Culturally appropriate foster care for Indigenous children coming
On National Indigenous Peoples Day, a day that celebrates First Nations culture, there was a major announcement for Indigenous children and youth in Southwestern Ontario.
The Muncey-based Mnaasged Alternative Care program has secured a foster care license.
It means Indigenous children in the foster system can now find love and care in culturally appropriate environments, no longer solely under the care of the Children's Aid Society (CAS).
“The system is old, the framework just doesn’t work, and it’s not appropriate for Indigenous children and youth,” said Melissa Patriquin, Mnaasged’s director of Child and Family Services.
The agency will now take direct referrals from the CAS, and will work to match Indigenous children from First Nations communities across southern Ontario with caring foster families.
Currently, there are more than 100 Indigenous children in the catchment area that would benefit from the services of the agency.
Patriqin says the goal is to bring them closer to their cultural identity.
“I don’t think that there’s any Indigenous person who hasn’t been affected in some way, shape, or form by the inter-generational effects of residential schools, the '60s Scoop, child welfare. Indigenous people are so over-represented in the child welfare system right now.”
The agency also has a new headquarters on the Muncey reserve west of London. It’s equipped with various amenities like a healing lodge, arbour centres for ceremonies, and a playground.
It will also serve as an administrative and cultural hub for the agency, said Executive Director Mike George.
“This is a really significant piece for us because it helps us repatriate some of the children who were placed in non-Indigenous families. It will help us repartriate them back to their communities, and provide that additional connection to their communities, their elders, their clans, and their culture.”
Mnaasged is actively seeking foster families. Alternative care supervisor Kyliegh Alexander said they don’t have to be Indigenous.
Education and training that recognizes First Nations culture and supports children will be provided.
“Like every other child, right? Like they’re just looking for a home, they’re looking for care and love. They’re going to thrive when their needs are met and when their care is quality.”
Those interested in becoming a foster family can check here.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
What do weight loss drugs mean for a diet industry built on eating less and exercising more?
Recent injected drugs like Wegovy and its predecessor, the diabetes medication Ozempic, are reshaping the health and fitness industries.
2 military horses that broke free and ran loose across London are in serious condition
Two military horses that bolted and ran miles through the streets of London after being spooked by construction noise and tossing their riders were in a serious condition and required operations, a British government official said Thursday.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.
He replaced Mickey Mantle. Now baseball's oldest living major leaguer is turning 100
The oldest living former major leaguer, Art Schallock turns 100 on Thursday and is being celebrated in the Bay Area and beyond as the milestone approaches.