A Review of Literature on the Involvement of Children from Indigenous Communities in Anglo Child Welfare Systems: 1973-2018

Abstract

A series of recent legal and policy developments in Canada have potential to contribute to reconciliation efforts, particularly related to the overrepresentation of Indigenous children in child welfare systems. However, systematic collection, analysis, and synthesis of research knowledge—particularly, research that is locally grounded—on Indigenous child welfare involvement is notably missing from these efforts. With the aim of collating existing research knowledge on this topic, this scoping review of literature includes a broad swath of literature spanning decades (1973-2018) and countries with similar settler colonial histories (Canada, the United States, Australia, and New Zealand). Our search yielded 881 unique research publications. There was an increase in the number of publications over time in all four countries and a trend toward more empirical literature than non-empirical literature. We found that a plurality of publications focused on programs and services (n = 191), and policy or legal (n = 168) themes. While our review highlights a large base of literature on Indigenous child welfare involvement, it also illustrates the limits of the academic literature in representing the knowledge and experience of Indigenous Peoples and the need for more comprehensive synthesis and broader dissemination of the research related to Indigenous child welfare. These limitations restrict the extent to which existing research can inform the meaningful development of Indigenous child welfare policy in Canada. Due to these gaps, we advocate sustained investment in efforts to synthesize diverse sources of knowledge, support for open source publications, and structural support for Indigenous control of knowledge collection and dissemination regarding policy development related to their communities.

Indigenous Cultural Safety in Recognizing and Responding to Family Violence: A Systematic Scoping Review

“…Distrust and fear of family violence services was widespread and warranted. The history of racism and stigma is still present in the policies and practices of family violence services today [ 22 ], demonstrated by the continued over-representation of Indigenous children in child welfare services [ 9 , 10 , 14 ] and the dearth of historically informed and culturally safe interventions for Indigenous families [ 75 ]. The importance of taking time to build relationships of trust, meeting experiences of violence with non-judgment, and slowing the pace of the health or social service encounter are central to cultural safety, echoing the findings from related reviews [ 22 , 76 ].…”

“…Furthermore, our study only included academic sources of literature, and did not include grey literature. As identified, there is a need to address the gaps in Indigenous authored literature on family violence; this is an actionable mechanism for ensuring “sustained investment in efforts to synthesize diverse sources of knowledge, support for open source publications, and structural support for Indigenous control of knowledge collection and dissemination regarding policy development related to their communities” [ 10 ].…”

“…While family violence is a global issue that affects people from all communities, structural and interpersonal forms of racism, including the historical and ongoing impacts of colonization, disproportionately increase the risk for experiencing all forms of family violence for Indigenous peoples [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]. Globally, Indigenous peoples are more likely than their non-Indigenous counterparts to experience all forms of family violence [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 ]. For example, in Canada alone, Indigenous peoples are two times more likely than non-Indigenous peoples to report IPV victimization by a current or former partner in the previous five years [ 12 ].…”

American Indian and Alaska Native overexposure to foster care and family surveillance in the US: A quantitative overview of contemporary system contact

“…This trauma has been empirically linked to PTSD, depression, and substance use in those initially impacted and for several generations beyond (T. L. Cross, 2021). For example, residential school survivors have continued psychiatric issues including PTSD and depression (Sinha et al, 2021). In turn the 'survivors of survivors' are exposed to similar structural and interpersonal harms, creating negative effects that impact subsequent generations (Czyzewski, 2011;Isobel et al, 2022).…”

Attachment Theory: A Barrier for Indigenous Children Involved with Child Protection

“…This overrepresentation trend continues without abatement. This historical trend that is still occurring can also be framed as colonially based laws, beliefs, policies, and practices resulting in the over-involvement of the state in the lives of Indigenous people so as to affirm the sustained superiority of colonial society and its beliefs [ 27 , 28 ].…”