Infant rates of child protective services contact and termination of parental rights by first nations status from 1998 to 2019: An example of intergenerational transmission of colonial harm
As a co-founder and board member of Fearless R2W Inc, a non profit that supports families impacted by Manitoba’s child welfare system, we get to engage in various strategies to improve the lives of families by engaging with solutions and identifying areas that need our collective attention. One of these educational partnerships has been through research with Dr Kathleen Kenny who has compiled data around First Nations infant contact with CFS and the so called “termination” of parental rights that happens much too often in Manitoba. The report identifies through data how disproportionate First Nations kids and families are impacted by the child welfare system and asks us to take actions to ensure that kids and families can stay together and have their basic needs met. Thank you to Dr Kenny and to Fearless R2W and the many organizations in the community, in academia and other systems who are working with us to shine a light on challenges and identify a good way forward for families.
Please read the report and reflect on some of the ways you may be able to use your influence to take action and reduce the number of kids in care, support parents to bring the children home and support the young adults who are aging out of the system today.
Infant rates of child protective services contact and termination of parental rights by first nations status from 1998 to 2019: An example of intergenerational transmission of colonial harm
Objective
Rates of child removal by child protective services (CPS) in Manitoba are the highest in Canada with a profoundly disproportionate impact on First Nations families. Despite infants constituting the highest proportion of children affected, no research has examined population-level rates of infant contact with CPS.
Objective
We examined the incidence of infant contact with different levels of CPS, including termination of parental rights (TPR), according to First Nations status.
Conclusions
CPS contact was exceptionally high among First Nations infants compared to other infants, with early-stage contact accelerating most dramatically over time. Findings support calls to greatly reduce the disruption of system contact in the lives of First Nations families.
