Right in the centre - Two First Nations communities are really on to something

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Published on Thursday, April 9, 2015

By Ken Waddell

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In a recent article in The Winnipeg Free Press, what may be a very innovative solution is being applied to cases where children are at risk. It was reported that “Grand Rapids will turn parents – not children – out of troubled homes under a new child welfare policy to be adopted on the northern Cree First Nation.

By making the change, Misipawistik First Nation, a northern community of about 1,100 located 430 kilometres north of Winnipeg, becomes the second First Nation in Manitoba using a similar system to turn the tide on child apprehensions. Nisichawaysihk Cree Nation in Nelson House rolled out a policy of removing parents, not kids, from homes in 2002, resulting in a drop in child apprehensions.”

It makes a lot of sense. Why uproot the kids? It’s the parents that are likely the problem, even if it isn’t a self-inflicted problem. The children will be more likely to recover from  the trauma, whatever it may be, or be safer from danger if the parents are out of the picture for a while. It’s very innovative. The kids get to stay in familiar surroundings, stay in their own school, sleep in their own beds and stay together with their siblings. The first three things don’t happen under the white man’s situation of seizing kids and placing  them in foster homes or hotels. Keeping the siblings together often doesn’t happen either when kids are placed in foster homes.

When you think about it, it isn’t kids who are the problem, at least not when they are very young. The parents are the issue. The reasons will be varied. The problem may be related to alcohol and drugs. It may be a penchant for violent or stupid behaviour. It may be something that the parents can’t help like physical or mental illness. The point is, it doesn’t matter on day one of an intervention. It’s the kid that need the front line protection and leaving them in their own environment may be the best solution. Maybe the house needs to be cleaned up and maybe it needs some immediate repairs but nonetheless, leaving the kids in their own home environment looks like a really good idea.

Having seen some of the problems that happen in homes and having had dozens of first hand reports over the years, I see that this system has a lot of merit. Again, the kids aren’t usually the problem, the parents are, so let’s fix the parents’ problems and not bring even more upheaval into the kids lives.

The other advantage of the “remove the parents model” is that it may well serve as a wake up call to the parents. They don’t get to stay in their familiar environment, they get their life shook up a bit and maybe that’s a good thing if the root problem is something that needs action on their part.

In the Free Press article, it indicates that this approach would only work on a First Nations community because the First Nations band owns the house and therefore has authority over who stays in their houses. I think that if kids are in genuine danger, then it shouldn’t matter. When kids are in danger, authorities should be able to remove delinquent parents and solutions can be provided as a follow up.

There is a danger and that rests in other first hand information that I have been offered. A few Child and Family Services workers are pretty dumb. Some appear to be jerks and are on a power trip. Not many, I’m sure but there is a risk. However, a “remove the parents” system is better than  “seize the kids” model, again for all the above reasons. 

It’s the kids that need protection first and in their own home is the best place to get it. It’s also a lot easier to keep track of kids if you know for sure that a particular home is supposed to have a certain number of kids. Manitoba has a long history of murdered children to mark the downfalls of the current system.

Clearly, delinquent parents need help but that can come after the kids are safe. Parental help may take many forms from education, to dry-out, to money management and whole range of skill development.

I think that two of Manitoba’s First Nations need to be saluted for bringing a new approach to an old problem.

They should be encouraged and their approach needs to be looked at across the whole province.