Proposed legislative changes aimed to improve Indigenous child welfare

Proposed legislation change by The Ministry of Children and Family Development(MCFD) could see improvements to Indigenous child welfare.

The current legislation only allows for the MCFD to reach out to a child’s Indigenous community with the parent’s consent or to ensure the child’s safety and well-being.

This creates challenges for social workers and Indigenous communities to find alternatives to removing children from their home or to plan for ongoing care and connection to their culture and community.

“Our government believes that Indigenous children should have every opportunity to live and thrive and grow in their home community, surrounded by their language and culture,” said Scott Fraser, Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation. “This legislation ensures that the rights and needs of Indigenous communities are recognized and that children’s rights and connections to family are core to reconciliation.”

If approved, more information will be shared by MCFD with Indigenous communities from the start to keep children from coming into care, while also allowing opportunities to work collaboratively on planning and caring for indigenous children.

Currently, Indigenous children account for 63% of the total number of children in the care of MCFD, while less than 10% of the child population in BC is Indigenous.