Here’s what the feds’ $40B child welfare settlement could mean for Indigenous kids in B.C. – Vancouver Sun

Jan 13, 2022

“We want to ensure with this funding that we get it right, so that another generation will not have to feel the harms of the child welfare system.” — Mary Teegee

Indigenous leaders in B.C. are “cautiously optimistic” about the federal government’s recent promise to spend billions of dollars to reform the child welfare system.

But they want to be sure some of that money goes toward building resilient communities and preventing Indigenous kids from ending up in government care in the first place.

A $20 billion fund is planned to compensate Indigenous children and families harmed by decades of underfunding, denials of service and discrimination in the child welfare system. Another $20 billion will go toward reform of the First Nations Child and Family Services program, or roughly $4 billion paid directly to First Nations each year for five years.  The money is a result of a lawsuit brought against the federal government over its discriminatory child welfare program.

Read More: https://vancouversun.com/news/heres-what-the-feds-40b-child-welfare-settlement-means-for-b-c