Indigenous children in out-of-home care, by select provinces, Canada, 2011
Note:
* Foster Care, Group Home, Institution or Kinship
Source: CICH graphic created using data adapted from Sinha et al., 2011, p. 5; Trocmé et al., 2005, p.10. Article: Sinha, V. & Kozlowski, A. 2013. The Structure of Aboriginal Child Welfare in Canada. The International Indigenous Policy Journal, 4(2). http://ir.lib.uwo.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1127&context=iipj&sei-redir=1&referer=http%3A%2F%2Fscholar.google.ca%2Fscholar%3Fstart%3D50%26q%3Daboriginal%2Badoption%2Bin%2Bcanada%26hl%3Den%26as_sdt%3D0%2C5%26as_ylo%3D2007#search=%22aboriginal%20adoption%20canada%22-accessed August 21, 2017.
Indigenous children make up a small proportion of the total population of many provinces but a significant number of children in care of the child welfare system (e.g., in Foster Care, Group Home, Institution or Kinship care).
In Manitoba and Saskatchewan almost 25% of their total populations are Indigenous. However, Indigenous children account for over 80% of children in care of the child welfare system.
For British Columbia and Alberta the percentages are even more staggering. In Alberta only 9% of children are Indigenous but account for 59% of all children in care of the child welfare system and in BC, Indigenous children make up 8% of all children but account for 52% of all children in care of the child welfare system.
Implications
Indigenous children are over-represented in the child welfare system in Canada. They are more likely to be investigated because of suspected maltreatment and more than twice as likely to be placed in foster care compared to non-Indigenous children.1 In acknowledgement of the importance of children’s Indigenous heritage, child welfare policies have moved away from heavily relying on the adoption of Indigenous children into non-Indigenous families and towards greater control over the welfare of Indigenous children to their communities and placement of Indigenous children with extended family.1
1Trocmé, N., Knoke, D., & Blackstock, C. (2004). Pathways to the overrepresentation of Aboriginal children in Canada’s child welfare system. Social Service Review, Dec., 577-600.