Fallon, B., Lefebvre, R., Trocmé, N., Richard, K., Hélie, S., Montgomery, M., Bennett, M., Joh-Carnella, N., Saint-Girons, M., Filippelli, J., MacLaurin, B., Black, T., Esposito, T., King, B., Collin-Vézina, D., Dallaire, R., Gray, R., Levi, J., Orr, M., Petti, T., Thomas Prokop, S., & Soop, S. (2021) Denouncing the Continued Overrepresentation of First Nations Children in Canadian Child Welfare: Findings from the First Nations/Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect-2019. Ontario: Assembly of First Nations.
The First Nations/Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (FN/CIS-2019) is a study of child welfare investigations involving First Nations and non-Indigenous children. It is the fourth national study to provide up-to-date estimates of child welfare investigations across Canada. The study is directed by the Assembly of First Nations with core funding from the Public Health Agency of Canada. Additional funding was provided by provincial governments in Ontario (OIS-2018) and Quebec (FN/EIQ-2019).
This report is a collaborative effort by the FN/CIS research team and the First Nations Advisory Committee to:
1. Continue to monitor national-level data on investigations involving First Nations children compared to non-Indigenous children as intended by the Truth & Reconciliation’s Calls to Action, including;
• Investigating the type and severity of maltreatment
• Documenting caregiver, household and child characteristics of families investigated
• Monitoring short-term investigation outcomes such as placement and reunification
2. Ensure the appropriate contextualization of findings.
3. Disseminate research results to First Nations communities.