The national advisory committee for the FNCIS-2008, first developed in 2006, is in the process of transitioning into a national First Nations Child Welfare Research Committee (FNCWRC). This working group will bring together First Nations/Aboriginal child welfare practitioners, policy specialists and academics from across Canadian jurisdictions, to coordinate, facilitate sharing of, and to support First Nations child welfare research. It is currently the only forum that brings Aboriginal child welfare experts from across the country together for this purpose. The committee seeks to build on the knowledge and capacity build through collaboration on FNCIS-2008 in order to:
- Oversee the development and implementation of a national “First Nations Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect 2018 (FNIS-2018)”, which builds on the findings and experience of the FNCIS-2008 and honours the principles of Aboriginal Ownership of, Control over, Access to and Possession of research (OCAP principles) to the maximum extent possible.
- Facilitate national level sharing of information about policy and research relevant to First Nations child welfare.
- Support the development of new research on First Nations child welfare.
The following is a list of current committee members:
Nancy MacDonald
School of Social Work
Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia
Judy Levi
Richard Gray
Stephanie O’Brien
Cindy Blackstock
Kenn Richard
Tara Petti
Marlyn Bennett
University of Manitoba
H. Monty Montgomery
University of Regina (Saskatoon), Saskatchewan
Shelley Thomas Prokop
Randy McHugh
Rachelle Dallaire & Linda Lucas
Nico Trocmè & Vandna Sinha
McGill University, Quebec
Barbara Fallon
University of Toronto, Ontario
Bruce MacLaurin
University of Calgary, Alberta