(Sunchild First Nation)

By rdnewsNOW Staff

Child, Youth and Family Enhancement Agreement

Sunchild First Nation celebrates new agreement and opportunities for its children, youth, and families

Sep 8, 2022 | 12:57 PM

Sunchild First Nation’s elected leaders, staff, and citizens are celebrating a major milestone and new opportunities created to improve local child and family services delivery and to enhance the wellbeing of Sunchild First Nation children, youth, and families.

Under Alberta’s existing child and family services system, Sunchild says it has received services under the Central Alberta Child & Family Services Authority, primarily out of its Rocky Mountain House and Drayton Valley District Offices.

Under a new Child, Youth and Family Enhancement Agreement, Sunchild First Nation will for the first-time have a “Delegated First Nations Agency” or “DFNA” located on-reserve to provide new prevention services and enhanced protective services locally from within the community.

“Our Nation has taken an historic step forward on our path towards self-reliance and greater, local control over service delivery for our members,” said Chief Jonathan Frencheater. “Under our new agreement, and with the support of enhanced federal funding, Sunchild First Nation is now positioned to deliver enhanced, culturally-appropriate and community-driven services for our children, youth, and families.”

Sunchild First Nation notes a disproportionately high number of its children and youth currently in CFS care – over 140. Sunchild says it will now be positioned to provide better supports, right from within their Nation, to better prevent children from having to enter into CFS care in the first place, and to ensure that protection and intervention services – when absolutely necessary – better reflect the Nation’s culture, values, heritage, languages, experiences, and unique ways of life.

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As a DFNA, the Sunchild Child and Family Services Society will become the provider of both prevention and child intervention CFS services locally. Already, the Society says it has been delivering new preventative services including successful cultural camps for Sunchild First Nation children and youth.

In the coming months, they expect to enhance their programming to provide support for youth wellness, recreational wellness, mental health and addictions, grief and loss support, and much more.

In coordination with Sunchild Chief & Council and administration staff, the Society has also worked to support planned local capital projects that will better support its enhanced CFS services, including the opening of temporary office space, the enhancement the new local community centre to enable gatherings, prevention, and reunification services, and the construction of a reunification home that will provide a safe and welcoming space within the community for at-risk children and youth.

These prevention services and capital projects are said to have been supported by over $6.9 million in federal funding recently made available to Sunchild First Nation through the Community Well-Being and Jurisdiction Initiatives program (CWJI), as well as the recent Agreement-In-Principle (AIP). The Society continues its work with Canada to secure additional funding that will enable the Society to become fully operational, delivering both prevention and intervention services by April 1, 2023.

“Guided by the vision and direction of Chief and Council, and supported by our enthusiastic team of staff and technical advisors, we have made tremendous progress this past year putting into place promising new prevention services, as well as a foundation to ensure that protective CFS services are delivered only as a last resort and delivered right here in the community,” said Tobias Mwandala, PH.D., RSW, Executive Director of the Sunchild First Nation Child and Family Services Society. “In the months ahead, we look forward to engaging with community members to secure more local staff, build on our existing prevention programming, and to execute an operational plan that truly reflects the Nation’s needs and priorities.”