• INAC's role is to fund or reimburse First Nations service providers and provinces for administrative and protection services (operating costs) and for the direct costs of placing children in temporary or permanent care of foster parents (maintenance costs).
  
  
• INAC does not deliver child and family services.
  
  
• All children are protected by provincial child welfare legislation. Child and family services are matters of provincial jurisdiction.
  
  
• Over the past twenty years, provincial child welfare authorities have delegated program delivery on reserve to a growing number of First Nations Child and Services agencies - there are 106

Twenty years ago, INAC funded 34 child welfare service providers on reserve.

However in the past twelve years alone, INAC has steadily increased funding to the provinces, Yukon and to more than 100 First Nations Child and Family Service agencies who are responsible under provincial or territorial law for the design and delivery of child protection services within their jurisdiction.

INAC funding to these service providers has more than doubled over the past decade, from $238 million in 1998-99 to approximately $550 million in 2008-09.

Funding in Nunavut and in the Northwest Territories is provided by the Department of Finance through transfer agreements with the territorial governments.

INAC funding for First Nation Child and Family Services over time
(Millions of dollars)

Despite a near doubling of the funding, the number of First Nations children in care had remained relatively stable over the last decade.

The reason for the growth in funding was that maintenance costs per child had more than doubled since 1998-99.

The increase in costs has been driven by: increases in the rates charged by the provinces; an increase in costs for, and the number of, special needs children in care; and greater reliance by agencies on institutional care.

Comparison of number of First Nations children in care and
maintenance costs per child over time

 

Provinces began to shift to a greater emphasis on enhanced prevention in their own approaches to child and family services.

In 2007, the federal government took action to help First Nations Child and Family Services Agencies improve outcomes. This included working with provinces to ensure best practices in prevention based services were brought to reserves, and broadening the tool kit of culturally appropriate services such as kinship care.

INAC's funding can now be used for kinship care, post-adoption subsidies and supports to better ensure permanent placements for children.

In 2007, INAC also started to roll out its new Enhanced Prevention Focused Approach on a province-by-province basis.

The first framework was with Alberta and Alberta First Nations. By September 2009, this program was underway in five provinces, providing funds to child protection authorities in PEI, Quebec, Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan and Alberta.

New investments announced in July 2010 will further extend this new approach in the province of Manitoba, extending the enhanced prevention model to reach more than two-thirds of First Nations' children who live on reserve.

Percentage of First Nations on-reserve population covered by
New Enhanced Prevention Focused Approach

On April 27, 2007, INAC announced the first tripartite accountability framework that allowed Canada to provide Alberta with an investment of $98.1 million over a five year period.

The "take up" was immediate. After the first year, all First Nations Child and Family Services agencies in Alberta had opted in.

Early indications from the province are there is a decrease in caseloads; an increase in families accessing family enhancement programming; and a rise in permanent placements of children.

INAC funding for First Nation Child and Family Services in Alberta
(Millions of dollars)

 

INAC continues to discuss implementation of the new approach with willing provincial and First Nations partners.

Under the six current frameworks (including Manitoba), more than $100 million per year will be dedicated to the new approach by 2012/13.

The goal is to have all provinces on board for the Enhanced Prevention Focused Approach by 2013.

Current and planned INAC funding under New Enhanced
Prevention Focused Approach

• First Nations Child and Family Service Agencies operate under provincial jurisdiction. INAC is not a service provider - it is a funder.
  
  
• Experiences of the previous decade had demonstrated that increased expenditures did not equate to improved outcomes for First Nations children and their families. In Child and Family Services, more spending may just reflect more children in care and a passive approach to delivery services.
  
  
• In 2007, INAC began to implement a new approach to funding Child and Family Services. This new enhanced approach provides a wider set of tools for Child and Family Services agencies, strong governance and better accountability at Child and Family Services Agencies.
  
  
• The Government of Canada has made investments in three successive Budgets to help First Nations Child and Family Service Agencies and provinces achieve this shift.

March 2007

Budget 2007 included funding for investments in a new approach to First Nations Child and Family Services. Budget 2007 also provided all families with over $17 billion in direct support through federal programs such as: the Universal Child Care Benefit, the Child Tax Credit, the Canada Child Tax Benefit, the Child Disability Benefit, maternity and parental benefits, and the Child Care Expense Deduction.

April 2007

INAC announced the first investment of $98.1 million over five years, to implement a Tripartite Accountability Framework on a new Enhanced Prevention Focused Approach to Child and Family Services with Alberta and First Nations in that province.

February 2008

Budget 2008 provided an additional $10 million over five years for Nova Scotia and $105 million over five years for Saskatchewan to move to the new Enhanced Prevention Focused approach.

July 2008

Funding and related Tripartite Accountability Frameworks are announced for Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan and respective First Nations in those provinces.

January 2009

Canada's Economic Action Plan included additional investments of $60 million over five years in Quebec and $1.7 million over five years in PEI to continue to move forward with implementing the new approach.

August 2009

Funding and related Tripartite Accountability Frameworks with Quebec and PEI were announced, expanding the new Enhanced Prevention Focused Approach to Child and Family Services to a total of five provinces, covering almost half (46%) of all First Nations children in Canada.

March 2010

Budget 2010 included a commitment of $53 million over two years to continue to make further progress on implementing a Prevention Focused Approach to Child and Family Services.

July 2010

A Tripartite Child and Family Services Framework is announced that will see $177 million over five years to implement the new Enhanced Prevention Focused Approach to Child and Family Services in Manitoba. The addition of Manitoba means that the enhanced prevention model now reaches about 68 per cent of First Nations' children who live on reserve.