The recent release of the Northwest Territories director of Child and Family Services’ annual report for 2024-25 found that 98 per cent of children and youth receiving prevention and protection services identified as Indigenous — even though Indigenous kids made up only 58 per cent of the territory’s child and youth population.
The report, an overview of the territory’s Child and Family Services (CFS) and what it provides, detailed findings made between April 1, 2024, and March 31, 2025. It notes services include protection, adoption, family preservation and prevention, all of which are provided to the territory’s 33 communities.
Overall, 1,199 children and youth received prevention and/or protection services via CFS. Of those, 75 per cent remained with their “family of origin.” Also, 55 per cent of Indigenous children and youth requiring support outside the home were placed with an Indigenous caregiver.
Of all the children and youth receiving services, 73 per cent were First Nations, 20 per cent were Inuit, five per cent were Métis and two per cent were non-Indigenous.
Early on, the report notes that “Indigenous people have always cared for their children using their own systems of care.”
“Canada’s history and ongoing legacy of racism and colonialism … intentionally interrupted and denied communities from accessing Indigenous systems of care,” it states. “Systemic racism, manifested through policies and practices, maintains inequities for Indigenous families and inherently privileges the ideas and needs of the dominant white population.”
It notes that Indigenous communities have voiced concerns over “the historical and current delivery” of CFS services.
It also points to an issue with “representative” staffing — namely, that while 98 per cent of the kids served were Indigenous, only 30 per cent of the CFS workforce identified as Indigenous as of August 2024.
“A representative workforce has direct impact on the support provided to children, youth, and families,” states the report, stressing that “immediate and creative solutions are required in the recruitment and retention of CFS employees.”
“This includes examining and addressing systemic racism in the CFS system generally, including impacts and barriers specific to the recruitment and retention of Indigenous employees.”
It found that “addressing systemic racism experienced by Indigenous employees in the CFS … will strengthen capacity building, reduce staff turnover and improve service delivery.”
The “overrepresentation of Indigenous children and youth in the CFS system continues to be a driving factor in shifting service delivery in the territory towards more culturally safe approaches,” notes the report.
“It is important to address the ongoing impacts of colonial systems and systemic racism that maintain inequities for Indigenous families. As such, creating and sustaining meaningful change within the CFS system means that careful efforts must be made to repair relationships and build trust with Indigenous people and communities.”
Over the past year, work has been done to “transform the Child and Family Services system towards culturally safe services,” with priority given to areas including working with Indigenous governments and organizations, basing care on Indigenous practices and having services available closer to home.
“While progress has been made, there remains more work to be done in transforming CFS into a culturally safe system that supports children and youth in a meaningful way and ensures that more families stay together,” states the report. “To address the overrepresentation of Indigenous children and youth involved with CFS, we must utilize a whole-of-government approach, including engagement and pathways for community and Indigenous government participation.”
Generally, kids receive support from foster caregivers, frontline staff, foster parents, adoption workers, case aides and “family preservation workers.”
Overall, CFS received 1,510 reports of suspected maltreatment, which includes physical, emotional and sexual abuse, and exposure to family violence and neglect.
Neglect was the most common form of maltreatment, sitting at 49 per cent, followed by exposure to family violence, at 32 per cent.
The CFS fielded 218 requests for prevention services.
In 2024-25, 146 families and 37 youth received support from CFS’s Family Preservation Program — an initiative using culturally based team planning that promotes “family choice, family ownership and family self-determination.” Services are “tailored” to the needs of each family.
On another positive note, the report found that, overall, there was a 43 per cent decrease in the number of children and youth placed in permanent care between 2014-15 and 2024-25.
During the 2024-25 period, 53 kids were receiving specialized services outside the N.W.T. — situations where certain needs cannot be met within the territory. The CFS holds “specialized services contracts” with counterparts in B.C., Alberta and Saskatchewan.
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