English - Ontario Association of Children's Aid Societies

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4. To successfully protect First Nations, Métis and Inuit children in Ontario, meaningful collaboration is needed between Western and Indigenous worldviews. To work effectively with Aboriginal families will require that you work from a level of consciousness that allows you to consider an Indigenous worldview and recognize different options to protect children. 5. Understanding that an Indigenous worldview is as equally legitimate as a Western approach is an important concept to comprehend. Through colonization, the Western approach has been embedded not only in individuals but also in social institutions like child welfare agencies and has been crystalized as superior to other methodologies of critical thinking. Attitudinal change is essential and requires courage. This Practice Guide is committed to sharing ways of seeing and being that will support a new accountability and new ways of relating with Aboriginal peoples in Canada. In June 2008, Prime Minister Stephen Harper apologized to First Nations, Métis and Inuit people. In his apology he stated, The government now recognizes that the consequences of the Indian residential schools policy was profoundly negative and that this policy has had a lasting and damaging impact on Aboriginal culture . . . . While some former students have spoken positively about their experiences at residential schools, these stories are far overshadowed by tragic accounts of the emotional, physical and sexual abuse and neglect of helpless children, and their separation from powerless families and communities (Government of Canada, 2008). B. HOW THE PRACTICE GUIDE CAME INTO EXISTENCE The OACAS was funded by the Ontario Women’s Directorate to develop a Practice Guide for all child welfare professionals working with Aboriginal families experiencing family violence. The intent of the Practice Guide is to support the child welfare professionals that work in child welfare agencies (including several Aboriginal specific agencies) across Ontario. The Practice Guide responds to Recommendation CW4: Aboriginal Families, from the 2009 report from the Domestic Violence Advisory Council for the Minister Responsible for Women’s Issues entitled, Transforming our Communities. The process for developing this Practice Guide included: a) Establishing a steering committee comprised of First Nations, Métis and Inuit organizational representatives. The First Nations representatives included both on and off-reserve, and status and non-status. b) Hiring a writer who worked with the Steering Committee, conducted the focus groups, and prepared the Guide c) Conducting 11 focus groups: 12 > > Took place in Fort Frances, Hamilton, Ottawa, Sudbury, Thunder Bay, Toronto
Held five for service providers, including child welfare professionals > > Held five for family members who have been involved with CAS > > Held one session combining service providers and family members d) Conducting a literature review that focused on four subject areas: > > Inuit, Métis and First Nations approaches to child welfare > > Inuit, Métis and First Nations approaches to woman abuse > > Mainstream responses to woman abuse RECOMMENDATION CW 4 An Aboriginal stand-alone practice guide and accompanying training be developed for Child Welfare workers on a holistic approach to addressing domestic violence when children are involved. The training and guidelines be developed in conjunction with First Nations, Métis and Inuit organizations and incorporate First Nations, Métis and Inuit culture and practices appropriate to the region and family in protecting their children and supporting their families. - Domestic Violence Advisory Council, 2009 > > Ontario child welfare approaches and practices e) Conducting a feedback loop after the first draft of the Practice Guide f) Conducting a focus group of users to validate the Guide The Practice Guide is a stand-alone guide. Child welfare professionals are encouraged to take responsibility for their own learning and seek out more information about building relationships with Aboriginal women and families experiencing violence. The Practice Guide will be referenced through the OACAS Woman Abuse training curriculum. An OACAS provincial Aboriginal Advisory Committee has been developed to assess Aboriginal specific training needs for child welfare. C. THE PRINCIPLES THAT SHAPED THIS PRACTICE GUIDE The Steering Committee developed a set of principles to inform the writing of the work. The principles were intended to give a foundation to the Practice Guide and to provide you, the reader, with the perspective upon which this Practice Guide was developed. There are 13 principles: 1. The terms “Aboriginal peoples” and “First Nations, Métis and Inuit” are used interchangeably, except when a specific people is identified. When the term “Aboriginal peoples” is used, it is intended to include all Indigenous peoples of Ontario, wherever they live in Ontario and whatever their status may be (see Appendix A: Glossary of Terms). 2. The term “family violence” is used instead of “woman abuse.” “Family violence” recognizes that all forms of violence are not acceptable in Aboriginal families. The term also acknowledges that: 13
Page 1: WORKING WITH FIRST NATIONS, INUIT A
Page 4 and 5: SUPPORTING ABORIGINAL FAMILIES Than
Page 6 and 7: THE STEERING COMMITTEE Native Child
Page 8 and 9: 8 4 > STRENGTHENING YOUR PRACTICE /
Page 10 and 11: Child welfare professionals have a
Page 14 and 15: A range of violent behaviour can oc
Page 16 and 17: “The term ‘Aboriginal’ is off
Page 18 and 19: The Practice Guide is an invitation
Page 20 and 21: Clan family: This structure is base
Page 22 and 23: Family violence (witnessing and bei
Page 24 and 25: could live on the land and in the c
Page 26 and 27: The historical trauma of Aboriginal
Page 28 and 29: VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN Adapted from
Page 30 and 31: FAMILY VIOLENCE Family violence in
Page 32 and 33: General characteristics of lateral
Page 34 and 35: G. ATTACHMENT Culture has commonly
Page 36 and 37: In Indian country, we should probab
Page 38 and 39: Customary Care: Customary Care reco
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Page 43 and 44: 2 > FIRST NATION, INUIT AND MÉTIS
Page 45 and 46: First Nations people living outside
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Page 49 and 50: and meeting obligations to medicine
Page 51 and 52: C. THE INUIT In 2006, there were 2,
Page 53 and 54: population relates primarily to the
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Page 57 and 58: status as a result of marrying non-
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. . . if we go back to the origi
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Effectiveness of Healing Activities
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3 > UNDERSTANDING CHILD WELFARE AND
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and linguistic development, is a de
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The Medicine Wheel is an ancient sy
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Life Cycle Wheel training and teach
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1. Piliriqatigiinngniq — worki
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Traditionally, it was the women who
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The OACAS Practice Guide, Critical
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THE STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK TO END VIOL
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2. In order for development to occu
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Circles and involves the community
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A key tool that is often used to he
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Four Worlds International Institute
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A. HOW ABORIGINAL FAMILIES DESCRIBE
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Indigenous knowledge, including how
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“I felt judged by the workers. I
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The focus group participants gave t
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“When a CAS protection worker cam
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Offer as many interventions as poss
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The model below shows elements invo
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F. PRACTICE: ENGAGE OTHERS TO SUPPO
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What are the strengths of this fami
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The focus group participants made t
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“CAS was called in because the fa
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3. Focus group participants express
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Some of the training provided to re
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SOURCES Ajunnginiq Centre, National
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A. WHAT DOES “ABORIGINAL COMMUNIT
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Organizational change within CAS in
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ESTABLISH A COMMITTEE OF CHILD WELF
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“Our organization has agreements
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AHWS Healing Continuum Aboriginal H
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SOURCES Aboriginal Healing and Well
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A. WHAT DOES ADVOCACY MEAN Child we
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community initiatives, conducted re
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To download a copy of Children Firs
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3. What interventions are offered t
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and ongoing needs with the resource
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A. A PROCESS OF RECONCILIATION In 1
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S O U R C E S Blackstock, C., Cross
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ONTARIO ABORIGINAL ORGANIZATIONS Ch
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APPENDIX A GLOSSARY Unless specific
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emaining within Canada. All 10 prem
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APPENDIX B SAFETY PLANNING FOR WOME
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APPENDIX C SAFETY PLANNING FOR THE
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flag situations arise from rigid ex
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REFERENCES 2-Sprited People of the
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Castellano, M.B., Archibald, L., &
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Hudson, P. & McKenzie, B. (2003). E
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Ontario Association of Children’s
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Teillet, J. (2010). Métis law in C
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English - Ontario Association of Children's Aid Societies

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