First Nations Canadian Incidence Study 2008
In combination, a serious overrepresentation of Aboriginal children in Canada’s child welfare system, a historical pattern of removing Aboriginal children from their homes, and the emergence of First Nations run child welfare agencies provide a strong argument for research that focuses specifically on understanding the prevalence of, causes of and responses to maltreatment and neglect of Aboriginal Children. Accordingly, the CIS seeks to oversample Aboriginal cases, to collect data on enough Aboriginal cases to allow for analyses that focus specifically on this subpopulation.
Data on Aboriginal cases comes from two different sources: 1) the mainstream agencies included in the core CIS sample and 2) a supplemental sample of First Nations child welfare agencies. The CIS-2003 sample included eight First Nations child welfare agencies. The study found an estimated 103,297 substantiated child maltreatment cases in Canada;* 12,111 (8.3%) of these involved First Nations children. Data from CIS-2003 indicate that while rates of physical, sexual and emotional abuse are lower for First Nations children than for their non-Aboriginal counterparts, rates of neglect are dramatically higher (17 per 1,000 First Nations children compared to 5 per 1,000 non-Aboriginal) and First Nations children have greater chances of being placed in out of home care as a result of a child welfare investigations. A full report of FNCIS-2003 findings can be viewed here.
CIS-2008 will increase the number of Aboriginal child welfare agencies participating in the study from 8 to 24; 23 First Nations agencies and one Métis agency, which has been included on a pilot basis. The increased sample size will allow for closer examination of the different forms of neglect that contribute to Aboriginal overrepresentation in the child welfare system. It will also allow for preliminary comparisons of the populations served and investigations conducted by First Nations run child welfare agencies and mainstream agencies.
Demonstrated Policy Impact of CIS
As the first national study on child maltreatment to collect disaggregated data on First Nations, Inuit, and Métis, the CIS has made a significant impact at the international, national and local levels. For example, the results of the CIS have informed: the draft United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child General Comment on the Rights of Indigenous Children and a national funding formula for First Nations child welfare agencies. It has also been used by First Nations child and family service agencies and provinces to retool services for First Nations children.
Adherence to OCAP principles
FNCIS is overseen by a First Nations Advisory Committee. The mandate of this committee is to ensure that the CIS respects the principles of Aboriginal Ownership of, Control over, Access to and Possession of research (OCAP principles) to the greatest degree possible given that the CIS is a cyclical study which collects data on Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal investigations. The First Nations Child and Family Caring Society played a key role in the organization of the 2008 FNCIS and the past two cycles of the study. The other organizations represented on the advisory committee are national and provincial level organizations involved in Aboriginal child welfare. A list of committee members is available here. Committee members will oversee the full research process. The advisory committee will inform and approve the sampling framework, develop and help ensure compliance with ethical guidelines, facilitate the recruitment of participating agencies, help to prioritize secondary analyses and facilitate dissemination to interested communities. A copy of the FNCIS research agreement, which outlines the roles and responsibilities of the CIS research team and participating First Nations Child Welfare Agencies is available here.
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* Excluding Quebec
First Nations Advisory Committee Members
