How underfunding of First Nations child welfare has harmed local kids, parents, caregivers
Less funding has meant delays in unifying children with and their families
The decades-long underfunding of First Nations child welfare systems finally is starting to be acknowledged and addressed, a move some say will help impacted children, parents and caregivers locally.
In southwestern Ontario, Mnaasged Child and Family Services serves several First Nations communities, including Chippewas of the Thames, Kettle and Stoney Point, Munsee-Delaware and Oneida Nation of the Thames.
Funding shortfalls have meant the agency has less staff than non-Indigenous organizations, and less programming to help re-unify kids with families, said Michael George, Mnaasged's executive director.
"The reasons children go into care are generally not related to the children," he said. "They're related to the capacity of the parent."
Earlier this week, the federal government said unveiled a $40-billion agreement to compensate kids and families harmed by the chronic underfunding in the First Nations child welfare system. Ottawa also vowed to bring in long-term reform.
The deal would pay $20 billion to kids on reserves who were unnecessarily removed from their homes between April 1, 1991 and March 31, 2022.
First Nations communities face the same issues that all communities face with dependencies to things like opioids, George said, but there are additional struggles faced by Indigenous people. .
After Mnaasged pays for staff to run programs and pays for rent, it doesn't have much money left over to help address issues such as addiction, family violence, or mental health counselling, George said.
"When a family is experiencing some crisis and there's no programs available, there's no help available to them."
This, in turn, can delay the reunification process for the child and their family.
George said he hopes this week's announcement will help fund such program.s
'Cautious optimism'
George said that he feels "cautious optimism" about the news of the agreement-in-principle.
"It's never really a sure thing until it's actually in play," he said. "I very much like the direction that the negotiations were going. It will be very interesting to see what the final details of the agreement look like."
The next step is to come up with a final agreement in the coming months based on the agreement-in-principle, sorting out the details surrounding the First Nations Child and Family Services program reform and the compensation packages.
This agreement came out of talks with the federal government and the Chiefs of Ontario, the Assembly of First Nations, the Nishnawbe Aski Nation, counsel for the Moushoom and Trout class actions, and the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society.
"We can begin to address the systemic racism and discrimination and the barriers faced by First Nations families and children for many generations," said Grand Chief Joel Abram of the Association Of Iroquois and Allied Indians. He was one of the lead political negotiators for Ontario on the matter.
"It's not perfect, but it's a good start," Abram said.