English - Ontario Association of Children's Aid Societies

A Human Rights Tribunal was ordered in October of 2008. A year later, Chair Shirish
Chotalia was appointed. In January of 2010, Chair Chotalia heard the federal
government’s motion to dismiss the case based on the premise that the government
provides funding only, not direct child welfare services, to Aboriginal children and
youth. The hearing on the motion to dismiss was held in Ottawa on June 2 and 3, 2010.
Nearly a year later, the Human Rights complaint was dismissed on March 14, 2011 by
Chair Chotalia based on the federal government’s submission that they provide
funding, but no direct services. The AFN and FNCFCSC have begun appealing the
decision in June, 2011, with the support of Amnesty International and the Chiefs of
Ontario.
D. SYSTEMIC ISSUES THAT NEED TO BE ADDRESSED AND IMPACT ON
CURRENT PRACTICE
The issues identified below are systemic challenges, and progress in these areas would
require systemic and institutional change. One of the methods
suggested by the Aboriginal community to address these
systemic issues is to support the devolution of services so that
Aboriginal peoples can address these issues directly.
THE RISK MANAGEMENT APPROACH
Child welfare policies and risk assessment tools are often
developed based on the worst case scenario of the death of
a child in care, as published in the Paediatric Death Review
Committee or Domestic Violence Death Review Committee
annual reports. The risk assessment models need to be
reviewed and risk be understood differently. Short-term risk
may be averted by removing children from the home, but
what is the long-term risk of separated children from their
family, culture, identity and community What are the longterm
consequences of this cultural separation Is racism not
another form of violence Child welfare organizations will
need to work hard at ensuring there are no long-term unintended
consequences of benevolent practices that are experienced as racism.
The OACAS supports, in principle,
the devolution of services to First
Nations and Aboriginal children by
First Nations agencies in the province.
OACAS works with the Aboriginal and
Native Child and Family Services
Association of Ontario (ANCFSAO) to
address specific Aboriginal issues and
needs, including cultural training, joint
projects and devolution of services
from child welfare agencies to
Aboriginal agencies for First Nations
children.
CHANGING CHILD WELFARE PRACTICES
When next reviewing the legislation, Eligibility Spectrum, Standards and Differential
Response Model, each stage of the family’s care needs to be rethought from a
cultural context:
1. How do Aboriginal families get noticed by CAS In most cases, a referral is
received from community members. In other cases the referral is based on
lateral violence or family violence.
2. How is the risk in Aboriginal families assessed What is the worldview and
the risk measurements that are used to assess families Are they
culturally appropriate/culturally safe Can risk be managed by the family or
community if the situation is assessed lower on the risk management scale
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