Welfare control may be shifted

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Control of Native child welfare should be shifted to Native reserves and settlements, recommends a report to the provincial government.

The report comes three years after Richard Cardinal, a 16-year old Metis foster child, hanged himself. The suicide sparked a review of Native child welfare services in Alberta.

On Tuesday, Social Services Minister Connie Osterman announced her department is agreeable to the transferral, considering past government efforts had failed.

Thought the minister is still ultimately responsible for welfare services "whatever is necessary for the delivery of these services will be in the hands of Natives themselves," explained Maggie Hodgson, member and spokesman for the working group which represented the report.

Hodgson said the message in the 28-page report could be broken down into several directives: decisions regarding foster children should be made, keeping the best interests of the child in mind; in placing foster children every effort should be made to have the child looked after by his or her own extended family; the Child Welfare Act should expand to include reference to Metis, Treaty and non-status Indian children; the financial structure of the guardian social allowance should be adjusted; and an evaluation of the child welfare situation should be made in three years to monitor progress made regarding the Native child welfare situation.

In reference to the first two directives, Hodgson pointed out several Indian bands have already been given responsibility for child welfare and "the success has been very positive because children are kept in their own environment."

Regarding the nebulous term "native" used in the Child Welfare Act, Hodgson points out that it makes no distinction between Treaty, Metis and non-status Indians. Foster children must be recognized as having distinct identities, so that proper placement can be made accordingly, she added.

It is also recommended that assistance to foster parents be adjusted. The committee heard "on repeated occasions, concerns about the need for families receiving a fair and equitable form off assistance when caring for dependent children from extended family" the report states.

Hodgson hopes the government will adopt the recommendations in the report and that special attention will be paid to the suggestion of an evaluation process in three years to ensure that, directives are being implemented.

"Other commissions have been in place to recommend guidelines for child welfare and nothing really was done," Hodgson said. She added she would also like to see the report guidelines designated as policies so that they will be strictly adhered to by all involved.