News & Events
CFS satistics opposite for Aboriginal & non-Aboriginal peoples
August 24, 2009
Why has the number of non-Aboriginal children in CFS care declined during the last year while the number of Aboriginal children has risen by 10 per cent?
And, why is the system moving in the right direction for non-Aboriginal Manitobans but moving backwards for Aboriginal peoples, especially for families covered by Southern First Nations Child and Family Services.
The numbers are shocking for Southern CFS, which takes in most First Nations as well as urban agencies that care for First Nations children. There are 600 more children in care than a year ago, a 17% increase.
Actually Southern First Nation Child and Family services accounted for more than three quarters of the 791 children added to the list of those in care.
Clearly the current CFS system and approach to management is not working for First Nations children and families. The federal government, the province, and First Nations' organizations such as SCO must all address this issue.
The biggest problem is the CFS system, which is still under the direction of the province. Severe shortages in federal government funding are also a major factor, but neither the system nor the shortage of federal funding explains the full extent of problems at the Southern Authority. Otherwise the climb in numbers at the Southern First Nations wouldn't be more significantly severe than elsewhere.
Another factor has to be the decisions of workers, who are ultimately under the control of management, which in turn is ultimately responsible to the province.
I don't blame the individual workers. The tone and direction for every type of service and business is set by the few people working closest to the top. When things turn out wrong those people should take the blame.
If Family Services Minister Gord McIntosh doesn't like the goals set for him by Premier Gary Doer and the provincial cabinet, he should resign. The same should apply to the head of Southern CFS, which ultimately reports to McIntosh. We shouldn't blame the individual workers for problems with the system. Every occupation has the odd worker who is not up to par, but that never explains widespread problems in a system.
For example, I have never agreed with the comment that a few bad apples are responsible for widespread corruption and brutality on a police force. When things go in the wrong direction, there is more to the problem than just a few renegade cops. Similarly when trends turn favorable, the Chief of Police and his top people deserve credit.
When things keep getting worse, this usually indicates that the people responsible for management and policy have failed in some way. Maybe their ideas were wrong or they lacked competence or communicated poorly or couldn't change the things that needed to be changed, or whatever. Regardless of the reason, the point remains the same - there needs to be are change.
The change for CFS in southern Manitoba must be two-fold. There must be a change in management and philosophy.
First of all, Gord McIntosh should not be the final authority. Neither he, nor any other representative of the province should be overseeing First Nations CFS. Our system must be guided by a new philosophy the lets First Nations people determine what their system will be like.
I once quipped that "You make 'em and we'll take 'em," should be on the logo of CFS. The comment drew quite a few laughs but I was only half-joking. There is a lot of truth in that statement. Indeed, the approach seems to b e one of apprehend, apprehend, apprehend!
The report on the new CFS statistics, published in the Winnipeg Free Press earlier this month quoted a provincial CFS official stating that the First Nations increase may be the result of agencies and workers becoming extra cautious in order to avoid any tragic situations.
It is true that there have been tragic episodes in the past, including many before the mandate was transferred provincial to Aboriginal agencies (those problem were never reported as zealously as those involving First Nations workers and agencies). However, we need solutions other than the police-like approach of tearing apart families and keeping children separated from their mothers.
Sure, there are times when there is no alternative to apprehension, but the approach where large numbers of children are put into the permanent custody of CFS has to stop. This is an extension of the thinking that led to the wholesale stocking of Indian residential schools "for their own good."
This mentality where outsiders - governments, churches, etc. - break up families must end. It is foolish to think that tinkering with systems will be enough. The non-Aboriginal approach to CFS can't be reformed, it must be replaced.
Every week I am being contacted by women complaining about over-zealous apprehension of children and reluctance to reunite mothers and fathers with children after the personal problems that led to apprehension had been successfully addressed.
The system in place now for Southern CFS has become extra cautious, responding to pressures from the province and the non-Aboriginal media where the avenging angels of the Winnipeg Free Press are perched, ready to swoop down if they spy anything that could be interpreted as First Nations mismanagement.
We must keep our priorities in the right order. That means putting our families and our children first, not worrying about the judgement of the Free Press columnists or Gord McIntosh or some authority figure.
Our people need to make a plea to our families and the women to make a stand for reform and to concentrate on building strong families and the use of parenting skills and prevention measures.
Grand Chief Morris J. Swan Shannacappo
Southern Chiefs ' Organization