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Study finds half of First Nations birthing parents experience interventions by child and family services

A joint study by the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs' (AMC) and researchers from the University of Manitoba reveals that First Nations birthing parents in Manitoba experience significantly higher rates of contact with Child and Family Services (CFS) compared to non-First Nations birthing parents.

The study was last week in the international journal BMC Public Health. The researchers analyzed de-identified (anonymous) government health and social service data that is stored in the Population Research Data Repository at UM's Manitoba Center for Health Policy.

They studied the 20-year period from 1998 to 2019, tracking data for more than 13,000 First Nations birthing parents and more than 106,700 non-First Nations birthing parents who had their first child between those years.

The results revealed that First Nations parents experienced extremely high rates of CFS contact in the 20-year study window:

• 50% of all First Nations birthing parents had an open CFS file (a rate nearly four times higher than non-First Nations parents)
• 27% of all First Nations birthing parents experienced removal of one or more of their children (a rate nearly six times higher than non-First Nations parents)
• 10% of all First Nations birthing parents experienced termination of parental rights of one or more of their children (a rate more than five times higher than non-First Nations parents)

"There has been no previous study in Manitoba or elsewhere that has estimated population-level rates of CFS contact among parents," said Dr. Kathleen Kenny, a postdoctoral fellow in community health sciences at the Max Rady College of Medicine, who led the study.

"Our research shows devastating levels of disruption and harm by CFS to First Nations families and communities over the past 20 years that is broad and extensive."

She said the reach and scope of interventions by this system should be considered in remedies to mitigate their long-term impacts on First Nations families and support healing.

"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. It breaks the sacred and spiritual bonds, severs connection to land, and inflicts lasting harm on our Nations.

"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," said AMC Grand Chief Kyra Wilson.

The researchers' joint recommendations include:

• Keep families together: Preserve family and cultural bonds, such as First Nations-led customary systems of care and reunification homes that allow parents and children to reside together with support.
• For First Nations families who have experienced the harms of family separation, adequate funding is needed to support First Nations-led, culturally based models that ensure long-term wellness for parents.
• Maintain the full government social assistance/welfare parental benefit and public housing unit for the parent following a child being taken into temporary custody so that parents are better supported to bring children home and prevent further family breakdown.
• Invest in First Nations-led preventative supports and the resurgence of holistic wellness for First Nations parents at risk of contact with child protective services, including the establishment of community-based, supportive spaces outside of child protective service agencies where families in crisis can be referred as a first-line strategy to strengthen and keep families intact.

"As a participant in this important research, I know firsthand the power of data to tell the truth about what our families have endured. I applaud Dr. Kenny and the University of Manitoba for working in true partnership with the AMC to expose the systemic harms of child welfare and support our Nations' healing and sovereignty.

"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," concluded Wilson.