Indigenous group applauds proposed CFS changes

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This article was published 21/03/2023 (1084 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Manitoba government is making good strides toward reconciliation by introducing amendments to the Child and Family Services Act, the executive director of Dakota Tiwahe Services Inc. in Sioux Valley Dakota Nation says.

“They’re making changes that are going to be meaningful,” Carol McKay-Whitecloud told the Sun. “It’s really good to see that the province is recognizing that we are capable, and have been capable, of managing our own children and families.”

Sioux Valley, located 50 kilometres west of Brandon, marked the opening of Dakota Tiwahe Services, a Child and Family Services (CFS) organization under its own jurisdiction, in July 2022. As the Sun previously reported, legislation was introduced officially mandating the service as a CFS agency on July 4 of that same year.

The mandate, in accordance with the CFS Act of Manitoba, was an interim step for Sioux Valley to gain full jurisdiction over CFS for nation members. Under the mandate, Dakota Tiwahe Services has been providing CFS to Sioux Valley members and Dakota families both on- and off-reserve across Manitoba.

Last week, the province introduced amendments to several aspects of the CFS Act and other statues that would recognize the jurisdiction of Indigenous governments like Sioux Valley over this area of public service. For McKay-Whitecloud, it feels like the government is “finally” listening to feedback from Indigenous groups.

The proposed legislation would make changes to the provincial CFS system and provide more tools for provincial CFS agencies to preserve, sustain and restore families by focusing on Indigenous culture and community connection. The changes would also prioritize placements with family for all children, and allow new agreement-based supports to prevent children from coming into care in the first place, according to a news release the province sent out on March 14.

The legislation would also amend other provincial acts to support children who receive services under Indigenous CFS laws, including amendments related to health and education to ensure that caregivers have the ability to make decisions about important issues. Amendments would also be made to justice acts to enable Indigenous service providers to seek orders through the provincial court if they chose to do so.

The proposed amendments, Families Minister Rochelle Squires said on March 14, would be a significant step forward toward addressing the over-representation of Indigenous children and families in the child welfare system. They will also improve services for all families in need of CFS supports. Currently, the federal government reports that more than 53 per cent of children in foster care are Indigenous, but only account for 7.7 per cent of the child population in total.

“These amendments would adapt the provincial system to be responsive to new Indigenous CFS laws,” Squires stated in a press release sent out by the province.

On Friday, Squires told the Sun that the changes to legislation came out of the province’s engagement with its Indigenous advisory council over the course of many months. The main goal of the changes will be to move away from permanent placement of children that severs ties with their parents and their communities.

“When children are brought into care and are deemed to be permanent wards, we know that that is a very harmful initiative,” Squires said. “It really doesn’t support the goals of reunification.”

Under the new legislation, parents will have input into their child’s welfare and be involved whenever possible while they are in care, she added.

Indigenous children and families have been suffering from the effects of the CFS system and other aspects of colonialism, such as residential schools, for many years, McKay-Whitecloud said. The damages such policies made to family units are still playing out in real time today, she added.

Continuing to give jurisdiction of CFS to First Nations, and changes to legislation like the ones Squires announced, means things are finally headed in the right direction for Indigenous families, she said.

“It’s a matter of building upon and empowering our community members and creating those avenues for healing,” McKay-Whitecloud said. “It’s just a lot of damage control that has to be done.”

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