Children's Aid increasing efforts to reunite Indigenous youth with family and culture

A project in Windsor is ramping up efforts to reunite Indigenous children with their culture. 

A pilot project between the Can-Am Indian Friendship Centre and the Children's Aid Society (CAS) of Windsor-Essex will bring Indigenous families back together. 

"They are being reunited slowly but surely," said Kristy Robinson, who grew up on Walpole Island. Robson is now a family wellness worker at Can-Am. 

Instead of family visits for children in the system conducted at the CAS offices, they're now being held at the friendship centre. 

There, Indigenous children can practice traditions that may have been taken away from them. 

"Getting that back is building self confidence in these families," said Robinson. "What I see on a daily basis is building hope. Our elders, our families, they're all learning and growing here together."

An Ontario Trillium Foundation grant of $75,000 will help the collaboration in its pilot phase. There's only a small caseload right now, but Robinson said the feedback so far has been good. 

Derrick Drouillard, the executive director of CAS in Windsor-Essex said the the grant allows children to be around people who can support the families in a much better way than CAS can do on their own.

"This is, for us, a much better way of incorporating their cultural heritage and their nations in order to make this a better experience for them," said Drouillard. 

As of November 2019, more than six per cent of children in CAS care locally were identified as Indigenous — 28 of the 443 children in care. 

In 2017, that percentage was at 12.2 per cent. Drouillard said this represents an overrepresentation of Indigenous children in care. 

"We still have work to do in this area," said Drouillard. "We continue to work with our Indigenous partners, communities and nations toward zero Indigenous children in care."

"When families have the chance to be at the friendship centre with people who understand their history better, families can feel more comfortable in their own path toward keeping their families together."

Drouillard said across the country, Indigenous people have told child welfare systems that programs like this should be in place. 

NDP MPP Lisa Gretzky said that the grant will help the two organizations work together.

"We talk a lot about Truth and Reconciliation and what we see is a lot of people talking about the truth but not a lot of reconciliation happening," said Gretzky. 

Gretzky said the "horrific mistakes" of residential schools and the 60s Scoop can't be undone, but this program should make sure the same harm isn't done moving forward.

"It's time to start taking action to make sure we don't repeat those mistakes," said Gretzky. "Every family struggles at some point. We need to make sure those families have access to supports and services that are culturally sensitive to them."

The grant has six primary goals:

• To decrease trauma experienced by Indigenous families interacting with CAS.
• To further identify and reduce the harm on the Indigenous family unit caused by systemic evidence of gaps in coordination. 
• To attempt to repair the reputation and relationship of entities like CAS with Indigenous people. 
• To provide an environment that promotes positive learning and support through Indigenous teachings.
• To promote reunification of Indigenous families.
• To assist Indigenous families and children in developing strong emotional and social skills.