First Nations, Métis and Inuit children are vastly overrepresented in Canada’s child welfare system. The First Nations/Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect-2019 found that First Nations children were 3.6 times more likely to be investigated by child welfare authorities and 17.2 times more likely to be placed in out of home care.  According to the 2021 Canadian Census Indigenous children accounted for 7.7% of all children under age 15 in the general population, but 53.8% of children in foster care.

Because of this dramatic overrepresentation, most Canadian child welfare studies include large numbers of First Nations, Métis and Inuit children. However, in many of these studies, data about First Nations, Métis and Inuit children are not separately analysed and are therefore catalogued in the general Canadian Research section of the CWRP website. In contrast, the Indigenous child welfare research section of CWRP focuses on research where data about First Nations, Métis or Inuit children are analysed and presented.

Research about First Nations, Métis or Inuit children involved with child welfare should follow the principles of ownership, control, access and possession (OCAP^®).  Many, but not all, of the studies included in this section were conducted by or with Indigenous scholars or in collaboration with Indigenous organizations.