A First Nations Child and Family Services Agency (FNCFS)

January 2023

IFSD is pleased to share this monthly update for January 2023. This update provides an overview of Indigenous Services Canada’s (ISC) principal existing funding approaches, namely block funding, and offers comparisons to the reformed FNCFS funding model tested by IFSD in Phase 3 research on costing out FNCFS reform.

Read the analysis here.

IFSD is writing to share its monthly update on First Nations child and family services (FNCFS) reform (updates will continue monthly). Feel free to share this update with colleagues or invite them to join our mailing list (info@ifsd.ca).

November - December 2022

We are pleased to share this monthly update for November and December 2022.

There are two parts to this update: 1) a summary of what we are learning from the FNCFS agency questionnaires; and 2) the results of the Measuring to Thrive Workshop, hosted in Ottawa on November 8-9, 2022:  

1. While you are exercising jurisdiction, current-state cost analysis may be useful in your planning and preparation for negotiations. A summary of the principal findings from the FNCFS agency questionnaire is below (please read the full summary here):

1. 49% of FNCFS agencies participated in the questionnaire.
2. Key observations:
   1. On average, FNCFS agency budgets have increased when compared with past research.
   2. To deliver all desired services, FNCFS agencies estimate an average budget of $22M per year.
   3. Participants indicated they would like to offer services that emphasize housing/lodging with supports, e.g., transition homes, safe homes, etc.
   4. It is encouraging to note that the relationship between the number of children in care and FNCFS agency revenues and expenditures is weakening, when compared to previous analysis.  This suggests that FNCFS agency funding is less dependent than before on the number of children in care, with resources allocated to prevention-focused services and activities.
   5. Providing services to First Nations without year-round road access is resource intensive.  On average, those budgets are nearly double the national average.  Careful consideration should be given to geography and road-access and their implications for funding.

We are grateful to the FNCFS agencies that contributed their time and data to this exercise.

2. To capture the well-being of the children and families you serve and to monitor their change from a starting point, measurement is essential. During our two day workshop in November 2022, research collaborators worked together to identify a subset of indicators from the Measuring to Thrive framework and others that they would test in 2023.

Please read the full summary of the workshop or review the principal takeaways below:

1. With the Measuring to Thrive framework as a starting point, collaborators identified 15 indicators to pilot with their FNCFS agency or First Nation exercising jurisdiction. 
2. A majority of collaborators agreed to select as few or as many indicators as they considered feasible from the 15.
3. Collaborators generously committed to working in their own contexts and together to learn and support others on the journey to long-term reform.
4. The purpose of the pilot exercise is to:
   1. Learn about the measurement process and share practices, tools, and approaches;
   2. Leverage learnings to define and implement a well-being focused approach to measurement with First Nations care and control of delivery.

To those celebrating, we wish you Happy Holidays.

Questions? Contact Dr. Helaina Gaspard (helaina.gaspard@ifsd.ca | (613) 983-8461).

IFSD is writing to share its monthly update on First Nations child and family services (FNCFS) reform (updates will continue monthly).  Feel free to share this update with colleagues or invite them to join our mailing list (info@ifsd.ca).

October 2022

IFSD has been working with collaborators working toward jurisdiction in child and family services agencies.  Other First Nations have reached out with questions about how to reflect on jurisdiction.  In response, IFSD has shared guiding questions and themes that may be helpful for those exploring or working toward jurisdiction.

There are three main takeaways:

1. Funding should be sufficient to meet needs.
2. The funding structure should support flexible decision-making in First Nations and agencies who know how to best take care of their children and families. 
3. Measure to monitor changes to your starting point for accountability to your First Nation by your First Nation.

You may wish to consider:

1. Defining your starting point.
   1. How are children and families doing in your First Nation?
   2. What current services are available to children and families?
   3. What services would they like to have?
   4. What’s the environment of the First Nation, with consideration of root causes of contact with protection services, e.g., poverty, housing, potable water, etc.?
2. Using actual expenditure data to estimate to your current and future needs.
   1. What expenditure information does your First Nation have to help shape its cost estimate in child and family services?
   2. Have you considered using existing information from other sources, e.g., FNCFS agencies, IFSD’s past work?
3. Ensure funding is dynamic and linked to the changing needs of your First Nation.
   1. What are the principles that underlie your cost estimation?
   2. How do these principles adjust when circumstances change in your First Nation, e.g., population, poverty?
   3. What factors drive your costs for service delivery?
4. Collect information about your First Nation for your First Nation.
   1. Does your First Nation collect its own information about the well-being of children and families?
   2. What are some existing sources of information you can access?
   3. Do you have the people, processes, and systems in place to turn information into evidence for advocacy, decision-making, and reporting to your First Nation?

You may wish to consider reviewing IFSD’s existing work on costing child and family services to support your decision making:

1. Phase 1: Enabling First Nations Children to Thrive, includes cost analysis of the FNCFS system and gap analysis with bottom-up data from 76% of FNCFS agencies. 
2. Phase 2: Funding First Nations child and family services (FNCFS): A performance budget approach to well-being, defined a needs-based well-being focused approach to funding FNCFS, with Measuring to Thrive as the guiding framework. 

Questions? Contact Dr. Helaina Gaspard (helaina.gaspard@ifsd.ca | (613) 983-8461).

IFSD is writing to share its monthly update on First Nations child and family services (FNCFS) reform (updates will continue monthly).  Feel free to share this update with colleagues or invite them to join our mailing list (info@ifsd.ca).

September 2022

Jordan’s Principle is named in honour of Jordan River Anderson who died in a Winnipeg hospital, never having been in his family home because of a jurisdictional battle between the federal and provincial governments on who would pay for his homecare.

Jordan’s Principle is a child-first principle that aims to eliminate service inequities and delays for First Nations children, ensuring access to the services and supports they need without delay or denial. Substantive equality for First Nations children is a core pillar of Jordan’s Principle, recognizing that some First Nations children may require unique supports to achieve equitable outcomes to their non-Indigenous peers.  

At this time, however, we cannot determine if substantive equality is being achieved.  

When we reflect on the long-term sustainability of Jordan’s Principle, we should consider:

• What we know: Jordan’s Principle is addressing needs and the number of requests to Jordan’s Principle is increasing.
   
• What we don’t know: the root causes of requests to Jordan’s Principle…why are children in need?  We know inequalities exist, but what are they? How are they affecting children?
   
• Why does this matter? Jordan’s Principle is filling gaps in existing program areas. Understanding the root causes of need is critical to developing informed policy and funding decisions to support well-being over the long-term, and to permanently address program gaps.

With these questions in mind, the IFSD analyzed available information from Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) on Jordan’s Principle to better understand whether substantive equality is being achieved.

You can read the full report here.

Questions? Contact Dr. Helaina Gaspard (helaina.gaspard@ifsd.ca | (613) 983-8461).

IFSD is writing to share its monthly update on First Nations child and family services (FNCFS) reform (updates will continue monthly).  Feel free to share this update with colleagues or invite them to join our mailing list (info@ifsd.ca).

August 2022

Many people are feeling pressure from price increases in food, clothing, and the cost of living.  In June 2022, inflation was 8.1% higher than the previous year (June 2021).  When working with First Nations and FNCFS agencies, we have heard concerns and challenges associated to increasing levels of inflation.

From a program funding perspective, inflation adjustments alone will not address broader issues of underfunding. Inflation adjustments do not replace program funding that is adequate for the needs of a First Nation.  If a program area is underfunded relative to need, it will remain insufficient even with an inflation adjustment.

IFSD’s Chief Economist, Dr. Mostafa Askari, prepared a primer on inflation and two approaches to remedy underfunding in First Nations program funding.  You can read the full note here.

Questions? Contact Dr. Helaina Gaspard (helaina.gaspard@ifsd.ca | (613) 983-8461).

IFSD is writing to share its monthly update on First Nations child and family services (FNCFS) reform (updates will continue monthly). Feel free to share this update with colleagues or invite them to join our mailing list (info@ifsd.ca).

July 2022

To better support young people transitioning out of the care of child and family services, best practices in post-majority services are being identified by youth with lived experiences and the organizations that offer that support. From housing to life skills, we have heard from First Nations exercising/contemplating jurisdiction about what they are doing and what they hope to do to deliver post-majority supports.  

While we learn from you, IFSD has been working to compile existing frameworks and research to help understand the costs of designing and delivering post-majority supports and services.

 The Assembly of Seven Generations (A7G), an Indigenous youth-led organization prepared a report based on the experiences of children in care.  The report, Children Back, Land Back : A Follow-Up Report of First Nations Youth in Care Advisors, includes actions (past, present, and future) to support children and youth in contact with child and family services.

Hear from Dr. Melanie Doucet about the framework she has developed with former youth in care for post-majority supports standards in the mainstream system. The standards document and summary are available online.

Here is a summary of the framework proposed. Link to the full report can be found here.

Questions? Contact Dr. Helaina Gaspard (helaina.gaspard@ifsd.ca | (613) 983-8461).

IFSD is writing to share its fourth monthly update on First Nations child and family services (FNCFS) reform (updates will continue monthly).  Feel free to share this update with colleagues or invite them to join our mailing list (info@ifsd.ca).
 

May 2022

First Nations Child and Family Services (FNCFS) Project

IFSD is writing to share its second monthly update on First Nations child and family services (FNCFS) reform (updates will continue monthly). Feel free to share this update with colleagues or invite them to join our mailing list .

There are 56 First Nations that have declared their intent to exercise jurisdiction or are engaged in the process.  There are other First Nations that are preparing for or contemplating the exercise of jurisdiction in child and family services.

IFSD is grateful to the First Nations/bands that volunteered to serve as collaborators in this project. We look forward to working together. 

In the June update, the characteristics and/or names (collaborators’ choice) of the collaborating First Nations/Bands will be announced.

The work and experiences of the collaborating First Nations will be helpful in charting a course forward in navigating the exercise of jurisdiction. 

Questions? Contact Dr. Helaina Gaspard (helaina.gaspard@ifsd.ca | (613) 983-8461).

April 2022

First Nations Child and Family Services (FNCFS) Project

IFSD is writing to share its first monthly update on First Nations child and family services (FNCFS) reform (updates will continue monthly). Feel free to share this update with colleagues or invite them to join our mailing list.

In January 2022, after years at the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (CHRT), the parties came to an agreement in principle (AIP).
 
As the parties continue to negotiate a final agreement, there is an opportunity to shape the reform of the First Nations child and family services (FNCFS) system to focus on well-being.
 
IFSD is working with the Assembly of First Nations (AFN), the Caring Society, and the National Advisory Committee (NAC) to provide research support and analysis for long-term reform.
 

We need your perspective to get this right. 

 
This work is about building First Nation-based delivery models that transform organizational strategy, people, process, and systems.  It is intended to build capacity and an enhanced bottom-up planning framework, while building confidence among stakeholders.
 
IFSD is seeking 10 First Nations exercising or moving to exercise jurisdiction to volunteer to serve as in-depth collaborators to model and simulate a well-being focused funding approach.  This work is expected to be a 1.5-year commitment.
 
If your First Nation is interested in serving as a volunteer, contact Dr. Helaina Gaspard (helaina.gaspard@ifsd.ca | (613) 983-8461) before May 13, 2022.  IFSD will be working to balance various characteristics, e.g., region, geography, size of the population served, etc.  We are very open to volunteers but will not be able to accept all volunteers (as much as we would like to).  Resources are available to help defray the costs of participation.
 
Any data shared will only be used for the purposes of this project. Participants can withdraw at any time and any data they shared will be destroyed.  Learn more about IFSD’s privacy and data management practices here.
 
Questions? Contact Dr. Helaina Gaspard (helaina.gaspard@ifsd.ca | (613) 983-8461).