Cultural supports key to reducing Manitoba’s exceptionally high child apprehension rates: study

Half of all First Nations parents in Manitoba have had a file on them opened by the province’s Child and Family Services agency, according to a new study.

“Our research shows devastating and detrimental harm by CFS to First Nations families and communities over the past 20 years that is broad and extensive,” said study lead Kathleen Kenny, a postdoctoral fellow in community health sciences at the Max Rady College of Medicine at the University of Manitoba.

She noted that 27 per cent of all First Nations birthing parents experienced the removal of one or more of their children: a rate nearly six times higher than of non-First Nations parents.

First Nations parents were also more than five times as likely to have their parental rights terminated by the state than non-First Nations parents. 

“The scale and scope of disruption by this system should be considered in remedies to mitigate its long-term impacts on First Nations families and support healing,” Kenny said.

The retrospective population-based study, the result of a partnership between the university and the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, made several recommendations, including increased government investment in First Nations-led preventative supports and holistic wellness for parents at risk of contact with child protective services.

Community-based spaces the solution

The study’s authors suggest establishing community-based, supportive spaces outside of child protective service agencies where families in crisis could be referred to as a first-line strategy to keep families intact.

“This system was never built for us. It does not reflect who we are, how we care for each other, or what our children need. Every child removed from their family and Nation is a tragedy,” said Grand Chief Kyra Wilson.

“When half of all First Nations birthing parents have an open CFS file, that is not protection; it is systemic oppression. Forcing our families into colonial frameworks is a violation of our rights and our sovereignty.”

The report stresses the need to preserve family and cultural bonds by recognizing and supporting First Nations-led customary systems of care and reunification homes, allowing parents and children to reside together with support.

It also calls on government to maintain social assistance and parental benefit payments, along with public housing accommodations, when a child is taken into temporary custody so that parental reunification can be more easily facilitated.

“We need more First Nations-specific research like this to support First Nations as they move away from colonial provincial structures toward systems grounded in our own laws, jurisdiction, and sacred responsibilities to our children,” Wilson said.