Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Research: Key Learnings Around Integrating Calls for Justice into Delegated Aboriginal Agency Programs and Services

• Main Authors: Ortman, Jennifer M., Wells, Frances C.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Research and Evaluation in Child, Youth and Family Services 2023
• Subjects: Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG); Delegated Aboriginal Agency; Child Welfare; Calls for Justice; Canada; First Nations; inuit
• Online Access: http://ojs.library.ubc.ca/index.php/RECYFS/article/view/197563; https://doi.org/10.14288/recyfs.v3i1.197563

Our research project: “Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG): Key Learnings Around Integrating Calls for Justice into Delegated Aboriginal Agency Programs and Services” is a research study based on the Social Work and Child Welfare related Calls for Justice that resulted from the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Children Final Report in 2019. This report derived from a national inquiry in regards to systemic forms of violence that Inuit, Métis, and First Nations women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA1 people experience in Canada and I recommended 231 calls for justice, recommending specific actions governments, institutions, service providers and industries needed to take to better ensure the safety of Indigenous Women, Girls and 2SLGBTQQIA peoples in all programs and services. This Final Report is a result of collaborative research completed by UBC students Jennifer Ortman, and Frances Wells, along with sponsors, Lori Mason and Jennifer McMillan from the Ministry of Children and Family Development and from the BC Aboriginal Childcare Society. This project also included input and direction from Delegated Aboriginal Agencies, the MMIWG Steering Committee, the Director’s Forum, and from MCFD Aboriginal Policy and Practice Framework Representatives Rhonda Ducharme and Judy Green. The goal of our research was to find out what was happening in the front lines of child welfare in response to these calls for justice, particularly in relation to Delegated Aboriginal Agencies. The research question we then developed to fulfill our research goal was: “How are Delegated Aboriginal Agencies providing culturally safe services; alternatives to removal promoting intact community and cultural connections; supports for youth transitioning to adulthood; and ensuring the safety of Indigenous women, children and LGBTQ2S+ in all programs and services provided”. It was our hope that at the end of this research project, we would be able to have enough information to guide us on what more needs to be done or needs to ...