A final report from the Ministry of Children and Family Development’s special advisor provides 85 recommendations to overhaul British Columbia’s Indigenous child welfare system and improve outcomes for Indigenous children and youth by changing focus from intervention and separation to strengthening families.

Grand Chief Edward John’s final report, Indigenous Resilience, Connectedness and Reunification – From Root Causes to Root Solutions, summarizes his activities and engagement over the past year and provides a detailed analysis of Indigenous child protection in B.C.

The report’s 85 recommendations are themed to focus on:
•reducing the need for Indigenous children and youth to come into care;
•increasing support services that help keep families together;
•enabling greater access to judicial services;
•creating a more equitable funding formula between the Province and the federal government;
•increasing early intervention services; and,
•specifically targeting more Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) staff within First Nations communities.

The recommendations are directed variously to MCFD, B.C.’s delegated Aboriginal agencies (DAAs), First Nations leadership and the federal government.

Christy Clark, Premier of British Columbia:

“I want to thank Grand Chief Ed John for his thoughtful, heartfelt, and comprehensive report. Right now, Indigenous children are 15 times more likely than others to be in foster care – that must change, and it will. Chief John’s recommendations mean systemic, wide-scale change, and a shift in thinking from intervention to protecting families. We can’t do it alone, and it can’t happen overnight, but it must happen. We are committed to working with our federal, provincial and First Nations partners to do what is necessary to give Indigenous families better supports and help create a brighter future for their kids.”

Note:

The 2016 BC Child Poverty Report Card will be released Thursday  by an independent group: First Call – BC Child and Youth Advocacy Coalition.