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Nathalie Nepton
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Nathalie Nepton
2021-06-01 12:36
Thank you, Mr. Chair and committee members, for inviting us to be here today.
My name is Nathalie Nepton. My comments will focus on the work we are doing within Indigenous Services Canada that has to do with child and family service reform for first nations children and families.
Although the indigenous population up to the age of 14 makes up 7.7% of all Canadian children, they represent 52.2% of the children in care. We also know that studies have highlighted that having been in a child welfare system was the most common feature among women and girls who entered into prostitution.
We recognize the relationship between investing in the safety and well-being of children and achieving improved outcomes for these children, their families and their communities. For this reason, Indigenous Services Canada is committed to ensuring that families at risk receive support and prevention services designed to maintain familial support systems and to keep children in their communities and connected to their language and culture.
The first nations child and family services program has received significant investments over the past years to support the program and to make it truly child-centred, community-directed, and focused on prevention and early intervention. Recently we have brought significant changes to the program. Most notably, upon reaching the age of majority, youth in care can continue to benefit from the program for an additional two years. This ensures that they have the support they need to transition into adulthood on a healthy path.
Other recent progress toward achieving the goal of reducing the number of indigenous children in care includes the federal indigenous child and family services legislation, “An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families”, which came into force on January 1, 2020. The act establishes such national principles as the best interests of the child, cultural continuity and substantive equality to help guide the provision of child and family services in relation to indigenous children.
Simply put, the act provides a path for indigenous peoples to choose their own solutions for their children and families and to create a better future for the generations to come.
All told, the child and family services reform sector of Indigenous Services Canada is focused on ensuring healthy, strong and prosperous indigenous families and children, thus reducing their vulnerability to negative outcomes, such as being victims of the sex trafficking trade.
Thank you.
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