18 young Albertans died while receiving child intervention services since April, 16 were Indigenous

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Data from Alberta’s Ministry of Children and Family Services shows 89 per cent of young people who died while receiving child intervention services this year were Indigenous.

Advocates and front-line workers are urging the Alberta government to take immediate action to protect at-risk children and implement long-term child welfare reforms.

Between April 1 and Aug. 31, 18 children, youth, and young adults died while receiving intervention services in Alberta. Sixteen were Indigenous.

Of those who died, eight were in care, two were not currently in care and eight were receiving post-intervention support, which can be accessed by young adults over 18 who have previously been involved in child intervention.

Nearly all the deaths are still under investigation with the cause of death listed as pending in the report from Children and Family Services (CFS). One death is listed as accidental, and two died by suicide.

"When we see that 16 out of 18 deaths are Indigenous, it's really clear that systemic problems persist, despite the previous interventions and reforms," said Audra Foggin, associate professor of social work at Mount Royal University and a Sixties Scoop survivor.

"It's no longer shocking to me as an Indigenous person, and nor should anybody in Canada be shocked about this. They should be taking action towards this.

"And I think everybody has a responsibility as a treaty person in Canada to be thinking about how we can address these devastating impacts through Canada's history," she said.

Foggin said there needs to be a shift towards community prevention and early intervention efforts that keep youth close to their community and cultural practices, as well as more attention given to cultural competence, trauma-informed approaches and anti-racism training.

"It means addressing and dismantling systemic racism that's embedded in the structures of child intervention services. Because historically, child welfare systems in Canada have really been used as tools of colonialism and assimilation, leading to this overrepresentation of Indigenous children in care that we now see," she said.


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