“Pathways in a Forest: Indigenous guidance on prevention-based child welfare” is a law reform report developed collaboratively by West Coast LEAF and the families, Elders and staff at Tillicum Lelum Aboriginal Friendship Centre, Lii Michif Otipemisiwak and the Fraser Region Aboriginal Friendship Centre Association. The report highlights efforts by Indigenous families, communities and Nations to revitalize Indigenous approaches to child welfare, develop comprehensive community-based supports and fight for self-determination.
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Recommendations for improving financial supports
Recommendation 14: The BC government should amend legislation to ensure that there is no reduction of benefits for families when a child is temporarily taken into care so that income supports and housing can be maintained while parents are working to bring their children home.-
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Recommendations for improving financial supports
Recommendation 17: MCFD must advocate with the provincial government for the creation of a universal kinship caregiver benefit that is provided to all families in kinship care. This should apply to all children living in kinship care including families in which kinship caregivers have been granted guardianship orders under the FLA.-
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Recommendations for improving prevention-based efforts
Recommendation 19: The BC government and MCFD should increase preventative program funding to Indigenous communities for existing or new promising practices. Funding must be equitable, sustained and long-term, and cover the delivery of holistic services as identified by communities. Funding should cover services such as:- Human resource needs of community-based groups including issues with retention, burn out, inequity in pay scales etc.
- In-home support
- Pregnancy support and baby welcoming programs
- Transition support programming for families after children have been removed or upon being returned home
- Supports for parents whose children are in care
- Provide in-home support immediately as a tool to prevent removal
- Funding for cultural programming that is consistent and frequent
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- Accessibility ,
- Accessible services and technology ,
- Classism ,
- Culture and language ,
- Decolonization and Indigenous rights ,
- Disability and parenting ,
- Discrimination and hate ,
- Economic inequality ,
- Education and employment ,
- Health, wellness and services ,
- Income insecurity and benefits ,
- Indigenous children and youth in care ,
- Poverty ,
- Poverty and economic inequality ,
- Public services ,
- Racism ,
- Sexism ,
- Workers’ rights
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Recommendations for improving prevention-based efforts
Recommendation 26: MCFD should work with community-based organizations to assess creative ways that social workers could be placed directly within community including mechanisms that would need to be put in place to ensure this does not undermine the relationship of trust between community and families (i.e this may include frontline workers focusing only on prevention and no apprehension).-
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Recommendations for improving advocacy for parents and Indigenous communities
Recommendation 28: The BC government and MCFD must ensure that each parent engaging with MCFD has access to a trained community-based support worker to help them navigate the child welfare process. Community-based support workers must be trained in collaborative, trauma-informed, and culturally safe practices.-
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