1. Presented to Chuck Stral, Minister of Indian Affairs
Funding Crisis:
Aboriginal Child Welfare
By: Joel Cowan, Heather Cox-Gurdon, Eloise Daff,
Crissy Payne, and Anthony Turco

2. Background
How did we get here?
Colonization
Residential Schools
60’s Scoop

3. What does it look like today?
Less than 5% of children in Canada are Aboriginal yet Aboriginal Children comprise
approximately 40% of the total number of children in care

4. Abuse is not the cause
Symptom not the cause
Aboriginal children do not come into care because of
abuse
Neglect- referring to situations of poverty, inadequate
housing and substance misuse

5. Despite the over-representation of First Nations
children in child welfare - they have less access to
resources than non-Aboriginal children
Aboriginal children are removed at twice the rate of
their non-Aboriginal peers and child functioning
differences between the populations cannot explain
this
First Nations children are placed in child welfare at
three times the rate

6. Rationale
Importance of Issue and Our Demands
UN Convention on the Rights of Children
Responsibility of Government(s)
Loopholes and necessary action

7. What needs to be done
Increase funding for proactive and preventative child
welfare practices specifically for Aboriginal children,
also known as “least disruptive measures”
Increase federal funding for Nations Child and Family
Service agencies (these agencies currently receive 22%
less funding than their provincially funded, non-
Aboriginal-specific counterparts)

8. Guiding values
Self-determination
Culture and Language
Holistic Approach
Structural Interventions
Non-Discrimination
Accountability

9. Four Phases of Reconciliation
Resiliency in Action

10. Discussion!!!
Thanks for your time!
Questions, comments, concerns?