WINNIPEG — The province says it wants indigenous children in Child and Family Services to be placed in indigenous foster homes.
The goal is to keep kids in need of care safe while maintaining their cultural ties.
The changes to the Family Services Act was made Wednesday but the new legislation announcement is a little premature since the province has yet to meet with indigenous communities and leaders to determine what customary care would look like for each of them.
The details of the legislation are vague.
The proposed legislation would focus on prevention and supports to prevent children from coming into care in the first place. But what exactly would be done is unclear.
Parents would maintain guardianship of their children in customary care arrangements and CFS would work with families to heal and reunite them with their children.
The changes come from recommendations made in the Phoenix Sinclair Inquiry report by Commissioner Ted Hughes in 2013.
In the report Hughes stated, “over the long term, prevention strategies, such as family support workers, and participation by other governmental and community agencies and organizations will reduce the burden on the child welfare system.”
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