Indigenous child welfare

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.

Statistics

The estimates presented here are from the 2019 national study that collected investigation data from a large number of First Nations and urban Indigenous agencies. All results must be interpreted with caution.

Interpretations must take into account the context and structure of First Nations child welfare. 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 (Fallon et al., 2021) for a contextualized summary of the findings. The data presented here are weighted estimates; for information regarding the FN/CIS weighting procedure see the executive summary and appendices.

Child Maltreatment Investigations, First Nations (status and non-status) and Non-Indigenous Children
	First Nations Children	Non-Indigenous Children
Number of child maltreatment investigations	45,918	241,137
Incidence of child maltreatment investigations per 1,000 children	151	42.11

Type of Child Maltreatment Investigations in 2019 for First Nations (status and non-status) and Non-Indigenous Children
	First Nations		Non-Indigenous
	Number of children	Rate per 1,000	Number of children	Rate per 1,000
Maltreatment incident Investigation	32,328	106.31	168,570	29.44
Risk Investigation	13,590	44.69	72,567	12.67

Level of Substantiation in Child Maltreatment Investigations in 2019 for First Nations (status and non-status) and Non-Indigenous Children
	First Nations		Non-Indigenous
	Number of children	Rate per 1,000	Number of children	Rate per 1,000
Substantiated	19,143	62.95	76,899	13.43
Suspected	2,190	7.20	9,995	1.75
Unfounded	10,950	36.01	81,676	14.26

Primary Categories of Substantiated Child Maltreatment Investigations in 2019 for First Nations (status and non-status) and Non-Indigenous Children
	First Nations		Non-Indigenous
Category of Maltreatment	Number of children	Rate per 1,000	Number of children	Rate per 1,000
Physical Abuse	1,570	5.16	14,459	2.53
Sexual Abuse	587	1.93	2,108	0.37
Neglect	8,400	27.62	18,600	3.25
Emotional Maltreatment	1,780	5.85	10,941	1.91
Exposure to Intimate Partner Violence	6,806	22.38	30,791	5.38

Placement in Child Maltreatment Investigations in 2019 for First Nations and Non-Indigenous Children
	First Nations		Non-Indigenous
	Number of children	Rate per 1,000	Number of children	Rate per 1,000
Informal Placement (Kinship Out of Care and Customary Care)	2,365	7.78	4,798	0.84
Kinship in Care	1,589	5.23	545	0.10
Foster Care (Non-kinship)	1,775	5.84	2,677	0.47
Group Home/Residential or Secure Treatment	207	0.68	757	0.13
Other Placement (e.g., places of safety)	205	0.67	153	0.03
Subtotal: Placement Made	6,141	20.20	8,930	1.56
No Placement Made	39,776	130.81	232,207	40.55
Total Investigations	45,917	151.00	241,137	42.11

References

* Source: 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.

Publications

Title	Year
Information Sheet Balancing Immediate Protection and Long-Term Well-Being	2025
Journal article Clash Actions: Indigenous Peoples’ Human Rights and Class Actions	2025
Information Sheet Federal Court Decision on Jordan’s Principle: Cully v. Canada Information Sheet	2025
Report Implementation and Impact of the First Nations and Family Services Program and Principle in First Nations Communities in Quebec. Summary Report of the Situation in 2023-2024	2025
Information Sheet Legislation, Regulation and Soft Law	2025
Information Sheet Supreme Court of Canada’s Reference re An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families: What Indigenous Peoples and Governments Need to Know	2025
Information Sheet The impact of changes in Jordan’s Principle funding on prevention programs and child and family services	2025
Information Sheet What is Child Sexual Abuse?	2025
Information Sheet What is Children’s Exposure to Intimate Partner Violence?	2025
Information Sheet What is Emotional Maltreatment?	2025

Legislation

In Canada, most child welfare services fall under the jurisdiction of provincial and territorial authorities; each province and territory has its own legislation regulating child welfare interventions and services.

On January 1, 2020, the federal Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families (also known as Bill C‐92) came into effect giving First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities the authority to make their own child and family services laws. In 2025, the Supreme Court of Canada affirmed that the Act was constitutionally valid, affirming the inherent right of Indigenous self-government for child and family services.

Links

Indigenous child welfare

References

National

Provincial

International