Supporting Indigenous Families in Child Welfare Matters
Supporting Indigenous Families in Child Welfare
At Round Table Legal Services, we believe every Indigenous child deserves to grow up surrounded by love, cultural identity, and community. This belief drives our advocacy for Indigenous families navigating the child welfare system. Too often, that system fails to respect their rights, traditions, or inherent jurisdiction over child and family services.
The Problem: Overrepresentation in Child Protection
Across Ontario, Indigenous children are vastly overrepresented in child protection cases. Many are removed from their homes not because of abuse, but because of poverty, housing challenges, or systemic discrimination—legacies of Canada’s colonial past.
We are committed to changing that narrative—one family, one community, one case at a time.
Supporting Indigenous Families in Child Welfare
At Round Table Legal Services, we believe every Indigenous child deserves to grow up surrounded by love, cultural identity, and community. This belief drives our advocacy for Indigenous families navigating the child welfare system. Too often, that system fails to respect their rights, traditions, or inherent jurisdiction over child and family services.
What Is Customary Care?
Customary Care is when a First Nations, Inuit, or Métis child is cared for by someone other than their parent, following the customs of their community. It is a voluntary, culturally respectful alternative to foster care.
Customary Care isn’t just a placement. It is a reconnection to culture, language, land, and family. It keeps children within their extended circles of care and aligns with both federal and provincial laws, including:
-
Section 80 of the Child, Youth and Family Services Act (CYFSA): Requires agencies to make all reasonable efforts to pursue Customary Care for Indigenous children in need of protection.
-
The federal Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families: Affirms the inherent right to self-government and prioritizes prevention and family unity over apprehension.
Our Approach: Centering Indigenous Rights and Realities
At Round Table Legal Services, we use a rights-based and trauma-informed approach to support Indigenous families. We aim to:
-
Promote Customary Care as the first and best alternative to removal.
-
Ensure the voices of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis families and communities are heard in every legal step.
-
Advocate for family- and community-led decision-making, consistent with section 1(2) of the CYFSA, which calls for the least disruptive, culturally respectful supports.
-
Fight for parents’ right to access services without coercion, while maintaining connections to their children and communities—even when challenges arise.
We partner with Indigenous communities, child protection agencies, and service providers to ensure Customary Care agreements are legally sound, culturally safe, and centered on the child’s best interests—not only as defined by law, but by community standards.
Why This Matters: Truth, Reconciliation, and Justice
Ontario’s child welfare system has a long history of forcibly removing Indigenous children—from Residential Schools to the Sixties Scoop, and continuing with today’s overrepresentation in care.
Supporting Customary Care goes beyond legal work. It is a commitment to:
-
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action
-
The MMIWG2S+ Calls to Justice
-
Healing intergenerational harm through family unity, cultural continuity, and justice
As the Best Practices Guide on Customary Care reminds us:
“It is time for First Nations children to come home.”
We agree. We are here to help make that happen.
Need Help Navigating Child Welfare? We’re Here.
Whether you are:
-
A parent trying to keep your child from being taken,
-
A caregiver looking to formalize a Customary Care agreement,
-
A band representative advocating for your community’s children,
-
Or a service provider seeking legal clarity—
We will guide you every step of the way.
Our team understands the legal, cultural, and systemic complexities involved. We are deeply committed to supporting Indigenous families with compassionate, community-led, and culturally informed advocacy.
This work involves continual learning on our part, and we see that as essential to our holistic care model.
📞 Contact Us Today
Ready to talk? Contact Round Table Legal Services to learn how we can help you navigate the child welfare system while protecting your rights and traditions.