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ISBN (Print) :978-1-77368-138-2 | ISBN (Online) :978-1-77368-137-5

Indigenous Children and the Child Welfare System in Canada

September 2017

This fact sheet is contextualized by the specific Calls to Action on child welfare, set out by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. It begins by reviewing the historical context in which First Nations, Inuit and Metis children were removed from their communities and families, including the Indian Residential School system and the "Sixties Scoop". It then turns to an overview of the current Indigenous child welfare framework in Canada. Included in this are funding and legislation arrangements, child welfare models (with specific examples from provincial/territorial, delegated, integrated, band by-laws, tripartite, self-governed and tripartite models), and various types of child welfare agencies across the country serving Indigenous children and families, including services to Indigenous Peoples residing on and off reserve. The fact sheet concludes by stating that reforms to Indigenous child welfare are the first priority in Canada’s journey towards reconciliation.


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