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 ChildrenNon-Indigenous Children
Number of child maltreatment investigations45,918241,137
Incidence of child maltreatment investigations per 1,000 children15142.11
Type of Child Maltreatment Investigations in 2019 for First Nations (status and non-status) and Non-Indigenous Children
 First NationsNon-Indigenous
 Number of childrenRate per 1,000Number of childrenRate per 1,000
Maltreatment incident Investigation32,328106.31168,57029.44
Risk Investigation13,59044.6972,56712.67
Level of Substantiation in Child Maltreatment Investigations in 2019 for First Nations (status and non-status) and Non-Indigenous Children
 First NationsNon-Indigenous
 Number of childrenRate per 1,000Number of childrenRate per 1,000
Substantiated19,14362.9576,89913.43
Suspected2,1907.209,9951.75
Unfounded10,95036.0181,67614.26
Primary Categories of Substantiated Child Maltreatment Investigations in 2019 for First Nations (status and non-status) and Non-Indigenous Children
 First NationsNon-Indigenous
Category of MaltreatmentNumber of childrenRate per 1,000Number of childrenRate per 1,000
Physical Abuse1,5705.1614,4592.53
Sexual Abuse5871.932,1080.37
Neglect8,40027.6218,6003.25
Emotional Maltreatment1,7805.8510,9411.91
Exposure to Intimate Partner Violence6,80622.3830,7915.38
Placement in Child Maltreatment Investigations in 2019 for First Nations and Non-Indigenous Children
 First NationsNon-Indigenous
 Number of childrenRate per 1,000Number of childrenRate per 1,000

Informal Placement 

(Kinship Out of Care and Customary Care)

2,3657.784,7980.84
Kinship in Care1,5895.235450.10
Foster Care (Non-kinship)1,7755.842,6770.47
Group Home/Residential or Secure Treatment2070.687570.13
Other Placement (e.g., places of safety)2050.671530.03
Subtotal: Placement Made6,14120.208,9301.56
No Placement Made39,776130.81232,20740.55
Total Investigations45,917151.00241,13742.11

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
Equity Concerns in the Context of COVID-19: A Focus on First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Communities in Canada
Saint-Girons, Marie; Joh-Carnella, Nicolette; Lefebvre, Rachael; Blackstock, Cindy; Fallon, Barbara
 2020
A Long Wait for Change: Independent Review of Child Protection Services to Inuit Children in Newfoundland and Labrador
The Office of the Child and Youth Advocate Newfoundland and Labrador
 2019
The overrepresentation of First Nations children and families involved with child welfare: Findings from the Ontario incidence study of reported child abuse and neglect 2013
Ma, Jennifer; Fallon, Barbara; Richard, Kenn
 2019
Annual Report 2018/19 and Service Plan 2019/20 to 2021/22
British Columbia Representative for Children and Youth
 2019
Interrupted childhoods: Over-representation of Indigenous and Black children in Ontario child welfare
Ontario Human Rights Commission
 2018
14-Year-Old Lee Serious Injury: An Investigative Review
Office of the Child and Youth Advocate Alberta
 2018
17-Year-Old Susan: An Investigative Review
Office of the Child and Youth Advocate Alberta
 2018
Representative for Youth and Children: 2016-2017 Annual Report
Nunavut Representative for Children and Youth
 2018
Implementing the Baby One Program: a qualitative evaluation of family-centred child health promotion in remote Australian Aboriginal communities
Campbell, S., McCalman, J., Redman-MacLaren, M., Canuto, K., Vine, K., Sewter, J., & McDonald, M.;
 2018
Characteristics of Investigations Involving First Nations Children Compared to White Children in Ontario in 2013
Richard, Kenn; Ma, Jennifer; Fallon, Barbara
 2018
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

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Provincial

International