11 Indigenous children died in last four months connected to Ontario’s child welfare system – APTN News
Jul 22, 2020
Former child advocate calls for independent inquiry into child welfare system
After several months of pushing the Ontario government, APTN News can now report how many Indigenous children have died connected to the province’s child welfare system since the novel coronavirus was called a pandemic on March 11.
Child welfare agencies reported 11 deaths of Indigenous children to the chief coroner of Ontario, as of July 16, which provided the data to APTN this week.
Of the 11, three deaths are classified as “in care”, meaning they were likely living in some sort of foster or group home, while the other eight had “society involvement” within the last 12 months before their death.
That typically means the child had an open file at an agency, known in Ontario as children’s aid societies or Indigenous wellbeing societies, both legally mandated by the Ontario government.
Having a file open can mean a variety of things, such as having lived in foster homes for years only to be suddenly sent home. APTN is aware of several deaths by suicide this way in recent years. It could also mean a parent wanted counselling services on-reserve but the only place to get help is the child welfare agency.
