Hand-in-hand : Review of First Nations child welfare in New Brunswick

The Province must also support service delivery by sharing its information management and case management tools; by supporting the roll-out and maintenance of payroll services and information systems to the new First Nations Child and Family Services Office and its agencies; and by helping regional Department of Social Development offices and First Nations agencies to work collaboratively, share t [...] Of course, there is still a lot of blame to go around (an oppressive colonial past, the generational impacts of residential schools and the Sixties 10 Scoop, the roles of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC), the Governments of New Brunswick and Canada and the First Nations Chiefs and Councils) but encouragingly the discussions focused most often on moving past blame and taking ownership of s [...] The focus of the terms of reference was on child welfare service delivery in First Nations communities, which includes the child welfare system, its governance model, practice standards and protocols, clinical supervision and auditing systems, case management systems and training, and how to improve all of the above in light of the pressing needs of First Nations children. [...] In 1876, the Indian Act formalized the various existing treaties and proclamations that pertained to First Nations people and became the legislation that outlined the fiduciary responsibility of the federal government for First Nations. [...] Under this master Tripartite Agreement, the federal government was financial responsible for First Nations child welfare services, the provincial government had a legislative responsibility to ensure that the Bands met the legal requirements of the Child and Family Services and Family Relations Act, and the First Nations were responsible for the delivery of child and family services.