Program helps First Nation kids find homes
Program finds culturally appropriate homes for First Nations children in care
In keeping with traditional teachings, Clifford Crane and Christina Tranberg are searching for homes so First Nations children can stay within the family circle.
“It’s not a new concept for First Nation people to care for their relatives because traditionally we were always caring for each other and extended family,” Crane said.
Employed by the Yorkton Tribal Council Child and Family Services (YTCCFS), Crane and Tranberg are the faces behind the Family Finders program, which matches children in care with First Nations families.
Crane recruits families and Tranberg assesses the homes of potential families. The seasoned child welfare veterans are passionate about finding forever homes for every child.
The need is great.
The YTCCFS works with 16 member bands in southeastern Saskatchewan to find families. Currently, 333 children in longterm care from those bands have been referred by the Ministry of Social Services to YTCCFS.
“That number is just a fraction of the kids in care in the province of Saskatchewan,” Crane said.
As of March, 5,039 Saskatchewan children were in care, according to the province. Crane estimates up to 85 per cent of those are First Nations and Metis children.
First Nations can help with the recruitment campaign by providing an ongoing history of their communities and showing support to off-reserve parents and families, Tranberg said.
“They have cultural resources and practices for children in care that cover language, naming ceremonies, powwow, traditional protocol teachings,” she said. “Those are some of the foundational teachings that strengthen First Nation children.”
Crane has been with Family Finders from Day 1 of the program, created by Social Services in 2010.
“It was born out of the idea that there wasn’t enough family placements taking place for children in care,” he said. “And most of the children in care, including First Nations and Metis kids, were ending up in foster care in the system and not with extended family.”
The program’s first priority is to place children in care with extended family members.
If that’s not possible, the order of placement is with a family from the same band; a family in another band or a similar culture or linguistic heritage; another First Nations family or a non-Indigenous family close to the child’s home community.
The residential school era paved the way for child welfare in Canada, Crane said.
During the Sixties Scoop, children apprehended and adopted from First Nations communities were often sent out of country to non-First Nations homes, he added.
“When a lot of these kids came back as adults, if they came back at all, they came back lost and were trying to find a connection to their families and communities of origin,” Crane said.
He noted the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s work in attempting to address the wrongs of residential schools.
“The very first five recommendations are regarding child welfare in Canada,” he said.
It’s crucial First Nations children are connected to their community and extended family, Tranberg said.
“We know young children will co-operate with existing caregivers, but when children reach puberty they’ll start to ask questions and if they don’t have that cultural connection, these children will search out their identity ... They want to know who they are and where they belong,” she said.
Unanswered questions can lead to a variety of issues including bad behaviour at school, relationship breakdowns and trouble with the law, Tranberg said.
She and Crane are having a tough time finding Indigenous families or community homes for placements so they’re holding recruitment meetings in First Nation communities to talk about the need, how residents can get involved and the process.
Crane tells family and community members there are two ways to place kids: in foster care, which is short-term, or the Family Finder route, which is usually a permanent placement up to the age of 18.
“Sometimes the mother or dad works to get the child back — and that’s good,” Crane said.
Before a child moves into a family, everyone over 18 in the home must pass criminal record and child welfare checks. Additionally, Crane does a home safety check and gets confirmation from a physician that potential families are physically and emotionally capable of caring for children who often have special needs.
If that goes well, Tranberg does an in-depth home study to determine applicants’ parenting skills, how they get along with their partners and to ensure there’s no history of abuse in the home.
“It’s a big commitment,” Tranberg said. “We want to establish that they have the skills to handle the stress of caring for a child with needs that may not be visible at that time.”
Many children have physical or mental disabilities, a history of neglect or abuse, and attachment anxiety because they’ve moved so frequently.
Crane is disturbed by the number of children apprehended days after their birth.
“They’re being apprehended due to the mother’s IV drug use, their mother’s crystal meth use — a lot of these kids coming into care are born with drugs in their system,” he said. “We’re seeing a significant number of kids being born drug addicted.”
Often Crane and Tranberg are overwhelmed by the number of infant referrals from Social Services. Sometimes, because of the sheer volume of referrals, they can’t get to a case for months.
“We’ve been quite successful in some places, but in other places it’s been hard to get the placements,” Tranberg said.
“Being connected to a First Nations community helps create the foundation for identity and belonging ... This child might come to them with a suitcase, but really they’re part of a larger family.”
If they don’t have that cultural connection, these children will search out their identity