Lac La Ronge child services gets new home

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The Lac La Ronge Indian band's child and family services agency opened its new office building June 8, symbolizing the growth the agency has experienced since being established in 1994.

The Indian Child and Family Services agency (ICFS) was one of the first of its kind in the province, giving the band control over family services for its members.

At first, the agency employed only about a dozen people, mostly concerned with child protection: helping children at risk of neglect, abuse or exploitation.

"Now, it's grown to 70 staff," said ICFS director Dexter Kinequon.

"Part of the reason is, we've expanded our programs," he added. ICFS also runs family services, a foster home program, group homes for troubled youth, and a prevention program.

At the opening ceremony, Chief Harry Cook gave credit to the leadership of the Elders and the ICFS board of directors, a separate body with elections held separately from the band council.

Cook also honored the ICFS staff. "We know you do tremendous work. It's challenging," said Cook, who acknowledged the band "has a lot of problems in our communities."

On behalf of Saskatchewan Social Services, ICFS's sister public agency, Archie La Rocque lauded the band's work in helping its members and co-operating with its provincial counterpart. "We've had, I think, a very good relationship with the agency," said La Rocque.

And Roy Bird, the regional director general for federal Indian and Northern Affairs, applauded the programs and facilities the band operates, noting that it has 2,200 treasured children in its membership.

The federal government never has to pay special attention to funding issues with the Lac La Ronge Indian band, said Bird, himself a former chief of the Montreal Lake Cree Nation. He just wishes that Ottawa's civil servants would pay more attention to how the band handles cultural issues with its membership.

Services provided by ICFS

Indian Child and Family Services has grown from a handful of people protecting children to several dozen professionals providing a wide range of services for the Lac La Ronge Indian Band.

The programs break down into three basic areas:

? Family and youth services. This includes family services, such as counselling, emergency shelters, referrals to self-help groups, home care, and assistance to teen parents.

Each of the Lac La Ronge Indian band's six communities has services on call 24 hours a day, employing seven family service workers and 10 emergency workers on a casual basis. The child protection unit protects children at risk, which may require removing a child from a family.

The agency has two child protection workers, appointed as officers under provincial legislation. The foster care department has two full-time workers who recruit and train foster parents, and support and supervise foster homes.

The department presently has 25 foster care homes and four trained therapeutic foster homes.

? Residential services. These are group homes for troubled or "high needs" youth, where trained staff provide supervision around-the-clock, explained ICFS director Dexter Kinequon. Thus, this service is where the majority of ICFS' staff are assigned.

There is one home on Far Reserve where up to four youth can stay for assessment and stabilization when first entering a group home setting. There are also two six-bed therapeutic group homes, one on Far Reserve and one in Stanley Mission, where youth can stay for extended periods of time.

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Parents and families of the youth are encouraged to participate as fully as possible in the treatment process. It's important to "maintain their (youth) treatment needs within their communities," said Kinequon, adding, "Family contact is a big concern with us." The board reviews the residences every six months to ensure they are operating up to standards set by the provincial government.

? Prevention services. This is a relatively new program, which Kinequon points out is funded entirely by the band, ot outside agencies. The one staff member seeks to help people use community resources to prevent family problems. The aim is to support and educate parents, and make referrals to other support groups.

The entire ICFS agency has seven elected directors, and bylaws decree that chief and council cannot hold director positions in ICFS. Each of the band's communities elects one director; the seventh director, and the chairperson, are members of the council of Elders, and are nominated by chief and council.