Equal shared parental responsibility will no longer automatically be considered to be in a child’s best interest. That’s a good thing, particularly in domestic violence situations.
A royal commission into sexual abuse in Aboriginal communities is not the way to address abuse against Aboriginal children. Indigenous-led solutions are needed.
Wiping away tears, Nita Battise, vice chairperson of the tribal council of the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas, reacts to the Supreme Court ruling upholding a law that gives Native American families priority in adoptions and foster care placements of tribal children.
Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images
A Supreme Court ruling has upheld the right of Congress to pass laws about Native American tribes’ rights to self-government.
A homeless person lies in a tent pitched in downtown Toronto in April 2020. New research suggests we need to focus less on new technologies to streamline social services and more on the people entwined in these systems.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young
We wanted to quantify what social factors increase a person’s chance of ending up in prison, and to use that to improve policy and reduce the harms and costs of incarceration.
Ontario’s moratorium on youth leaving care once they turn 18 expires on March 31, 2023, with a redesigned policy coming into effect on April 1.
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Ontario’s new policy on youth leaving care comes into effect April 1. While the policy provides welcomed support for youth, there are still gaps that need to be addressed.
The new report calls for funding and support for Aboriginal community controlled organisations. They are best placed to lead reform and to make decisions about the wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.
We surveyed 232 foster and kinship carers who had provided care to a baby in out-of-home care sometime in the last five years. Many were not well supported to care for babies.
Children and youth in care often have complex health and social issues, but they often struggle to access comprehensive health care.
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Children and youth in care are more likely to have experienced trauma that can affect future health. A comprehensive, trauma-informed health strategy for these children and youth is long overdue.
Tehassi Hill, tribal chairman of the Oneida Nation, stands outside a U.S. appeals court in 2019 after arguments in a case that has made its way to the Supreme Court.
AP Photo/Kevin McGill
A case before the Supreme Court will determine whether a federal law meant to protect Native American children from being forcibly removed from their families is constitutional.
Of the 10 most child-friendly states, only one has attempted to ban abortion.
Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post via Getty Images
One 11-year old girl told us she knows once rent is paid, there is almost nothing left over. So she never takes school excursion notes home, in case the cost is too much.
Keeping families that are enduring hard times together is hard but usually benefits children.
Westend61 via Getty Images
Despite a series of federal measures requiring greater efforts to preserve family unity, many policies make life harder for people swept up in the system.
Researchers estimate around half of the adults who end up in prison are parents.
AFN Regional Chief Cindy Woodhouse and Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu listen to Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller as he responds to a question during a news conference on Jan. 4, 2022, in Ottawa.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
Anne Levesque, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa
In the next year, public support will be needed more than ever to ensure that the spirit of the agreement is respected and translated into meaningful change for First Nations children.
Public spending aimed at reducing poverty can lead to deep reductions in child maltreatment and could improve overall child well-being.
shih-wei/ E+ via Getty Images
Henry T. Puls, University of Missouri-Kansas City and Paul J. Chung, University of California, Los Angeles
Public investments in benefit programs could save tens of thousands of children from being victims of child abuse and have important later-life effects on child welfare and overall health.
Ederies Samodien offers a child apples at a shack settlement as part of a poverty relief effort in Cape Town. Almost 56% of South Africans live in poverty.
EFE-EPA/Nic Bothma
There’s a crucial need to connect the most vulnerable people with public services in order to tackle systemic poverty and disadvantage. An integrated approach is key.
Finances are a significant barrier to post-secondary education for people raised in care.
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Education is a key to health, economic and social outcomes. So why don’t we make it easier for former youth in care to access post-secondary education?
Margot King, age four, touches an orange flag, representing children who died at Indian Residential Schools in Canada, placed in the grass at Major’s Hill Park in Ottawa, on July 1, 2021.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
Anne Levesque, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa
Canadians who wish to pay tribute to the children who died at Indian Residential Schools should demand the government stop fighting First Nations children in court.
Deputy Director Translational Research and Social Innovation Group at the Ingham Institute, Associate Professor, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Western Sydney University