U of S gathering to look at First Nations kids’ place in welfare system

The University of Saskatchewan's Innovation Place will be the site of a gathering this month to examine First Nations children and their representation in the child welfare system. The event takes place Jan. 17 from 1:30 to 4 p.m. at the University of Regina's Faculty of Social Work Saskatoon Campus, Classroom 1 - The Atrium, Innovation Place (153-111 Research Dr.), Saskatoon.

The event will feature a presentation by Dr. Vandha Sinha, assistant professor at McGill University’s Centre for Research for Children and Families, on “Kiskisik Awasisak: Remember the Children, Understanding the Overrepresentation of First Nations Children in the Child Welfare System.”

Kiskisik Awasisak was publicly released on Nov. 14, 2011, and is the first report of the First Nations Component of the Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect 2008.

The full report can be viewed online, as can a briefing document.

Also on the agenda is a presentation by Dr. David Rosenbluth, manager of evaluation and research in the provincial Ministry of Social Services. He will be speaking on “The Saskatchewan Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect 2008.”

The co-host’s for this month’s event are: Saskatoon Campus of the University of Regina Faculty of Social Work; Saskatchewan First Nations Family and Community Institute; Social Policy Research Unit, Faculty of Social Work, University of Regina; Centre for Research for Children and Families, McGill University; and the Social Work Program, First Nations
University of Canada.

• For more information, email hartsook@firstnationsfamilyinstitute.ca.

By Mike Chouinard, kidSKAN managing editor. He can be reached at mike.chouinard@usask.ca.