 16 children and youth from 10 to 19 years old committed suicide. The majority of the deaths were hangings.
In the last two months alone, five young people have committed suicide. The latest death was of a 26-yearold on Aug. 29.
The Pikangikum First Nation has a suicide rate of 470 deaths per 100,000 people, which is 36 times the national average and one of the highest in the world, according to a 2004 article in the Canadian Journal of Native Studies.
One of the major recommendations calls on the federal government to fulfil a promise to rebuild a school in Pikangikum after the old one burnt down four years ago. Since then, classes have been held in 17 portables.
A building, says the report, would give students a sense of permanence in their community. Currently only 520 students are enrolled this year, with an estimated 300500 school-age children not attending classes at all.
Improving education prospects also would entice students to finish high school and pursue post-secondary education. None of the nine students who graduated from his school in 2009 went on to college or university.
None of those who died sought medical help in the month before their suicides. Almost all had a history of mental-health problems.
One of the most "troubling findings" was the rampant substance abuse among children in the community. The latest statistics show that 27 per cent of girls in Grades 3 and 4 self-reported sniffing gasoline to get intoxicated.
© Copyright (c) The Regina Leader-Post
Source: http://www.leaderpost.com/news/First+Nation+danger+losing+generation/5349336/story.html


Read more: http://www.leaderpost.com/news/First+Nation+danger+losing+generation/5349336/story.html#ixzz1X5C31NTP

First Nation in danger of losing a generation (Ontario)

archival photo

By Linda Nguyen, Postmedia News (September 3, 2011)

The federal and provincial governments need to urgently improve basic living conditions for an impoverished, remote northern Ontario First Nations community if it wants to put an end to a "extraordinary rate" of teen suicides there, according to a yearlong review by the provincial coroner's office.
The 215-page report released Friday by the Ontario Office of the Chief Coroner identified a number of factors that it says contributed to the 16 child and youth suicides that have occurred on the Pikangikum First Nation reserve over a two-year old period.
The review found that the fly-in community of 2,400 in northwestern Ontario lacks basic infrastructure, such as easy access to clean drinking water, a sewage system, a school, recreational facilities, and health services, including substance abuse programs.
This has led to a sense of hopelessness among the younger generation in the community, concluded the report, which outlined more than 100 recommendations.
"What we require right now is action," says Assembly of First Nations Chief Shawn Atleo.
Atleo says the problems plaguing Pikangikum are not unique. Many Aboriginal communities feel like they are being "left behind" by the government.
"Canada stands for human rights around the world but the backdrop here is a deep and growing gap between First Nations and the rest of Canada," he said.
During 2006-08, 16 children and youth from 10 to 19 years old committed suicide. The majority of the deaths were hangings.
In the last two months alone, five young people have committed suicide. The latest death was of a 26-yearold on Aug. 29.
The Pikangikum First Nation has a suicide rate of 470 deaths per 100,000 people, which is 36 times the national average and one of the highest in the world, according to a 2004 article in the Canadian Journal of Native Studies.
One of the major recommendations calls on the federal government to fulfil a promise to rebuild a school in Pikangikum after the old one burnt down four years ago. Since then, classes have been held in 17 portables.
A building, says the report, would give students a sense of permanence in their community. Currently only 520 students are enrolled this year, with an estimated 300500 school-age children not attending classes at all.
Improving education prospects also would entice students to finish high school and pursue post-secondary education. None of the nine students who graduated from his school in 2009 went on to college or university.
None of those who died sought medical help in the month before their suicides. Almost all had a history of mental-health problems.
One of the most "troubling findings" was the rampant substance abuse among children in the community. The latest statistics show that 27 per cent of girls in Grades 3 and 4 self-reported sniffing gasoline to get intoxicated.
© Copyright (c) The Regina Leader-Post
Source: http://www.leaderpost.com/news/First+Nation+danger+losing+generation/5349336/story.html


Read more: http://www.leaderpost.com/news/First+Nation+danger+losing+generation/5349336/story.html#ixzz1X5C31NTP

First Nation in danger of losing a generation (Ontario)

archival photo

By Linda Nguyen, Postmedia News (September 3, 2011)

The federal and provincial governments need to urgently improve basic living conditions for an impoverished, remote northern Ontario First Nations community if it wants to put an end to a "extraordinary rate" of teen suicides there, according to a yearlong review by the provincial coroner's office.
The 215-page report released Friday by the Ontario Office of the Chief Coroner identified a number of factors that it says contributed to the 16 child and youth suicides that have occurred on the Pikangikum First Nation reserve over a two-year old period.
The review found that the fly-in community of 2,400 in northwestern Ontario lacks basic infrastructure, such as easy access to clean drinking water, a sewage system, a school, recreational facilities, and health services, including substance abuse programs.
This has led to a sense of hopelessness among the younger generation in the community, concluded the report, which outlined more than 100 recommendations.
"What we require right now is action," says Assembly of First Nations Chief Shawn Atleo.
Atleo says the problems plaguing Pikangikum are not unique. Many Aboriginal communities feel like they are being "left behind" by the government.
"Canada stands for human rights around the world but the backdrop here is a deep and growing gap between First Nations and the rest of Canada," he said.
During 2006-08, 16 children and youth from 10 to 19 years old committed suicide. The majority of the deaths were hangings.
In the last two months alone, five young people have committed suicide. The latest death was of a 26-yearold on Aug. 29.
The Pikangikum First Nation has a suicide rate of 470 deaths per 100,000 people, which is 36 times the national average and one of the highest in the world, according to a 2004 article in the Canadian Journal of Native Studies.
One of the major recommendations calls on the federal government to fulfil a promise to rebuild a school in Pikangikum after the old one burnt down four years ago. Since then, classes have been held in 17 portables.
A building, says the report, would give students a sense of permanence in their community. Currently only 520 students are enrolled this year, with an estimated 300500 school-age children not attending classes at all.
Improving education prospects also would entice students to finish high school and pursue post-secondary education. None of the nine students who graduated from his school in 2009 went on to college or university.
None of those who died sought medical help in the month before their suicides. Almost all had a history of mental-health problems.
One of the most "troubling findings" was the rampant substance abuse among children in the community. The latest statistics show that 27 per cent of girls in Grades 3 and 4 self-reported sniffing gasoline to get intoxicated.
© Copyright (c) The Regina Leader-Post
Source: http://www.leaderpost.com/news/First+Nation+danger+losing+generation/5349336/story.html


Read more: http://www.leaderpost.com/news/First+Nation+danger+losing+generation/5349336/story.html#ixzz1X5C31NTP

NEW REPORT: Child welfare statistics eye-opening (Canada)

Windspeaker photo

Windspeaker

By Jennifer Ashawasegai Birchbark Writer  - TORONTO

Volume:  29  Issue:  6  Year:  2011

Ontario wants to improve its child welfare services for Aboriginal children. So, the Ontario Ministry of Children and Youth Services hired former Anishinabek Nation Grand Council John Beaucage as Aboriginal advisor to the minister of children and youth.

In his capacity as advisor, Beaucage wrote a report on Aboriginal child welfare in the province.

Beaucage said that through his research he found “more and more money is being spent on child and family services, but the success is not growing at all, and it really begs a different way of looking at things.”
He said his report addresses that and also serves as a tool to provide different ideas for the ministry and in respect to Aboriginal children.

The report is entitled: Children First, The Aboriginal Advisor’s Report on the status of Aboriginal Child Welfare in Ontario. Beaucage spent a lot of time speaking with community members, frontline workers and officials involved in child welfare in the province.
In the introduction of the report, Beaucage notes his surprise at the issues he came across during his research.
“I knew there were issues, but some of the data was eye opening: for one, there are a disproportionate number of Aboriginal children in the child welfare system.”
Data from the Statistics Canada 2006 Census indicates Aboriginal people make up about two per cent of the provincial population. But, Beaucage says, in the child welfare system, it’s estimated Aboriginal children make up 10 per cent of those in care, and some estimates are even higher at 20 per cent.
The system has many effects on Aboriginal children who end up in foster care.
“Children are being fostered out and in many instances to non-Native homes, and being taken out of their community, and so they’re losing touch with their family, culture, language and once again, it’s a process of assimilation, to assimilate a Native child into the greater society,” Beaucage said.
"That leaves holes in a person’s psyche. Young people are just losing touch.
“We saw it with the 60’s scoop, and also with residential schools that when the children are being taken away from their home environment, having their language torn away from them, and their culture torn away, there’s something that’s missing and they spend the rest of their lives looking for it.”
Because of that, Beacage said social issues arise from those situations, such as addictions.
The report includes a long list of recommendations to try to prevent social issues and loss of culture.
Beaucage strongly recommends culture as a base for Aboriginal children in care, and he says, “we should start seeing more Native people on the boards of Children’s Aid Societies and look at ways for Aboriginal organizations to take control of the child protection asset within their regions.”
There are 14 major recommendations in the report, from implementing Jordan’s Principle, to prevention strategies, to First Nation jurisdiction over child welfare matters and implementing customary care practices.
Laurel Broten, minster for Children and Youth Services in Ontario, has committed herself to bettering service to Aboriginal children and families. Broten supports the report from Beaucage, saying that the ministry has already made investments over the past year.
“In the child welfare sector, we’ve been ensuring that we are able to support the unique needs of Aboriginal children. We’ve provided $124 million to the six Aboriginal child welfare agencies in the province each year.”
To address the rate of Aboriginal children going into non-Native homes, Beaucage recommends that CAS use a different system of rating to utilize extended family customary care practices. “The rating system currently rates a household based upon an urban non-Native way of doing things, and it messes up the way things are done culturally. In the report, I suggest there be a totally different way of looking at a household and doing it by way of culture.”
Also included among the recommendations is a call for government to re-institute the band representative program to ensure families have a liaison between the courts and the CAS.
Urban families are not forgotten. Beaucage recommends that a task force for urban Aboriginal children be created to “review the state of Aboriginal children in care and off reserve and make specific recommendations on their best interests.”
It’s hoped the report will continue to gather steam, as an election is around the bend. Broten is also hoping for re-election in her Etobicoke-Lakeshore riding.
“The ministry is examining all of the recommendations and how it can build upon many of the inter-ministerial collaborations that we have in place as we seek to move forward. It’s certainly an active file and folks are very much absorbing the very thoughtful recommendations from the report and we’ll be asking Ontarians on Oct. 6 to be able to continue this important work.”

SOURCE: http://www.ammsa.com/publications/windspeaker/child-welfare-statistic-eye-opening-says-beaucage

NEW REPORT: Child welfare statistics eye-opening (Canada)

Windspeaker photo

Windspeaker

By Jennifer Ashawasegai Birchbark Writer  - TORONTO

Volume:  29  Issue:  6  Year:  2011



Ontario wants to improve its child welfare services for Aboriginal children. So, the Ontario Ministry of Children and Youth Services hired former Anishinabek Nation Grand Council John Beaucage as Aboriginal advisor to the minister of children and youth.

In his capacity as advisor, Beaucage wrote a report on Aboriginal child welfare in the province.

Beaucage said that through his research he found “more and more money is being spent on child and family services, but the success is not growing at all, and it really begs a different way of looking at things.”

He said his report addresses that and also serves as a tool to provide different ideas for the ministry and in respect to Aboriginal children.



The report is entitled: Children First, The Aboriginal Advisor’s Report on the status of Aboriginal Child Welfare in Ontario. Beaucage spent a lot of time speaking with community members, frontline workers and officials involved in child welfare in the province.

In the introduction of the report, Beaucage notes his surprise at the issues he came across during his research.

“I knew there were issues, but some of the data was eye opening: for one, there are a disproportionate number of Aboriginal children in the child welfare system.”

Data from the Statistics Canada 2006 Census indicates Aboriginal people make up about two per cent of the provincial population. But, Beaucage says, in the child welfare system, it’s estimated Aboriginal children make up 10 per cent of those in care, and some estimates are even higher at 20 per cent.

The system has many effects on Aboriginal children who end up in foster care.

“Children are being fostered out and in many instances to non-Native homes, and being taken out of their community, and so they’re losing touch with their family, culture, language and once again, it’s a process of assimilation, to assimilate a Native child into the greater society,” Beaucage said.

"That leaves holes in a person’s psyche. Young people are just losing touch.

“We saw it with the 60’s scoop, and also with residential schools that when the children are being taken away from their home environment, having their language torn away from them, and their culture torn away, there’s something that’s missing and they spend the rest of their lives looking for it.”

Because of that, Beacage said social issues arise from those situations, such as addictions.

The report includes a long list of recommendations to try to prevent social issues and loss of culture.

Beaucage strongly recommends culture as a base for Aboriginal children in care, and he says, “we should start seeing more Native people on the boards of Children’s Aid Societies and look at ways for Aboriginal organizations to take control of the child protection asset within their regions.”

There are 14 major recommendations in the report, from implementing Jordan’s Principle, to prevention strategies, to First Nation jurisdiction over child welfare matters and implementing customary care practices.

Laurel Broten, minster for Children and Youth Services in Ontario, has committed herself to bettering service to Aboriginal children and families. Broten supports the report from Beaucage, saying that the ministry has already made investments over the past year.

“In the child welfare sector, we’ve been ensuring that we are able to support the unique needs of Aboriginal children. We’ve provided $124 million to the six Aboriginal child welfare agencies in the province each year.”

To address the rate of Aboriginal children going into non-Native homes, Beaucage recommends that CAS use a different system of rating to utilize extended family customary care practices. “The rating system currently rates a household based upon an urban non-Native way of doing things, and it messes up the way things are done culturally. In the report, I suggest there be a totally different way of looking at a household and doing it by way of culture.”

Also included among the recommendations is a call for government to re-institute the band representative program to ensure families have a liaison between the courts and the CAS.

Urban families are not forgotten. Beaucage recommends that a task force for urban Aboriginal children be created to “review the state of Aboriginal children in care and off reserve and make specific recommendations on their best interests.”

It’s hoped the report will continue to gather steam, as an election is around the bend. Broten is also hoping for re-election in her Etobicoke-Lakeshore riding.

“The ministry is examining all of the recommendations and how it can build upon many of the inter-ministerial collaborations that we have in place as we seek to move forward. It’s certainly an active file and folks are very much absorbing the very thoughtful recommendations from the report and we’ll be asking Ontarians on Oct. 6 to be able to continue this important work.”



SOURCE: http://www.ammsa.com/publications/windspeaker/child-welfare-statistic-eye-opening-says-beaucage

NEW REPORT: Child welfare statistics eye-opening (Canada)

Windspeaker photo

Windspeaker

By Jennifer Ashawasegai Birchbark Writer  - TORONTO

Volume:  29  Issue:  6  Year:  2011

Ontario wants to improve its child welfare services for Aboriginal children. So, the Ontario Ministry of Children and Youth Services hired former Anishinabek Nation Grand Council John Beaucage as Aboriginal advisor to the minister of children and youth.

In his capacity as advisor, Beaucage wrote a report on Aboriginal child welfare in the province.

Beaucage said that through his research he found “more and more money is being spent on child and family services, but the success is not growing at all, and it really begs a different way of looking at things.”
He said his report addresses that and also serves as a tool to provide different ideas for the ministry and in respect to Aboriginal children.

The report is entitled: Children First, The Aboriginal Advisor’s Report on the status of Aboriginal Child Welfare in Ontario. Beaucage spent a lot of time speaking with community members, frontline workers and officials involved in child welfare in the province.
In the introduction of the report, Beaucage notes his surprise at the issues he came across during his research.
“I knew there were issues, but some of the data was eye opening: for one, there are a disproportionate number of Aboriginal children in the child welfare system.”
Data from the Statistics Canada 2006 Census indicates Aboriginal people make up about two per cent of the provincial population. But, Beaucage says, in the child welfare system, it’s estimated Aboriginal children make up 10 per cent of those in care, and some estimates are even higher at 20 per cent.
The system has many effects on Aboriginal children who end up in foster care.
“Children are being fostered out and in many instances to non-Native homes, and being taken out of their community, and so they’re losing touch with their family, culture, language and once again, it’s a process of assimilation, to assimilate a Native child into the greater society,” Beaucage said.
"That leaves holes in a person’s psyche. Young people are just losing touch.
“We saw it with the 60’s scoop, and also with residential schools that when the children are being taken away from their home environment, having their language torn away from them, and their culture torn away, there’s something that’s missing and they spend the rest of their lives looking for it.”
Because of that, Beacage said social issues arise from those situations, such as addictions.
The report includes a long list of recommendations to try to prevent social issues and loss of culture.
Beaucage strongly recommends culture as a base for Aboriginal children in care, and he says, “we should start seeing more Native people on the boards of Children’s Aid Societies and look at ways for Aboriginal organizations to take control of the child protection asset within their regions.”
There are 14 major recommendations in the report, from implementing Jordan’s Principle, to prevention strategies, to First Nation jurisdiction over child welfare matters and implementing customary care practices.
Laurel Broten, minster for Children and Youth Services in Ontario, has committed herself to bettering service to Aboriginal children and families. Broten supports the report from Beaucage, saying that the ministry has already made investments over the past year.
“In the child welfare sector, we’ve been ensuring that we are able to support the unique needs of Aboriginal children. We’ve provided $124 million to the six Aboriginal child welfare agencies in the province each year.”
To address the rate of Aboriginal children going into non-Native homes, Beaucage recommends that CAS use a different system of rating to utilize extended family customary care practices. “The rating system currently rates a household based upon an urban non-Native way of doing things, and it messes up the way things are done culturally. In the report, I suggest there be a totally different way of looking at a household and doing it by way of culture.”
Also included among the recommendations is a call for government to re-institute the band representative program to ensure families have a liaison between the courts and the CAS.
Urban families are not forgotten. Beaucage recommends that a task force for urban Aboriginal children be created to “review the state of Aboriginal children in care and off reserve and make specific recommendations on their best interests.”
It’s hoped the report will continue to gather steam, as an election is around the bend. Broten is also hoping for re-election in her Etobicoke-Lakeshore riding.
“The ministry is examining all of the recommendations and how it can build upon many of the inter-ministerial collaborations that we have in place as we seek to move forward. It’s certainly an active file and folks are very much absorbing the very thoughtful recommendations from the report and we’ll be asking Ontarians on Oct. 6 to be able to continue this important work.”

SOURCE: http://www.ammsa.com/publications/windspeaker/child-welfare-statistic-eye-opening-says-beaucage

NEW REPORT: Child welfare statistics eye-opening (Canada)

Windspeaker photo

Windspeaker

By Jennifer Ashawasegai Birchbark Writer  - TORONTO

Volume:  29  Issue:  6  Year:  2011

Ontario wants to improve its child welfare services for Aboriginal children. So, the Ontario Ministry of Children and Youth Services hired former Anishinabek Nation Grand Council John Beaucage as Aboriginal advisor to the minister of children and youth.

In his capacity as advisor, Beaucage wrote a report on Aboriginal child welfare in the province.

Beaucage said that through his research he found “more and more money is being spent on child and family services, but the success is not growing at all, and it really begs a different way of looking at things.”
He said his report addresses that and also serves as a tool to provide different ideas for the ministry and in respect to Aboriginal children.

The report is entitled: Children First, The Aboriginal Advisor’s Report on the status of Aboriginal Child Welfare in Ontario. Beaucage spent a lot of time speaking with community members, frontline workers and officials involved in child welfare in the province.
In the introduction of the report, Beaucage notes his surprise at the issues he came across during his research.
“I knew there were issues, but some of the data was eye opening: for one, there are a disproportionate number of Aboriginal children in the child welfare system.”
Data from the Statistics Canada 2006 Census indicates Aboriginal people make up about two per cent of the provincial population. But, Beaucage says, in the child welfare system, it’s estimated Aboriginal children make up 10 per cent of those in care, and some estimates are even higher at 20 per cent.
The system has many effects on Aboriginal children who end up in foster care.
“Children are being fostered out and in many instances to non-Native homes, and being taken out of their community, and so they’re losing touch with their family, culture, language and once again, it’s a process of assimilation, to assimilate a Native child into the greater society,” Beaucage said.
"That leaves holes in a person’s psyche. Young people are just losing touch.
“We saw it with the 60’s scoop, and also with residential schools that when the children are being taken away from their home environment, having their language torn away from them, and their culture torn away, there’s something that’s missing and they spend the rest of their lives looking for it.”
Because of that, Beacage said social issues arise from those situations, such as addictions.
The report includes a long list of recommendations to try to prevent social issues and loss of culture.
Beaucage strongly recommends culture as a base for Aboriginal children in care, and he says, “we should start seeing more Native people on the boards of Children’s Aid Societies and look at ways for Aboriginal organizations to take control of the child protection asset within their regions.”
There are 14 major recommendations in the report, from implementing Jordan’s Principle, to prevention strategies, to First Nation jurisdiction over child welfare matters and implementing customary care practices.
Laurel Broten, minster for Children and Youth Services in Ontario, has committed herself to bettering service to Aboriginal children and families. Broten supports the report from Beaucage, saying that the ministry has already made investments over the past year.
“In the child welfare sector, we’ve been ensuring that we are able to support the unique needs of Aboriginal children. We’ve provided $124 million to the six Aboriginal child welfare agencies in the province each year.”
To address the rate of Aboriginal children going into non-Native homes, Beaucage recommends that CAS use a different system of rating to utilize extended family customary care practices. “The rating system currently rates a household based upon an urban non-Native way of doing things, and it messes up the way things are done culturally. In the report, I suggest there be a totally different way of looking at a household and doing it by way of culture.”
Also included among the recommendations is a call for government to re-institute the band representative program to ensure families have a liaison between the courts and the CAS.
Urban families are not forgotten. Beaucage recommends that a task force for urban Aboriginal children be created to “review the state of Aboriginal children in care and off reserve and make specific recommendations on their best interests.”
It’s hoped the report will continue to gather steam, as an election is around the bend. Broten is also hoping for re-election in her Etobicoke-Lakeshore riding.
“The ministry is examining all of the recommendations and how it can build upon many of the inter-ministerial collaborations that we have in place as we seek to move forward. It’s certainly an active file and folks are very much absorbing the very thoughtful recommendations from the report and we’ll be asking Ontarians on Oct. 6 to be able to continue this important work.”

SOURCE: http://www.ammsa.com/publications/windspeaker/child-welfare-statistic-eye-opening-says-beaucage

NEW REPORT: Child welfare statistics eye-opening (Canada)

Windspeaker photo

Windspeaker

By Jennifer Ashawasegai Birchbark Writer  - TORONTO

Volume:  29  Issue:  6  Year:  2011

Ontario wants to improve its child welfare services for Aboriginal children. So, the Ontario Ministry of Children and Youth Services hired former Anishinabek Nation Grand Council John Beaucage as Aboriginal advisor to the minister of children and youth.

In his capacity as advisor, Beaucage wrote a report on Aboriginal child welfare in the province.

Beaucage said that through his research he found “more and more money is being spent on child and family services, but the success is not growing at all, and it really begs a different way of looking at things.”
He said his report addresses that and also serves as a tool to provide different ideas for the ministry and in respect to Aboriginal children.

The report is entitled: Children First, The Aboriginal Advisor’s Report on the status of Aboriginal Child Welfare in Ontario. Beaucage spent a lot of time speaking with community members, frontline workers and officials involved in child welfare in the province.
In the introduction of the report, Beaucage notes his surprise at the issues he came across during his research.
“I knew there were issues, but some of the data was eye opening: for one, there are a disproportionate number of Aboriginal children in the child welfare system.”
Data from the Statistics Canada 2006 Census indicates Aboriginal people make up about two per cent of the provincial population. But, Beaucage says, in the child welfare system, it’s estimated Aboriginal children make up 10 per cent of those in care, and some estimates are even higher at 20 per cent.
The system has many effects on Aboriginal children who end up in foster care.
“Children are being fostered out and in many instances to non-Native homes, and being taken out of their community, and so they’re losing touch with their family, culture, language and once again, it’s a process of assimilation, to assimilate a Native child into the greater society,” Beaucage said.
"That leaves holes in a person’s psyche. Young people are just losing touch.
“We saw it with the 60’s scoop, and also with residential schools that when the children are being taken away from their home environment, having their language torn away from them, and their culture torn away, there’s something that’s missing and they spend the rest of their lives looking for it.”
Because of that, Beacage said social issues arise from those situations, such as addictions.
The report includes a long list of recommendations to try to prevent social issues and loss of culture.
Beaucage strongly recommends culture as a base for Aboriginal children in care, and he says, “we should start seeing more Native people on the boards of Children’s Aid Societies and look at ways for Aboriginal organizations to take control of the child protection asset within their regions.”
There are 14 major recommendations in the report, from implementing Jordan’s Principle, to prevention strategies, to First Nation jurisdiction over child welfare matters and implementing customary care practices.
Laurel Broten, minster for Children and Youth Services in Ontario, has committed herself to bettering service to Aboriginal children and families. Broten supports the report from Beaucage, saying that the ministry has already made investments over the past year.
“In the child welfare sector, we’ve been ensuring that we are able to support the unique needs of Aboriginal children. We’ve provided $124 million to the six Aboriginal child welfare agencies in the province each year.”
To address the rate of Aboriginal children going into non-Native homes, Beaucage recommends that CAS use a different system of rating to utilize extended family customary care practices. “The rating system currently rates a household based upon an urban non-Native way of doing things, and it messes up the way things are done culturally. In the report, I suggest there be a totally different way of looking at a household and doing it by way of culture.”
Also included among the recommendations is a call for government to re-institute the band representative program to ensure families have a liaison between the courts and the CAS.
Urban families are not forgotten. Beaucage recommends that a task force for urban Aboriginal children be created to “review the state of Aboriginal children in care and off reserve and make specific recommendations on their best interests.”
It’s hoped the report will continue to gather steam, as an election is around the bend. Broten is also hoping for re-election in her Etobicoke-Lakeshore riding.
“The ministry is examining all of the recommendations and how it can build upon many of the inter-ministerial collaborations that we have in place as we seek to move forward. It’s certainly an active file and folks are very much absorbing the very thoughtful recommendations from the report and we’ll be asking Ontarians on Oct. 6 to be able to continue this important work.”

SOURCE: http://www.ammsa.com/publications/windspeaker/child-welfare-statistic-eye-opening-says-beaucage

NEW REPORT: Child welfare statistics eye-opening (Canada)

Windspeaker photo

Windspeaker

By Jennifer Ashawasegai Birchbark Writer  - TORONTO

Volume:  29  Issue:  6  Year:  2011

Ontario wants to improve its child welfare services for Aboriginal children. So, the Ontario Ministry of Children and Youth Services hired former Anishinabek Nation Grand Council John Beaucage as Aboriginal advisor to the minister of children and youth.

In his capacity as advisor, Beaucage wrote a report on Aboriginal child welfare in the province.

Beaucage said that through his research he found “more and more money is being spent on child and family services, but the success is not growing at all, and it really begs a different way of looking at things.”
He said his report addresses that and also serves as a tool to provide different ideas for the ministry and in respect to Aboriginal children.

The report is entitled: Children First, The Aboriginal Advisor’s Report on the status of Aboriginal Child Welfare in Ontario. Beaucage spent a lot of time speaking with community members, frontline workers and officials involved in child welfare in the province.
In the introduction of the report, Beaucage notes his surprise at the issues he came across during his research.
“I knew there were issues, but some of the data was eye opening: for one, there are a disproportionate number of Aboriginal children in the child welfare system.”
Data from the Statistics Canada 2006 Census indicates Aboriginal people make up about two per cent of the provincial population. But, Beaucage says, in the child welfare system, it’s estimated Aboriginal children make up 10 per cent of those in care, and some estimates are even higher at 20 per cent.
The system has many effects on Aboriginal children who end up in foster care.
“Children are being fostered out and in many instances to non-Native homes, and being taken out of their community, and so they’re losing touch with their family, culture, language and once again, it’s a process of assimilation, to assimilate a Native child into the greater society,” Beaucage said.
"That leaves holes in a person’s psyche. Young people are just losing touch.
“We saw it with the 60’s scoop, and also with residential schools that when the children are being taken away from their home environment, having their language torn away from them, and their culture torn away, there’s something that’s missing and they spend the rest of their lives looking for it.”
Because of that, Beacage said social issues arise from those situations, such as addictions.
The report includes a long list of recommendations to try to prevent social issues and loss of culture.
Beaucage strongly recommends culture as a base for Aboriginal children in care, and he says, “we should start seeing more Native people on the boards of Children’s Aid Societies and look at ways for Aboriginal organizations to take control of the child protection asset within their regions.”
There are 14 major recommendations in the report, from implementing Jordan’s Principle, to prevention strategies, to First Nation jurisdiction over child welfare matters and implementing customary care practices.
Laurel Broten, minster for Children and Youth Services in Ontario, has committed herself to bettering service to Aboriginal children and families. Broten supports the report from Beaucage, saying that the ministry has already made investments over the past year.
“In the child welfare sector, we’ve been ensuring that we are able to support the unique needs of Aboriginal children. We’ve provided $124 million to the six Aboriginal child welfare agencies in the province each year.”
To address the rate of Aboriginal children going into non-Native homes, Beaucage recommends that CAS use a different system of rating to utilize extended family customary care practices. “The rating system currently rates a household based upon an urban non-Native way of doing things, and it messes up the way things are done culturally. In the report, I suggest there be a totally different way of looking at a household and doing it by way of culture.”
Also included among the recommendations is a call for government to re-institute the band representative program to ensure families have a liaison between the courts and the CAS.
Urban families are not forgotten. Beaucage recommends that a task force for urban Aboriginal children be created to “review the state of Aboriginal children in care and off reserve and make specific recommendations on their best interests.”
It’s hoped the report will continue to gather steam, as an election is around the bend. Broten is also hoping for re-election in her Etobicoke-Lakeshore riding.
“The ministry is examining all of the recommendations and how it can build upon many of the inter-ministerial collaborations that we have in place as we seek to move forward. It’s certainly an active file and folks are very much absorbing the very thoughtful recommendations from the report and we’ll be asking Ontarians on Oct. 6 to be able to continue this important work.”

SOURCE: http://www.ammsa.com/publications/windspeaker/child-welfare-statistic-eye-opening-says-beaucage

NEW REPORT: Child welfare statistics eye-opening (Canada)

Windspeaker photo

Windspeaker

By Jennifer Ashawasegai Birchbark Writer  - TORONTO

Volume:  29  Issue:  6  Year:  2011

Ontario wants to improve its child welfare services for Aboriginal children. So, the Ontario Ministry of Children and Youth Services hired former Anishinabek Nation Grand Council John Beaucage as Aboriginal advisor to the minister of children and youth.

In his capacity as advisor, Beaucage wrote a report on Aboriginal child welfare in the province.

Beaucage said that through his research he found “more and more money is being spent on child and family services, but the success is not growing at all, and it really begs a different way of looking at things.”
He said his report addresses that and also serves as a tool to provide different ideas for the ministry and in respect to Aboriginal children.

The report is entitled: Children First, The Aboriginal Advisor’s Report on the status of Aboriginal Child Welfare in Ontario. Beaucage spent a lot of time speaking with community members, frontline workers and officials involved in child welfare in the province.
In the introduction of the report, Beaucage notes his surprise at the issues he came across during his research.
“I knew there were issues, but some of the data was eye opening: for one, there are a disproportionate number of Aboriginal children in the child welfare system.”
Data from the Statistics Canada 2006 Census indicates Aboriginal people make up about two per cent of the provincial population. But, Beaucage says, in the child welfare system, it’s estimated Aboriginal children make up 10 per cent of those in care, and some estimates are even higher at 20 per cent.
The system has many effects on Aboriginal children who end up in foster care.
“Children are being fostered out and in many instances to non-Native homes, and being taken out of their community, and so they’re losing touch with their family, culture, language and once again, it’s a process of assimilation, to assimilate a Native child into the greater society,” Beaucage said.
"That leaves holes in a person’s psyche. Young people are just losing touch.
“We saw it with the 60’s scoop, and also with residential schools that when the children are being taken away from their home environment, having their language torn away from them, and their culture torn away, there’s something that’s missing and they spend the rest of their lives looking for it.”
Because of that, Beacage said social issues arise from those situations, such as addictions.
The report includes a long list of recommendations to try to prevent social issues and loss of culture.
Beaucage strongly recommends culture as a base for Aboriginal children in care, and he says, “we should start seeing more Native people on the boards of Children’s Aid Societies and look at ways for Aboriginal organizations to take control of the child protection asset within their regions.”
There are 14 major recommendations in the report, from implementing Jordan’s Principle, to prevention strategies, to First Nation jurisdiction over child welfare matters and implementing customary care practices.
Laurel Broten, minster for Children and Youth Services in Ontario, has committed herself to bettering service to Aboriginal children and families. Broten supports the report from Beaucage, saying that the ministry has already made investments over the past year.
“In the child welfare sector, we’ve been ensuring that we are able to support the unique needs of Aboriginal children. We’ve provided $124 million to the six Aboriginal child welfare agencies in the province each year.”
To address the rate of Aboriginal children going into non-Native homes, Beaucage recommends that CAS use a different system of rating to utilize extended family customary care practices. “The rating system currently rates a household based upon an urban non-Native way of doing things, and it messes up the way things are done culturally. In the report, I suggest there be a totally different way of looking at a household and doing it by way of culture.”
Also included among the recommendations is a call for government to re-institute the band representative program to ensure families have a liaison between the courts and the CAS.
Urban families are not forgotten. Beaucage recommends that a task force for urban Aboriginal children be created to “review the state of Aboriginal children in care and off reserve and make specific recommendations on their best interests.”
It’s hoped the report will continue to gather steam, as an election is around the bend. Broten is also hoping for re-election in her Etobicoke-Lakeshore riding.
“The ministry is examining all of the recommendations and how it can build upon many of the inter-ministerial collaborations that we have in place as we seek to move forward. It’s certainly an active file and folks are very much absorbing the very thoughtful recommendations from the report and we’ll be asking Ontarians on Oct. 6 to be able to continue this important work.”

SOURCE: http://www.ammsa.com/publications/windspeaker/child-welfare-statistic-eye-opening-says-beaucage

NEW REPORT: Child welfare statistics eye-opening (Canada)

Windspeaker photo

Windspeaker

By Jennifer Ashawasegai Birchbark Writer  - TORONTO

Volume:  29  Issue:  6  Year:  2011

Ontario wants to improve its child welfare services for Aboriginal children. So, the Ontario Ministry of Children and Youth Services hired former Anishinabek Nation Grand Council John Beaucage as Aboriginal advisor to the minister of children and youth.

In his capacity as advisor, Beaucage wrote a report on Aboriginal child welfare in the province.

Beaucage said that through his research he found “more and more money is being spent on child and family services, but the success is not growing at all, and it really begs a different way of looking at things.”
He said his report addresses that and also serves as a tool to provide different ideas for the ministry and in respect to Aboriginal children.

The report is entitled: Children First, The Aboriginal Advisor’s Report on the status of Aboriginal Child Welfare in Ontario. Beaucage spent a lot of time speaking with community members, frontline workers and officials involved in child welfare in the province.
In the introduction of the report, Beaucage notes his surprise at the issues he came across during his research.
“I knew there were issues, but some of the data was eye opening: for one, there are a disproportionate number of Aboriginal children in the child welfare system.”
Data from the Statistics Canada 2006 Census indicates Aboriginal people make up about two per cent of the provincial population. But, Beaucage says, in the child welfare system, it’s estimated Aboriginal children make up 10 per cent of those in care, and some estimates are even higher at 20 per cent.
The system has many effects on Aboriginal children who end up in foster care.
“Children are being fostered out and in many instances to non-Native homes, and being taken out of their community, and so they’re losing touch with their family, culture, language and once again, it’s a process of assimilation, to assimilate a Native child into the greater society,” Beaucage said.
"That leaves holes in a person’s psyche. Young people are just losing touch.
“We saw it with the 60’s scoop, and also with residential schools that when the children are being taken away from their home environment, having their language torn away from them, and their culture torn away, there’s something that’s missing and they spend the rest of their lives looking for it.”
Because of that, Beacage said social issues arise from those situations, such as addictions.
The report includes a long list of recommendations to try to prevent social issues and loss of culture.
Beaucage strongly recommends culture as a base for Aboriginal children in care, and he says, “we should start seeing more Native people on the boards of Children’s Aid Societies and look at ways for Aboriginal organizations to take control of the child protection asset within their regions.”
There are 14 major recommendations in the report, from implementing Jordan’s Principle, to prevention strategies, to First Nation jurisdiction over child welfare matters and implementing customary care practices.
Laurel Broten, minster for Children and Youth Services in Ontario, has committed herself to bettering service to Aboriginal children and families. Broten supports the report from Beaucage, saying that the ministry has already made investments over the past year.
“In the child welfare sector, we’ve been ensuring that we are able to support the unique needs of Aboriginal children. We’ve provided $124 million to the six Aboriginal child welfare agencies in the province each year.”
To address the rate of Aboriginal children going into non-Native homes, Beaucage recommends that CAS use a different system of rating to utilize extended family customary care practices. “The rating system currently rates a household based upon an urban non-Native way of doing things, and it messes up the way things are done culturally. In the report, I suggest there be a totally different way of looking at a household and doing it by way of culture.”
Also included among the recommendations is a call for government to re-institute the band representative program to ensure families have a liaison between the courts and the CAS.
Urban families are not forgotten. Beaucage recommends that a task force for urban Aboriginal children be created to “review the state of Aboriginal children in care and off reserve and make specific recommendations on their best interests.”
It’s hoped the report will continue to gather steam, as an election is around the bend. Broten is also hoping for re-election in her Etobicoke-Lakeshore riding.
“The ministry is examining all of the recommendations and how it can build upon many of the inter-ministerial collaborations that we have in place as we seek to move forward. It’s certainly an active file and folks are very much absorbing the very thoughtful recommendations from the report and we’ll be asking Ontarians on Oct. 6 to be able to continue this important work.”

SOURCE: http://www.ammsa.com/publications/windspeaker/child-welfare-statistic-eye-opening-says-beaucage