The First Nations Component of the Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (FNCIS-2008)

The first report of the First Nations Component of the Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect 2008 (FNCIS-2008), is entitled, Kiskisik Awasisak: Remember the Children. Understanding the Overrepresentation of First Nations Children in the Child Welfare System. The report was publicly released on November 14, 2011.

The First Nations Component of the Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (FNCIS) is a study of child welfare investigations involving First Nations children which is embedded within a larger, cyclical national study of the reported incidence of child maltreatment: the Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (CIS). The FNCIS is a collaborative effort, by CIS research team members and First Nations child welfare organizations to support participation of First Nations and urban Aboriginal agencies in the CIS, analyze CIS data on investigations involving First Nations children, ensure appropriate contextualization of research findings, disseminate research results, and increase the capacity for First Nations child welfare research. The collaboration between research team members and First Nations child welfare organizations are guided by the OCAP principles (Ownership, Control, Access, Possession) for research in Aboriginal contexts.

FNCIS-2008 is the largest study of child welfare investigations involving First Nations children ever conducted in Canada. The study is overseen by an FNCIS-2008 advisory committee, and examines data which the CIS-2008 collected from 89 provincial/territorial agencies and 22 First Nations and urban Aboriginal agencies. Kiskisik Awasisak examines differences between the child, family, household, maltreatment and service response profiles for the child maltreatment and risk investigations involving First Nations children and non-Aboriginal children which were conducted by agencies included in the CIS sample. Based on data for investigations opened between October 1 and December 31, 2008, the study estimates that 14,114 investigations involving First Nations children) and 83,650 investigations involving non-Aboriginal children were conducted by sampled agencies in 2008. The report presents disparities in the rates of First Nations and non-Aboriginal children investigated, retained for post-investigation services, and moved to out-of-home care during the investigation period. It also identifies caregiver and household risk factors which contribute to First Nations overrepresentation. Because of the purposive sampling of First Nations and urban Aboriginal agencies, and differences in methodology, results presented in Kiskisik Awasisak cannot be directly compared other CIS reports or to data from other CIS cycles.