2024-25 Reporting on the Calls for Justice 12.1 to 12.15: Social Workers and Child Welfare

While the final figures will be confirmed in the Government of Canada's 2024-25 Public Accounts, Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) estimates that it provided more than $3.5 billion in support through the FNCFS program in 2024-25, continuing a comprehensive suite of reforms.

Key developments for the FNCFS program in 2024-25 include:

• Continued delivery of culturally grounded prevention and protection services, post-majority support services, First Nations Representative Services.
• Continuing to provide funding to First Nations to support building housing for families to address a structural driver of child welfare system involvement.
• On July 11, 2024, the Assembly of First Nations, Chiefs of Ontario, Nishnawbe Aski Nation and Canada reached a Final Agreement on the long-term reform of the FNCFS program. This agreement was rejected by the First Nations-in-Assembly in October 2024.
• In February 2025, the Chiefs of Ontario, Nishnawbe Aski Nation and the Government of Canada signed a landmark $8.5 billion agreement to reform the FNCFS program in Ontario. In March 2025, the Chiefs of Ontario and Nishnawbe Aski Nation filed a joint motion with the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal to seek its approval of the agreement and the end of its oversight over the program in Ontario.
• Continued collaboration with partners to uphold and integrate the principles of An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families.

The FNCFS program responds to part of Call for Justice 12.1 by advancing self-determination through the support provided to First Nations to design and deliver prevention services and other supports (e.g. First Nations Representative Services) rooted in their values and traditions. The purpose of these prevention services is to reduce the number of First Nations children and youth in care and address the structural drivers that lead to maltreatment. First Nations Representative Services involves representatives working in the interests of the First Nation, its children and families, while advocating for the children's rights and collaborating with other service providers.

• Prevents family separation: Prioritizes prevention and early intervention services with the aim of helping families remain together safely. Supports kinship care, culturally grounded parenting programs, and early responses to family stressors with the objective of reducing the risk of child apprehension.
• Supports intergenerational healing: Seeks to break cycles of intergenerational trauma caused by colonization and the legacy of residential schools and the Sixties Scoop, through culturally rooted services designed and delivered by First Nations. Provides supports that aim to help families and communities reconnect with cultural teachings, language, and traditional caregiving practices.
• Provides holistic, wraparound supports: Funds a wide range of wrap-around services that address the underlying drivers of child and family vulnerability, including poverty, food insecurity, inadequate housing, substance use, and mental health challenges. Funds post-majority supports for youth aging out of care, such as access to housing, employment, and mental health resources, reducing the risk of homelessness and exploitation.
• Promotes cultural continuity and identity: Works to ensure that children remain connected to their cultures, communities, and languages through services delivered by their own Nations. This cultural grounding builds identity and belonging, critical protective factors that reduce risk and promote healing, particularly for those who have experienced or are at risk of gender-based violence.
• Centers the best interests of the child: All services funded through the program are guided by the principles of An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families, including the best interests of the child, cultural continuity, and substantive equality. This ensures that interventions prioritize safety, healing, and the long-term well-being of First Nations children within the context of their families and Nations.
• Supports First Nation self-determination: As part of the ongoing reform of the FNCFS program and alignment with An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families, places greater emphasis on the design and delivery of prevention services and supports (e.g., First Nations Representative Services, Post-Majority Support Services) by First Nations in a flexible, community-led, needs-based manner.
• Builds community capacity: Invests in the infrastructure, staff, and leadership development needed for First Nations to design, implement, and oversee their own child and family service systems. Funding for First Nations Representative Services enables Nations to respond to their unique realities and support families with dignity and care.
• Addresses systemic inequities: Continues to address the legacy of discriminatory funding and policy frameworks by transitioning to needs-based models and implementing Canadian Human Rights Tribunal-ordered reforms. Enables equitable access to services that are responsive to the actual conditions in First Nations communities, contributing to broader reconciliation, justice, and safety for First Nations women, girls, and 2SLGBTQI+ people.

Budget 2021 allocated $1 billion over five years, starting in 2021, with $118.7 million ongoing to support the FNCFS program. In 2023-24, $3.57 billion was allocated through the FNCFS program to fund prevention and protection services, post-majority supports, and First Nations Representative Services, ensuring that communities are resourced to meet the needs of children and families in culturally grounded and holistic ways.

In 2024–25, ISC continued its work with Indigenous governing bodies to support the implementation of the Act. While the final figures can only be confirmed once the Government of Canada's 2024-25 Public Accounts become available, ISC estimates that, since the Act came into force on January 1, 2020 and up until March 31, 2025, the Department has provided over $750 million to more than 14 Indigenous governing bodies to exercise their jurisdiction under the Act. In 2024-25, ISC estimates that more than $90 million was provided to Indigenous groups for capacity building and participation in coordination agreement discussions.

Progress was also made on the upcoming five-year review of the provisions and operation of the Act, which will be conducted in collaboration with Indigenous partners beginning in 2025. Pre-engagement activities included the development of a collaborative workplan and identification of initial themes and priorities for engagement. The Act's implementation continues to be guided by Indigenous communities and partners, ensuring that it remains responsive to community-identified needs and priorities.

This initiative responds to part of Call for Justice 12.1 by affirming the inherent right of self-government, including jurisdiction in relation to child and family services. The Act establishes a legislative framework for Indigenous communities to develop and implement their own child and family service laws, shifting control away from provincial systems. It promotes Indigenous-led solutions by mandating national standards based on cultural continuity, substantive equality, and the best interests of the child. Through this framework, the Act supports Indigenous Peoples in exercising full authority over decisions that impact their children and families. This approach aligns with the spirit of Call for Justice 12.1, enabling communities to define their own approaches to safety and care.

Indigenous families, children and communities impacted by the MMIWG2S+ crisis benefit from services that are community-based, culturally safe, and grounded in self-determination. These systems reduce reliance on external child welfare interventions that have historically contributed to trauma and disconnection, promoting healing through culturally relevant support structures.

• Strengthens Indigenous jurisdiction: Enables Indigenous communities to reclaim authority over child and family services and enact their own laws.
• Reduces overrepresentation: Supports preventive and culturally appropriate approaches to address the structural drivers of child welfare involvement.
• Protects the best interest of the child and cultural continuity: Prioritizes the preservation of Indigenous languages, traditions, kinship systems, and identity in care decisions.
• Enhances service equity: Mandates national standards that support substantive equality and prohibit child apprehension based on poverty.
• Promotes long-term safety and wellness: Improves conditions for Indigenous children and families through sustainable, trauma-informed, and community-led service delivery.

Since 2020, multiple federal budget allocations have supported the implementation of the Act:

• July 2020 Economic and Fiscal Snapshot: $542 million over five years (ending in 2024–25).
• Budget 2021: $73.6 million over four years (ending in 2024–25).
• Budget 2022: $428.1 million over three to ten years.
• Budget 2023: $444.2 million over three years (ending in 2026–27).
• Budget 2024: $1.8 billion over 11 years (ending in 2035).

These investments have supported capacity-building, coordination agreement discussions, and the implementation of Indigenous child and family service laws. All funding is administered through contribution and grant mechanisms, with implementation led by Indigenous Governing Bodies.

While the final figures will be confirmed in the Government of Canada's 2024-25 Public Accounts, Indigenous Services Canada estimates that it provided more than $3.5 billion in support through the FNCFS program in 2024-25, continuing a comprehensive suite of reforms.

Key developments for the FNCFS program in 2024-25 include:

• Continued delivery of culturally grounded prevention and protection services, post-majority support services, First Nations Representative Services.
• Continuing to provide funding to First Nations to support building housing for families to address a structural driver of child welfare system involvement.
• On July 11, 2024, the Assembly of First Nations, Chiefs of Ontario, Nishnawbe Aski Nation and Canada reached a Final Agreement on the long-term reform of the FNCFS program. This agreement was rejected by the First Nations-in-Assembly in October 2024.
• In February 2025, the Chiefs of Ontario, Nishnawbe Aski Nation and the Government of Canada signed a landmark $8.5 billion agreement to reform the FNCFS program in Ontario. In March 2025, the Chiefs of Ontario and Nishnawbe Aski Nation filed a joint motion with the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal to seek its approval of the agreement and the end of its oversight over the program in Ontario.
• Continued collaboration with partners to uphold and integrate the principles of An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families.

The FNCFS program responds to part of Call for Justice 12.2 by actively addressing the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal's findings of systemic discrimination. The program has undergone significant reforms, including the application of new funding approaches aimed at ensuring services are needs-based, culturally appropriate, and non-discriminatory.

• Prevents family separation: Prioritizes prevention and early intervention services with the aim of helping families remain together safely. Supports kinship care, culturally grounded parenting programs, and early responses to family stressors with the objective of reducing the risk of child apprehension.
• Supports intergenerational healing: Seeks to break cycles of intergenerational trauma caused by colonization and the legacy of residential schools and the Sixties Scoop, through culturally rooted services designed and delivered by First Nations. Provides supports that aim to help families and communities reconnect with cultural teachings, language, and traditional caregiving practices.
• Provides holistic, wraparound supports: Funds a wide range of wrap-around services that address the underlying drivers of child and family vulnerability, including poverty, food insecurity, inadequate housing, substance use, and mental health challenges. Funds post-majority supports for youth aging out of care, such as access to housing, employment, and mental health resources, reducing the risk of homelessness and exploitation.
• Promotes cultural continuity and identity: Works to ensure that children remain connected to their cultures, communities, and languages through services delivered by their own Nations. This cultural grounding builds identity and belonging, critical protective factors that reduce risk and promote healing, particularly for those who have experienced or are at risk of gender-based violence.
• Centers the best interests of the child: All services funded through the program are guided by the principles of An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families, including the best interests of the child, cultural continuity, and substantive equality. This ensures that interventions prioritize safety, healing, and the long-term well-being of First Nations children within the context of their families and Nations.
• Supports First Nation self-determination: As part of the ongoing reform of the FNCFS program and alignment with An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families, places greater emphasis on the design and delivery of prevention services and supports (e.g., First Nations Representative Services, Post-Majority Support Services) by First Nations in a flexible, community-led, needs-based manner.
• Builds community capacity: Invests in the infrastructure, staff, and leadership development needed for First Nations to design, implement, and oversee their own child and family service systems. Funding for First Nations Representative Services enables Nations to respond to their unique realities and support families with dignity and care.
• Addresses systemic inequities: Continues to address the legacy of discriminatory funding and policy frameworks by transitioning to needs-based models and implementing Canadian Human Rights Tribunal-ordered reforms. Enables equitable access to services that are responsive to the actual conditions in First Nations communities, contributing to broader reconciliation, justice, and safety for First Nations women, girls, and 2SLGBTQI+ people.

Budget 2021 allocated $1 billion over five years, starting in 2021, with $118.7 million ongoing to support the FNCFS program. In 2023-24, $3.57 billion was allocated through the FNCFS program to fund prevention and protection services, post-majority supports, and First Nations Representative Services, ensuring that communities are resourced to meet the needs of children and families in culturally grounded and holistic ways.

In 2024–25, ISC continued its work with Indigenous governing bodies to support the implementation of the Act. While the final figures can only be confirmed once the Government of Canada's 2024-25 Public Accounts become available, ISC estimates that, since the Act came into force on January 1, 2020 and up until March 31, 2025, the Department has provided over $750 million to more than 14 Indigenous governing bodies to exercise their jurisdiction under the Act. In 2024-25, ISC estimates that more than $90 million was provided to Indigenous groups for capacity building and participation in coordination agreement discussions.

Progress was also made on the upcoming five-year review of the provisions and operation of the Act, which will be conducted in collaboration with Indigenous partners beginning in 2025. Pre-engagement activities included the development of a collaborative workplan and identification of initial themes and priorities for engagement. The Act's implementation continues to be guided by Indigenous communities and partners, ensuring that it remains responsive to community-identified needs and priorities.

This initiative responds to part of Call for Justice 12.2 by providing a pathway for Indigenous communities to exercise their jurisdiction over child and family services through self-determined laws and coordination agreements. The Act ensures that these communities can establish and implement service delivery models rooted in Indigenous worldviews, values, and customs. By mandating national standards and principles, it ensures consistency in culturally safe care while allowing flexibility for local adaptation. ISC supports this process through capacity funding and the facilitation of coordination agreement discussions with provinces and territories. The Act's structure supports long-term systemic reform toward Indigenous-led governance.

For families and children affected by the MMIWG2S+ crisis, this initiative creates conditions for culturally competent, community-controlled services that are better equipped to recognize and respond to the effects of trauma. It helps prevent harmful interventions by mainstream systems, restoring culturally rooted models of care and protection.

• Strengthens Indigenous jurisdiction: Enables Indigenous communities to reclaim authority over child and family services and enact their own laws.
• Reduces overrepresentation: Supports preventive and culturally appropriate approaches to address the structural drivers of child welfare involvement.
• Protects the best interest of the child and cultural continuity: Prioritizes the preservation of Indigenous languages, traditions, kinship systems, and identity in care decisions.
• Enhances service equity: Mandates national standards that support substantive equality and prohibit child apprehension based on poverty.
• Promotes long-term safety and wellness: Improves conditions for Indigenous children and families through sustainable, trauma-informed, and community-led service delivery.

Since 2020, multiple federal budget allocations have supported the implementation of the Act:

• July 2020 Economic and Fiscal Snapshot: $542 million over five years (ending in 2024–25).
• Budget 2021: $73.6 million over four years (ending in 2024–25).
• Budget 2022: $428.1 million over three to ten years.
• Budget 2023: $444.2 million over three years (ending in 2026–27).
• Budget 2024: $1.8 billion over 11 years (ending in 2035).

These investments have supported capacity-building, coordination agreement discussions, and the implementation of Indigenous child and family service laws. All funding is administered through contribution and grant mechanisms, with implementation led by Indigenous Governing Bodies.

While the final figures will be confirmed in the Government of Canada's 2024-25 Public Accounts, Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) estimates that it provided more than $3.5 billion in support through the FNCFS program in 2024-25, continuing a comprehensive suite of reforms.

Key developments for the FNCFS program in 2024-25 include:

• Continued delivery of culturally grounded prevention and protection services, post-majority support services, First Nations Representative Services.
• Continuing to provide funding to First Nations to support building housing for families to address a structural driver of child welfare system involvement.
• On July 11, 2024, the Assembly of First Nations, Chiefs of Ontario, Nishnawbe Aski Nation and Canada reached a Final Agreement on the long-term reform of the FNCFS program. This agreement was rejected by the First Nations-in-Assembly in October 2024.
• In February 2025, the Chiefs of Ontario, Nishnawbe Aski Nation and the Government of Canada signed a landmark $8.5 billion agreement to reform the FNCFS program in Ontario. In March 2025, the Chiefs of Ontario and Nishnawbe Aski Nation filed a joint motion with the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal to seek its approval of the agreement and the end of its oversight over the program in Ontario.
• Continued collaboration with partners to uphold and integrate the principles of An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families.

The FNCFS program responds to part of Call for Justice 12.3 by requiring service providers to deliver child and family services in alignment with the principles and minimum standards set out in An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families. These principles include the best interests of the child, cultural continuity, and substantive equality, which together ensure that services are not only protective but also affirming of First Nations identities and worldviews. By embedding these principles into funding requirements and accountability mechanisms, the program helps safeguard First Nations children from discriminatory or culturally unsafe interventions. Families and children benefit from services that prioritize holistic well-being and cultural belonging, while communities gain confidence in systems that honour their traditions, strengthen family bonds, and uphold the dignity of First Nations caregiving practices.

• Prevents family separation: Prioritizes prevention and early intervention services with the aim of helping families remain together safely. Supports kinship care, culturally grounded parenting programs, and early responses to family stressors with the objective of reducing the risk of child apprehension.
• Supports intergenerational healing: Seeks to break cycles of intergenerational trauma caused by colonization and the legacy of residential schools and the Sixties Scoop, through culturally rooted services designed and delivered by First Nations. Provides supports that aim to help families and communities reconnect with cultural teachings, language, and traditional caregiving practices.
• Provides holistic, wraparound supports: Funds a wide range of wrap-around services that address the underlying drivers of child and family vulnerability, including poverty, food insecurity, inadequate housing, substance use, and mental health challenges. Funds post-majority supports for youth aging out of care, such as access to housing, employment, and mental health resources, reducing the risk of homelessness and exploitation.
• Promotes cultural continuity and identity: Works to ensure that children remain connected to their cultures, communities, and languages through services delivered by their own Nations. This cultural grounding builds identity and belonging, critical protective factors that reduce risk and promote healing, particularly for those who have experienced or are at risk of gender-based violence.
• Centers the best interests of the child: All services funded through the program are guided by the principles of An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families, including the best interests of the child, cultural continuity, and substantive equality. This ensures that interventions prioritize safety, healing, and the long-term well-being of First Nations children within the context of their families and Nations.
• Supports First Nation self-determination: As part of the ongoing reform of the FNCFS program and alignment with An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families, places greater emphasis on the design and delivery of prevention services and supports (e.g., First Nations Representative Services, Post-Majority Support Services) by First Nations in a flexible, community-led, needs-based manner.
• Builds community capacity: Invests in the infrastructure, staff, and leadership development needed for First Nations to design, implement, and oversee their own child and family service systems. Funding for First Nations Representative Services enables Nations to respond to their unique realities and support families with dignity and care.
• Addresses systemic inequities: Continues to address the legacy of discriminatory funding and policy frameworks by transitioning to needs-based models and implementing Canadian Human Rights Tribunal-ordered reforms. Enables equitable access to services that are responsive to the actual conditions in First Nations communities, contributing to broader reconciliation, justice, and safety for First Nations women, girls, and 2SLGBTQI+ people.

Budget 2021 allocated $1 billion over five years, starting in 2021, with $118.7 million ongoing to support the FNCFS program. In 2023-24, $3.57 billion was allocated through the FNCFS program to fund prevention and protection services, post-majority supports, and First Nations Representative Services, ensuring that communities are resourced to meet the needs of children and families in culturally grounded and holistic ways.

In 2024–25, ISC continued its work with Indigenous governing bodies to support the implementation of the Act. While the final figures can only be confirmed once the Government of Canada's 2024-25 Public Accounts become available, ISC estimates that, since the Act came into force on January 1, 2020 and up until March 31, 2025, the Department has provided over $750 million to more than 14 Indigenous governing bodies to exercise their jurisdiction under the Act. In 2024-25, ISC estimates that more than $90 million was provided to Indigenous groups for capacity building and participation in coordination agreement discussions.

Progress was also made on the upcoming five-year review of the provisions and operation of the Act, which will be conducted in collaboration with Indigenous partners beginning in 2025. Pre-engagement activities included the development of a collaborative workplan and identification of initial themes and priorities for engagement. The Act's implementation continues to be guided by Indigenous communities and partners, ensuring that it remains responsive to community-identified needs and priorities.

This initiative responds to part of Call for Justice 12.3 by embedding the principle of the best interests of the child in legislation, with special attention to cultural identity, family relationships, and community connection. The Act requires service providers to make decisions in alignment with these principles and prioritizes the child's cultural, emotional, and physical well-being. It sets a legal obligation to consider the child's broader kinship and cultural context in all service planning. These standards are binding for all jurisdictions and service providers interacting with Indigenous children.

For Indigenous families, children and communities impacted by the MMIWG2S+ crisis, this approach helps reduce the risk of culturally inappropriate apprehensions. It promotes decision-making that centers Indigenous children within their own families, languages, and cultures—building safety through belonging and continuity.

• Strengthens Indigenous jurisdiction: Enables Indigenous communities to reclaim authority over child and family services and enact their own laws.
• Reduces overrepresentation: Supports preventive and culturally appropriate approaches to address the structural drivers of child welfare involvement.
• Protects the best interest of the child and cultural continuity: Prioritizes the preservation of Indigenous languages, traditions, kinship systems, and identity in care decisions.
• Enhances service equity: Mandates national standards that support substantive equality and prohibit child apprehension based on poverty.
• Promotes long-term safety and wellness: Improves conditions for Indigenous children and families through sustainable, trauma-informed, and community-led service delivery.

Since 2020, multiple federal budget allocations have supported the implementation of the Act:

• July 2020 Economic and Fiscal Snapshot: $542 million over five years (ending in 2024–25).
• Budget 2021: $73.6 million over four years (ending in 2024–25).
• Budget 2022: $428.1 million over three to ten years.
• Budget 2023: $444.2 million over three years (ending in 2026–27).
• Budget 2024: $1.8 billion over 11 years (ending in 2035).

These investments have supported capacity-building, coordination agreement discussions, and the implementation of Indigenous child and family service laws. All funding is administered through contribution and grant mechanisms, with implementation led by Indigenous Governing Bodies.

This initiative responds to part of Call for Justice 12.4 by helping to address systemic gaps that contribute to Indigenous youth homelessness, particularly for those leaving the child welfare system. The ARCH initiative includes a project in Sudbury that focuses on improving coordination between the child welfare system and housing services. This project enhances culturally appropriate services tailored to Indigenous youth, strengthens connections between agencies, and promotes long-term housing stability. Indigenous families, survivors, and communities benefit from this program through improved access to support services that reduce the risk of homelessness for Indigenous youth aging out of care.

• Youth-specific housing solutions: Enhances targeted housing supports for Indigenous youth transitioning from care to independent living. Reduces risk factors contributing to youth homelessness.
  • Example: In 2024-25, $627,000 was allocated for the City of Sudbury, Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres, and N'Swakamok Native Friendship Centre to explore ways of improving systems alignment with the child welfare system and outcomes for Indigenous youth. The project is creating the Emerging Adult Services for Empowerment Network with key organizations that interact with youth transitioning out of child welfare and is piloting the Growing Response Analytics on Child-Welfare Exists Database in Homeless Individuals and Families Information System. This shared database of strengths-based profiles of post-transitional youth (ages 18-29) is helping to facilitate coordination across agencies.
• Systemic coordination: Strengthens linkages between child welfare, housing services, and social services.
  • Example: In 2024-25, $725,000 was allocated to the Saint John Human Development Council and Turning Leaf to explore alignment with the corrections system to prevent discharges into homelessness by improving case management practices for people in corrections, putting more resources towards Indigenous programing, and piloting a systems navigator role to better support clients.
• Culturally appropriate support services: Ensures Indigenous youth receive services that respect their identity and lived experiences.

Budget 2022 allocated $11 million over three years, starting in 2023-24.

While the final figures will be confirmed in the Government of Canada's 2024-25 Public Accounts, Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) estimates that it provided more than $3.5 billion in support through the FNCFS program in 2024-25, continuing a comprehensive suite of reforms.

Key developments for the FNCFS program in 2024-25 include:

• Continued delivery of culturally grounded prevention and protection services, post-majority support services, First Nations Representative Services;
• Continuing to provide funding to First Nations to support building housing for families to address a structural driver of child welfare system involvement;
• On July 11, 2024, the Assembly of First Nations, Chiefs of Ontario, Nishnawbe Aski Nation and Canada reached a Final Agreement on the long-term reform of the FNCFS program. This agreement was rejected by the First Nations-in-Assembly in October 2024.
• In February 2025, the Chiefs of Ontario, Nishnawbe Aski Nation and the Government of Canada signed a landmark $8.5 billion agreement to reform the FNCFS program in Ontario. In March 2025, the Chiefs of Ontario and Nishnawbe Aski Nation filed a joint motion with the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal to seek its approval of the agreement and the end of its oversight over the program in Ontario.
• Continued collaboration with partners to uphold and integrate the principles of An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families.

The FNCFS program responds to part of Call for Justice 12.4 by requiring that all services funded through the program uphold the principles and minimum standards set out in An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families, including the principles of the best interests of the child, cultural continuity, and substantive equality.

• Prevents family separation: Prioritizes prevention and early intervention services with the aim of helping families remain together safely. Supports kinship care, culturally grounded parenting programs, and early responses to family stressors with the objective of reducing the risk of child apprehension.
• Supports intergenerational healing: Seeks to break cycles of intergenerational trauma caused by colonization and the legacy of residential schools and the Sixties Scoop, through culturally rooted services designed and delivered by First Nations. Provides supports that aim to help families and communities reconnect with cultural teachings, language, and traditional caregiving practices.
• Provides holistic, wraparound supports: Funds a wide range of wrap-around services that address the underlying drivers of child and family vulnerability, including poverty, food insecurity, inadequate housing, substance use, and mental health challenges. Funds post-majority supports for youth aging out of care, such as access to housing, employment, and mental health resources, reducing the risk of homelessness and exploitation.
• Promotes cultural continuity and identity: Works to ensure that children remain connected to their cultures, communities, and languages through services delivered by their own Nations. This cultural grounding builds identity and belonging, critical protective factors that reduce risk and promote healing, particularly for those who have experienced or are at risk of gender-based violence.
• Centers the best interests of the child: All services funded through the program are guided by the principles of An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families, including the best interests of the child, cultural continuity, and substantive equality. This ensures that interventions prioritize safety, healing, and the long-term well-being of First Nations children within the context of their families and Nations.
• Supports First Nation self-determination: As part of the ongoing reform of the FNCFS program and alignment with An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families, places greater emphasis on the design and delivery of prevention services and supports (e.g., First Nations Representative Services, Post-Majority Support Services) by First Nations in a flexible, community-led, needs-based manner.
• Builds community capacity: Invests in the infrastructure, staff, and leadership development needed for First Nations to design, implement, and oversee their own child and family service systems. Funding for First Nations Representative Services enables Nations to respond to their unique realities and support families with dignity and care.
• Addresses systemic inequities: Continues to address the legacy of discriminatory funding and policy frameworks by transitioning to needs-based models and implementing Canadian Human Rights Tribunal-ordered reforms. Enables equitable access to services that are responsive to the actual conditions in First Nations communities, contributing to broader reconciliation, justice, and safety for First Nations women, girls, and 2SLGBTQI+ people.

Budget 2021 allocated $1 billion over five years, starting in 2021, with $118.7 million ongoing to support the FNCFS program. In 2023-24, $3.57 billion was allocated through the FNCFS program to fund prevention and protection services, post-majority supports, and First Nations Representative Services, ensuring that communities are resourced to meet the needs of children and families in culturally grounded and holistic ways.

Collectively, the Harvesters Support Grant and Community Food Programs Fund contribute to strengthening Indigenous governance and organizational capacity, reducing reliance on store-bought food, and enhancing food security within local communities. Together, they play a critical role in revitalizing traditional food practices, supporting self-determined approaches to food sovereignty, and reinforcing Indigenous cultural continuity.

The Harvesters Support Grant and Community Food Programs Fund funds a wide range of hunting and harvesting initiatives, and has supported over 15,000 traditional harvesters, with more than 700 new food-sharing initiatives and 400 community hunts and harvests taking place in over 112 remote communities, in partnership with 24 Indigenous governments and organizations. New partnerships are resulting in innovative supply networks, increased access to country food and the creation of low cost food options which complement and inspire the restoration of traditional practices. A comprehensive list of funding recipients is also publicly available.

The specific impacts and project details for each initiative remain with the funding recipients, and Detailed examples are not provided in this report due to the autonomous and community-led nature of project implementation. This approach aligns with the principle of self-determination, ensuring that Indigenous governance structures have full authority over decision-making processes.

The Harvesters Support Grant and Community Food Programs Fund respond to part of Call for Justice 12.4 by increasing food security in Indigenous communities and supporting traditional food harvesting, food sharing networks, and community-driven initiatives. These programs help address poverty-driven child apprehensions through increased food security, food sovereignty, and economic self-sufficiency for Indigenous families in northern and remote communities. By strengthening local food systems, these initiatives help communities remain self-sufficient, reducing dependency on external food sources, and reducing the likelihood that food scarcity will be used as justification for child apprehension.

Indigenous families, survivors, and communities benefit through strengthened food security, enhanced cultural food practices, and reduced reliance on costly market foods. Programs like elders' meal programs, group food ordering, and community kitchens provide wraparound supports that help sustain family and community networks, fostering preventative measures rather than punitive child removals.

• Sustainable food access: Supports community-led food production and harvesting. Strengthens local food systems, including country foods (hunting, trapping, and fishing). Reduces dependency on external food sources, and the cost burden of food in remote communities.
• Community food sovereignty: Ensures decisions about food security and resource allocation are community-driven and culturally appropriate, as Indigenous organizations govern and determine how funding supports their unique food security priorities and needs.

Budget 2024 allocated $96.7 million to the Harvesters Support Grant and Community Food Programs Fund (HSG/CFPF) for the 2024–2027 funding cycle. In addition, there is an ongoing annual budget of $8 million, totaling $24 million through 2027. Together, this brings the total investment in the HSG/CFPF programs over the three-year period to $120.7 million ($118.4 million has already been allocated, with the remainder in progress).

The NNC program only accessed Budget 2021 funding starting in 2022, which required compressing two years of funding into $72.5 million for 2022–23 and $40.2 million for 2023–24 (including the ongoing $8 million per year).

Overall, from 2019 to 2027, a total of $255.1 million has been invested in HSG/CFPF programs. This includes $64 million in ongoing funding (based on $8 million per year from 2019 to 2027), along with an additional $191.1 million investments over the eight-year period.

In 2024–25, ISC continued its work with Indigenous governing bodies to support the implementation of the Act. While the final figures can only be confirmed once the Government of Canada's 2024-25 Public Accounts become available, ISC estimates that, since the Act came into force on January 1, 2020 and up until March 31, 2025, the Department has provided over $750 million to more than 14 Indigenous governing bodies to exercise their jurisdiction under the Act. In 2024-25, ISC estimates that more than $90 million was provided to Indigenous groups for capacity building and participation in coordination agreement discussions.

Progress was also made on the upcoming five-year review of the provisions and operation of the Act, which will be conducted in collaboration with Indigenous partners beginning in 2025. Pre-engagement activities included the development of a collaborative workplan and identification of initial themes and priorities for engagement. The Act's implementation continues to be guided by Indigenous communities and partners, ensuring that it remains responsive to community-identified needs and priorities.

This initiative responds to part of Call for Justice 12.4 by explicitly prohibiting child apprehension solely due to socio-economic conditions. The Act sets a national standard that poverty, inadequate housing, or the health of a parent or caregiver, cannot be the basis for removing a child from their family. It instead emphasizes family unity and supports preventative services aimed at strengthening families. The Act requires that child welfare interventions be consistent with the principle of substantive equality and take into account the systemic barriers Indigenous families may face.

For families and communities affected by the MMIWG2S+ crisis, this provision addresses one of the historical drivers of child apprehension and institutionalization. It protects against unnecessary separations that often expose children to additional risks, including violence and exploitation.

• Strengthens Indigenous jurisdiction: Enables Indigenous communities to reclaim authority over child and family services and enact their own laws.
• Reduces overrepresentation: Supports preventive and culturally appropriate approaches to address the structural drivers of child welfare involvement.
• Protects the best interest of the child and cultural continuity: Prioritizes the preservation of Indigenous languages, traditions, kinship systems, and identity in care decisions.
• Enhances service equity: Mandates national standards that support substantive equality and prohibit child apprehension based on poverty.
• Promotes long-term safety and wellness: Improves conditions for Indigenous children and families through sustainable, trauma-informed, and community-led service delivery.

Since 2020, multiple federal budget allocations have supported the implementation of the Act:

• July 2020 Economic and Fiscal Snapshot: $542 million over five years (ending in 2024–25).
• Budget 2021: $73.6 million over four years (ending in 2024–25).
• Budget 2022: $428.1 million over three to ten years.
• Budget 2023: $444.2 million over three years (ending in 2026–27).
• Budget 2024: $1.8 billion over 11 years (ending in 2035).

These investments have supported capacity-building, coordination agreement discussions, and the implementation of Indigenous child and family service laws. All funding is administered through contribution and grant mechanisms, with implementation led by Indigenous Governing Bodies.

In the spring of 2024, a Shared Responsibility Model and six of the seven Guiding Principles put forward by Inuit partners were endorsed by Canada. ISC then received direction to co-develop with Inuit Partners a National Framework that would set common parameters and ultimately govern the implementation of Inuit CFI at the national level and to co-develop initial regional approaches, with a planned return for endorsement in March 2025. Inuit partners were then engaged in the Fall of 2024 and Winter of 2025 to co-develop the National Framework and interim regional approaches.

This initiative responds to part of Call for Justice 12.4 by providing health, social and educational supports and services to Inuit children.

The program has had $387.5 million allocated to date.

• Budget 2024 allocated $167.5 million over two years (2023–24 to 2024–25).
• Budget 2019 allocated $220 million over five years (2019–20 to 2023–24).

The LFIF responds to part of Call for Justice 12.4 by investing in community-led capacity building and addressing systemic barriers to food security. By supporting Indigenous communities as they enhance their local food systems, the LFIF aims to ensure that Indigenous families are able to access the food they need to succeed.

• Enhancing community food security: Directly increases the availability of nutritious food in Indigenous communities, reducing reliance on external food sources. Funds greenhouses, community gardens, food storage facilities, and other infrastructure and equipment.
  • Example: In 2024-25, $76,680 was allocated to Urban Society for Aboriginal Youth, for the purchase of raised garden beds, gardening tools and supplies, a propagation tower, seeds and soil, gardening tools, range, freezer/fridge, fridge, food preservation equipment and storage containers.
• Supporting Indigenous food sovereignty: Supports Indigenous communities that are working to revitalize traditional food practices. Supports community-based projects that maintain Indigenous food systems (hunting, fishing, traditional agriculture) by prioritizing culturally appropriate food production.
  • Example: In 2022-23, $180,552 over two years was allocated to Stoney Tribal Administration (Alberta) to renovate a facility to accommodate a butchery, purchasing butchery appliances and supplies, freezers, fridges, chicken coops, irrigation systems, rain water collection systems, garden fencing, gardening and fishing equipment in addition to supplies to create traditional food workshops.
• Enhancing family stability: Helps mitigate poverty-related socio-economic pressures that have been used to justify child apprehension. Invests in projects that improve communities' food production infrastructure which results in more access to nutritious foods, and more stable and supportive environments for Indigenous families.
  • Example: In 2024-25, $98,126 was allocated to Day Star First Nation for the purchase of a root cellar, shelving, trees and shrubs, irrigation system, mulcher, garden tools and supplies, tower gardens, rototiller, seeder and scale in order to increase access to local food for this rural community.
• Building economic resilience: Invests in local food economies, critical factors in strengthening the economic security of Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQI+ people. Supports large-scale projects that yield opportunities for employment, training, and skills development in local food production and distribution.
  • Example: In 2024-25, $100,000 was allocated to the Qikiqtani Resource Institute to increase subsistence fishing in 13 communities through the purchase of net haulers, small dredgers, fishing equipment, gillnets, and pots. With training provided on equipment utilization, the communities will be able to harvest locally available species for distribution.

To date, of the total funding envelope of $112.7 million, the LFIF has committed $71 million to nearly 1,200 projects, with over a third of funded recipients who self-identified as Indigenous.

The NHS responds to part of Call for Justice 12.4 by tackling poverty-related housing insecurity, which is a leading cause of Indigenous child apprehensions. By investing in stable, affordable, and culturally appropriate housing, the strategy helps keep Indigenous families together. Indigenous families, survivors, and communities benefit from housing solutions that reduce apprehensions and foster family reunification.

• Community-led, self-governed housing solutions: First Nations, Inuit, and Métis self-determined policies, including Indigenous-led housing initiatives and Métis governance of shelters and transitional housing.
• Expanded safe housing access: Funding for new construction of homes, multi-unit dwellings, and community-led housing projects, and for upgrades and repairs to ensure existing housing stock meets safety, sustainability, and accessibility standards.
• Expansion of emergency and transitional shelters: Committed $336.78 million through the Indigenous Shelter and Transitional Housing Initiative toward the construction of 37 new shelters and 34 new transitional homes for Indigenous women, families, and 2SLGBTQI+ individuals.
• Prioritizing vulnerable populations: Safe, stable housing for women, children, seniors, and those at risk of homelessness, domestic violence, and human trafficking.
• Long-term housing and economic security: Investments in transitional and second-stage housing, rental assistance, and affordable housing for low-income Indigenous families.
• Preventing family separation & child welfare interventions: Housing programs that provide stability for Indigenous families, reducing the risk of child apprehension due to poverty, overcrowding, or unsafe living conditions.
• 2SLGBTQI+ inclusive housing solutions: Culturally informed shelters, affordable housing, and advocacy for 2SLGBTQI+ individuals facing housing insecurity.

Beginning in 2024–25, First Nations have had the flexibility to allocate this funding based on their unique education-related priorities and in alignment with the local realities of the food systems and community-specific needs.

The National School Food Program responds to part of Call for Justice 12.4 by addressing one of the key systemic factors that contribute to child apprehension: food insecurity. The program includes a dedicated $227.8 million investment in the National School Food Program for First Nations elementary and secondary students on reserve and helps ensure that First Nations children will have access to adequate, nutritious, and culturally relevant food in their learning environments. This support can help reduce the risk of families being reported or having children apprehended due to poverty-related concerns like hunger or inadequate nutrition. The program contributes to creating the conditions in which Indigenous families can succeed and remain together.

Indigenous families, survivors, and communities could benefit from the way this program ensures children receive healthy meals at school and helps keep families together by thereby reducing poverty-related risks that contribute to child apprehension.

• Education services and resources better reflect student needs, culture and language.
• First Nations on reserve students participate and progress in their elementary and secondary education

As part of Budget 2024, the Government of Canada committed $1 billion over five years to establish a National School Food Program, including dedicated investments for First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities, as well as self-governing and modern treaty partners. Within this commitment, $227.8 million over five years was allocated to the First Nations Elementary and Secondary Education Program.

This initiative responds to part of part of Call for Justice 12.4 by addressing the socio-economic conditions that contribute to Indigenous child apprehensions.

• Community-driven, culturally relevant approach: Funding decisions are made locally, prioritizing Indigenous-led initiatives that incorporate traditional knowledge, healing practices, and language supports.
• Holistic housing solutions: Investments in emergency shelters, transitional housing, and long-term housing security for vulnerable populations, including Indigenous women, girls, 2SLGBTQI+ individuals, and families fleeing violence.
• Economic and social empowerment: Programs connect individuals to income supports, employment services, and education, reducing poverty-related risks and supporting self-sufficiency.
• Family and child welfare support: Indigenous-led programs strengthen family unity, prevent child welfare interventions, and provide culturally appropriate services to keep families together.
• Targeted investments for vulnerable populations: Reaching Home funded communities are encouraged to prioritize vulnerable populations including Indigenous women, girls, 2SLGBTQI+ people, and families fleeing violence.
• Inclusive and culturally responsive services: Reaching Home can be used to fund wraparound supports, including culturally appropriate services and connection with community (e.g., cultural ceremonies, traditional healing, services provided by Elders and Indigenous language and culture classes).
• Infrastructure and capacity development: Sustainable investments in housing, support services, and safe spaces.

In 2024-25, $110 million was allocated to the Indigenous Homelessness stream and $62.1 million to the Distinctions-based Approaches stream. This includes dedicated funding for Indigenous-led homelessness programming that can support a range of services, support and resources for wrap-around services, emergency housing, prevention services, and long-term housing solutions.

In February 2024, PHAC released the first national CCWIS report on rates of out-of-home care among children in Canada by province or territory, year, sex/gender, age, and placement type. The report includes data from provinces, territories, and publicly available data from ISC. ISC data were included to estimate a maximum national rate, that covered First Nations child welfare agencies. However, distinction-based estimates were not included, as partnerships were not secured from Indigenous or provincial/territorial partners.

Despite this limitation, the report represents a foundation for future distinctions-based reporting. Last year (2024-25), the initiative achieved improvements in both data quality and national coverage including new and/or more granular breakdowns by year, sex/gender, age, placement type, and legal status. PHAC will continue to release plain language summaries to support accessibility and public understanding of the findings.

These enhancements support more accurate, population-level monitoring of child welfare involvement, and enable better understanding of the scope and nature of out-of-home placements across Canada.

This initiative responds to part of Call for Justice 12.4 by collaborating with partners to collect and report on national administrative data on children placed in out-of-home care. The CCWIS provides foundational data to monitor rates of children placed in out-of-home care (apprehensions) nationally and support future distinction-based reporting. Indigenous families, survivors, and communities benefit from this work through improved information about children and families involved with child welfare, including the drivers of social and health inequities. This effort lays the groundwork for accountability and data-informed action to support children, youth and families.

• Collection of disaggregated data: Over time, the CCWIS aims to improve the national data landscape by acknowledging the unique experiences, needs, and priorities of First Nations, Métis, Inuit, and urban Indigenous communities across the country. This foundational work supports future distinctions-based analysis that centres on identity, geography, and intersectional realities.
• Foundation for distinctions-based reporting: The CCWIS reports create a baseline for future distinctions-based monitoring of Indigenous child welfare outcomes, including disaggregated data by First Nations, Inuit, and Métis identity.
• Supports evidence-based policy: The CCWIS enables disaggregated analysis of national child welfare data to inform inclusive, culturally grounded, and responsive programming across jurisdictions. This ensures that interventions are shaped by the realities of those most impacted.
• Informs monitoring and accountability: The CCWIS supports the ability to track progress toward improved health and social outcomes, particularly for Inuit children in care within and outside Inuit Nunangat, helping ensure their rights are upheld and benefits maintained.
• National child welfare monitoring: The CCWIS establishes a mechanism for tracking and reporting national trends of children in out-of-home care, supporting system-wide efforts to reduce child apprehensions and promote family unity.
• Cross-jurisdictional collaboration: Developed in partnership with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis organizations, provinces, territories, and ISC, the CCWIS initiative strengthens shared accountability in child welfare reporting.
• Data accessibility and transparency: The release of the first CCWIS report (2023-24) and its companion blog increases public access to national child welfare data, promoting transparency and public understanding of how children's experiences in care are measured and addressed.
• Informed public health and social policy: The CCWIS contributes to a public health approach to child and family well-being by generating the evidence base needed for prevention-focused interventions that improve long-term outcomes.

The CCWIS is supported through PHAC, with an annual ongoing funding allocation of $175,000. Additional time-limited funding was provided from 2022 to 2025 to strengthen national data coverage and infrastructure.

While the final figures will be confirmed in the Government of Canada's 2024-25 Public Accounts, Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) estimates that it provided more than $3.5 billion in support through the FNCFS program in 2024-25, continuing a comprehensive suite of reforms.

Key developments for the FNCFS program in 2024-25 include:

• Continued delivery of culturally grounded prevention and protection services, post-majority support services, First Nations Representative Services.
• Continuing to provide funding to First Nations to support building housing for families to address a structural driver of child welfare system involvement.
• On July 11, 2024, the Assembly of First Nations, Chiefs of Ontario, Nishnawbe Aski Nation and Canada reached a Final Agreement on the long-term reform of the FNCFS program. This agreement was rejected by the First Nations-in-Assembly in October 2024.
• In February 2025, the Chiefs of Ontario, Nishnawbe Aski Nation and the Government of Canada signed a landmark $8.5 billion agreement to reform the FNCFS program in Ontario. In March 2025, the Chiefs of Ontario and Nishnawbe Aski Nation filed a joint motion with the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal to seek its approval of the agreement and the end of its oversight over the program in Ontario.
• Continued collaboration with partners to uphold and integrate the principles of An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families.

The First Nations Child and Family Services program responds to part of Call for Justice 12.5 because the service providers funded through the program to deliver services to First Nations children, youth and families ordinarily resident on reserve or in the Yukon are obligated to follow the principles and national standards set out in An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families. The Act sets out national minimum standards which apply throughout Canada in the provision of child and family services in relation to Indigenous children. Families and children benefit from needs-based services and reduced disruption to familial and cultural connections, which are vital to healing and long-term well-being. Communities are strengthened by keeping children close, supporting continuity of identity, and ensuring that caregiving remains rooted in Indigenous values, traditions, and collective responsibilities.

• Prevents family separation: Prioritizes prevention and early intervention services with the aim of helping families remain together safely. Supports kinship care, culturally grounded parenting programs, and early responses to family stressors with the objective of reducing the risk of child apprehension.
• Supports intergenerational healing: Seeks to break cycles of intergenerational trauma caused by colonization and the legacy of residential schools and the Sixties Scoop, through culturally rooted services designed and delivered by First Nations. Provides supports that aim to help families and communities reconnect with cultural teachings, language, and traditional caregiving practices.
• Provides holistic, wraparound supports: Funds a wide range of wrap-around services that address the underlying drivers of child and family vulnerability, including poverty, food insecurity, inadequate housing, substance use, and mental health challenges. Funds post-majority supports for youth aging out of care, such as access to housing, employment, and mental health resources, reducing the risk of homelessness and exploitation.
• Promotes cultural continuity and identity: Works to ensure that children remain connected to their cultures, communities, and languages through services delivered by their own Nations. This cultural grounding builds identity and belonging, critical protective factors that reduce risk and promote healing, particularly for those who have experienced or are at risk of gender-based violence.
• Centers the best interests of the child: All services funded through the program are guided by the principles of An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families, including the best interests of the child, cultural continuity, and substantive equality. This ensures that interventions prioritize safety, healing, and the long-term well-being of First Nations children within the context of their families and Nations.
• Supports First Nation self-determination: As part of the ongoing reform of the FNCFS program and alignment with An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families, places greater emphasis on the design and delivery of prevention services and supports (e.g., First Nations Representative Services, Post-Majority Support Services) by First Nations in a flexible, community-led, needs-based manner.
• Builds community capacity: Invests in the infrastructure, staff, and leadership development needed for First Nations to design, implement, and oversee their own child and family service systems. Funding for First Nations Representative Services enables Nations to respond to their unique realities and support families with dignity and care.
• Addresses systemic inequities: Continues to address the legacy of discriminatory funding and policy frameworks by transitioning to needs-based models and implementing Canadian Human Rights Tribunal-ordered reforms. Enables equitable access to services that are responsive to the actual conditions in First Nations communities, contributing to broader reconciliation, justice, and safety for First Nations women, girls, and 2SLGBTQI+ people.

Budget 2021 allocated $1 billion over five years, starting in 2021, with $118.7 million ongoing to support the FNCFS program. In 2023-24, $3.57 billion was allocated through the FNCFS program to fund prevention and protection services, post-majority supports, and First Nations Representative Services, ensuring that communities are resourced to meet the needs of children and families in culturally grounded and holistic ways.

In 2024–25, ISC continued its work with Indigenous governing bodies to support the implementation of the Act. While the final figures can only be confirmed once the Government of Canada's 2024-25 Public Accounts become available, ISC estimates that, since the Act came into force on January 1, 2020 and up until March 31, 2025, the Department has provided over $750 million to more than 14 Indigenous governing bodies to exercise their jurisdiction under the Act. In 2024-25, ISC estimates that more than $90 million was provided to Indigenous groups for capacity building and participation in coordination agreement discussions.

Progress was also made on the upcoming five-year review of the provisions and operation of the Act, which will be conducted in collaboration with Indigenous partners beginning in 2025. Pre-engagement activities included the development of a collaborative workplan and identification of initial themes and priorities for engagement. The Act's implementation continues to be guided by Indigenous communities and partners, ensuring that it remains responsive to community-identified needs and priorities.

This initiative responds to part of Call for Justice 12.5 through the establishment of mandatory minimum standards that apply across Canada in the provision of child and family services for Indigenous children. These standards include the best interests of the child, cultural continuity, and the obligation to prioritize family-based care. The Act ensures that child welfare services are provided in a consistent, equitable, and culturally informed manner. It mandates that providers reassess placements regularly and consider the possibility of reunification with family.

Families and children affected by the MMIWG2S+ crisis benefit from these protections, which reduce the risk of long-term disconnection and promote safe pathways to reunification and care within Indigenous families and communities.

• Strengthens Indigenous jurisdiction: Enables Indigenous communities to reclaim authority over child and family services and enact their own laws.
• Reduces overrepresentation: Supports preventive and culturally appropriate approaches to address the structural drivers of child welfare involvement.
• Protects the best interest of the child and cultural continuity: Prioritizes the preservation of Indigenous languages, traditions, kinship systems, and identity in care decisions.
• Enhances service equity: Mandates national standards that support substantive equality and prohibit child apprehension based on poverty.
• Promotes long-term safety and wellness: Improves conditions for Indigenous children and families through sustainable, trauma-informed, and community-led service delivery.

Since 2020, multiple federal budget allocations have supported the implementation of the Act:

• July 2020 Economic and Fiscal Snapshot: $542 million over five years (ending in 2024–25).
• Budget 2021: $73.6 million over four years (ending in 2024–25).
• Budget 2022: $428.1 million over three to ten years.
• Budget 2023: $444.2 million over three years (ending in 2026–27).
• Budget 2024: $1.8 billion over 11 years (ending in 2035).

These investments have supported capacity-building, coordination agreement discussions, and the implementation of Indigenous child and family service laws. All funding is administered through contribution and grant mechanisms, with implementation led by Indigenous Governing Bodies.

While the final figures will be confirmed in the Government of Canada's 2024-25 Public Accounts, Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) estimates that it provided more than $3.5 billion in support through the FNCFS program in 2024-25, continuing a comprehensive suite of reforms.

Key developments for the FNCFS program in 2024-25 include:

• Continued delivery of culturally grounded prevention and protection services, post-majority support services, First Nations Representative Services.
• Continuing to provide funding to First Nations to support building housing for families to address a structural driver of child welfare system involvement.
• On July 11, 2024, the Assembly of First Nations, Chiefs of Ontario, Nishnawbe Aski Nation and Canada reached a Final Agreement on the long-term reform of the FNCFS program. This agreement was rejected by the First Nations-in-Assembly in October 2024.
• In February 2025, the Chiefs of Ontario, Nishnawbe Aski Nation and the Government of Canada signed a landmark $8.5 billion agreement to reform the FNCFS program in Ontario. In March 2025, the Chiefs of Ontario and Nishnawbe Aski Nation filed a joint motion with the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal to seek its approval of the agreement and the end of its oversight over the program in Ontario.
• Continued collaboration with partners to uphold and integrate the principles of An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families.

The FNCFS program responds to part of Call for Justice 12.6 by prioritizing placements that reflect Indigenous customs, family structures, and relational ties, in alignment with the minimum standards established under An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families. The program supports kinship care models and emphasizes placement decisions that consider a child's emotional bonds, cultural identity, and the importance of remaining within their community whenever possible. It also includes tracking mechanisms to monitor the number of children placed with family members, reinforcing accountability to cultural and community-based priorities. Families and children benefit from reduced disruption to familial and cultural connections, which are vital to healing and long-term well-being. Communities are strengthened by keeping children close, supporting continuity of identity, and ensuring that caregiving remains rooted in Indigenous values, traditions, and collective responsibilities.

• Prevents family separation: Prioritizes prevention and early intervention services with the aim of helping families remain together safely. Supports kinship care, culturally grounded parenting programs, and early responses to family stressors with the objective of reducing the risk of child apprehension.
• Supports intergenerational healing: Seeks to break cycles of intergenerational trauma caused by colonization and the legacy of residential schools and the Sixties Scoop, through culturally rooted services designed and delivered by First Nations. Provides supports that aim to help families and communities reconnect with cultural teachings, language, and traditional caregiving practices.
• Provides holistic, wraparound supports: Funds a wide range of wrap-around services that address the underlying drivers of child and family vulnerability, including poverty, food insecurity, inadequate housing, substance use, and mental health challenges. Funds post-majority supports for youth aging out of care, such as access to housing, employment, and mental health resources, reducing the risk of homelessness and exploitation.
• Promotes cultural continuity and identity: Works to ensure that children remain connected to their cultures, communities, and languages through services delivered by their own Nations. This cultural grounding builds identity and belonging, critical protective factors that reduce risk and promote healing, particularly for those who have experienced or are at risk of gender-based violence.
• Centers the best interests of the child: All services funded through the program are guided by the principles of An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families, including the best interests of the child, cultural continuity, and substantive equality. This ensures that interventions prioritize safety, healing, and the long-term well-being of First Nations children within the context of their families and Nations.
• Supports First Nation self-determination: As part of the ongoing reform of the FNCFS program and alignment with An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families, places greater emphasis on the design and delivery of prevention services and supports (e.g., First Nations Representative Services, Post-Majority Support Services) by First Nations in a flexible, community-led, needs-based manner.
• Builds community capacity: Invests in the infrastructure, staff, and leadership development needed for First Nations to design, implement, and oversee their own child and family service systems. Funding for First Nations Representative Services enables Nations to respond to their unique realities and support families with dignity and care.
• Addresses systemic inequities: Continues to address the legacy of discriminatory funding and policy frameworks by transitioning to needs-based models and implementing Canadian Human Rights Tribunal-ordered reforms. Enables equitable access to services that are responsive to the actual conditions in First Nations communities, contributing to broader reconciliation, justice, and safety for First Nations women, girls, and 2SLGBTQI+ people.

Budget 2021 allocated $1 billion over five years, starting in 2021, with $118.7 million ongoing to support the FNCFS program. In 2023-24, $3.57 billion was allocated through the FNCFS program to fund prevention and protection services, post-majority supports, and First Nations Representative Services, ensuring that communities are resourced to meet the needs of children and families in culturally grounded and holistic ways.

In 2024–25, ISC continued its work with Indigenous governing bodies to support the implementation of the Act. While the final figures can only be confirmed once the Government of Canada's 2024-25 Public Accounts become available, ISC estimates that, since the Act came into force on January 1, 2020 and up until March 31, 2025, the Department has provided over $750 million to more than 14 Indigenous governing bodies to exercise their jurisdiction under the Act. In 2024-25, ISC estimates that more than $90 million was provided to Indigenous groups for capacity building and participation in coordination agreement discussions.

Progress was also made on the upcoming five-year review of the provisions and operation of the Act, which will be conducted in collaboration with Indigenous partners beginning in 2025. Pre-engagement activities included the development of a collaborative workplan and identification of initial themes and priorities for engagement. The Act's implementation continues to be guided by Indigenous communities and partners, ensuring that it remains responsive to community-identified needs and priorities.

This initiative responds to part of Call for Justice 12.6 by requiring that placements of Indigenous children prioritize proximity to parents, adult family members, and community members from the same Indigenous group. The Act further mandates ongoing reassessment of these placements to explore opportunities for reunification. These legal requirements create a system that protects against the long-term institutionalization of Indigenous children in unfamiliar or culturally unsafe environments.

For Indigenous families impacted by the MMIWG2S+ crisis, the emphasis on kinship care and placement within Indigenous communities helps preserve cultural identity and offers greater continuity of care. It serves as a critical safeguard against isolation, exploitation, and further trauma.

• Strengthens Indigenous jurisdiction: Enables Indigenous communities to reclaim authority over child and family services and enact their own laws.
• Reduces overrepresentation: Supports preventive and culturally appropriate approaches to address the structural drivers of child welfare involvement.
• Protects the best interest of the child and cultural continuity: Prioritizes the preservation of Indigenous languages, traditions, kinship systems, and identity in care decisions.
• Enhances service equity: Mandates national standards that support substantive equality and prohibit child apprehension based on poverty.
• Promotes long-term safety and wellness: Improves conditions for Indigenous children and families through sustainable, trauma-informed, and community-led service delivery.

Since 2020, multiple federal budget allocations have supported the implementation of the Act:

• July 2020 Economic and Fiscal Snapshot: $542 million over five years (ending in 2024–25).
• Budget 2021: $73.6 million over four years (ending in 2024–25).
• Budget 2022: $428.1 million over three to ten years.
• Budget 2023: $444.2 million over three years (ending in 2026–27).
• Budget 2024: $1.8 billion over 11 years (ending in 2035).

These investments have supported capacity-building, coordination agreement discussions, and the implementation of Indigenous child and family service laws. All funding is administered through contribution and grant mechanisms, with implementation led by Indigenous Governing Bodies.

While the final figures will be confirmed in the Government of Canada's 2024-25 Public Accounts, Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) estimates that it provided more than $3.5 billion in support through the FNCFS program in 2024-25, continuing a comprehensive suite of reforms.

Key developments for the FNCFS program in 2024-25 include:

• Continued delivery of culturally grounded prevention and protection services, post-majority support services, First Nations Representative Services.
• Continuing to provide funding to First Nations to support building housing for families to address a structural driver of child welfare system involvement.
• On July 11, 2024, the Assembly of First Nations, Chiefs of Ontario, Nishnawbe Aski Nation and Canada reached a Final Agreement on the long-term reform of the FNCFS program. This agreement was rejected by the First Nations-in-Assembly in October 2024.
• In February 2025, the Chiefs of Ontario, Nishnawbe Aski Nation and the Government of Canada signed a landmark $8.5 billion agreement to reform the FNCFS program in Ontario. In March 2025, the Chiefs of Ontario and Nishnawbe Aski Nation filed a joint motion with the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal to seek its approval of the agreement and the end of its oversight over the program in Ontario.
• Continued collaboration with partners to uphold and integrate the principles of An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families.

The FNCFS program responds to Call for Justice 12.7 by funding First Nations to deliver prevention and protection services that align with Indigenous legal traditions, caregiving practices, and community-based definitions of child well-being. These services include child protection, guardianship, family support, and First Nations Representative Services, all of which are designed and implemented by First Nations according to their values, and relational systems. This approach ensures that children remain connected to their culture, language, and community throughout the continuum of care. Families and children benefit from services that affirm their roles in raising children and reflect Indigenous understandings of collective responsibility, while communities are empowered to reclaim jurisdiction and ensure that systems of care are built around cultural continuity, safety, and healing.

• Prevents family separation: Prioritizes prevention and early intervention services with the aim of helping families remain together safely. Supports kinship care, culturally grounded parenting programs, and early responses to family stressors with the objective of reducing the risk of child apprehension.
• Supports intergenerational healing: Seeks to break cycles of intergenerational trauma caused by colonization and the legacy of residential schools and the Sixties Scoop, through culturally rooted services designed and delivered by First Nations. Provides supports that aim to help families and communities reconnect with cultural teachings, language, and traditional caregiving practices.
• Provides holistic, wraparound supports: Funds a wide range of wrap-around services that address the underlying drivers of child and family vulnerability, including poverty, food insecurity, inadequate housing, substance use, and mental health challenges. Funds post-majority supports for youth aging out of care, such as access to housing, employment, and mental health resources, reducing the risk of homelessness and exploitation.
• Promotes cultural continuity and identity: Works to ensure that children remain connected to their cultures, communities, and languages through services delivered by their own Nations. This cultural grounding builds identity and belonging, critical protective factors that reduce risk and promote healing, particularly for those who have experienced or are at risk of gender-based violence.
• Centers the best interests of the child: All services funded through the program are guided by the principles of An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families, including the best interests of the child, cultural continuity, and substantive equality. This ensures that interventions prioritize safety, healing, and the long-term well-being of First Nations children within the context of their families and Nations.
• Supports First Nation self-determination: As part of the ongoing reform of the FNCFS program and alignment with An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families, places greater emphasis on the design and delivery of prevention services and supports (e.g., First Nations Representative Services, Post-Majority Support Services) by First Nations in a flexible, community-led, needs-based manner.
• Builds community capacity: Invests in the infrastructure, staff, and leadership development needed for First Nations to design, implement, and oversee their own child and family service systems. Funding for First Nations Representative Services enables Nations to respond to their unique realities and support families with dignity and care.
• Addresses systemic inequities: Continues to address the legacy of discriminatory funding and policy frameworks by transitioning to needs-based models and implementing Canadian Human Rights Tribunal-ordered reforms. Enables equitable access to services that are responsive to the actual conditions in First Nations communities, contributing to broader reconciliation, justice, and safety for First Nations women, girls, and 2SLGBTQI+ people.

Budget 2021 allocated $1 billion over five years, starting in 2021, with $118.7 million ongoing to support the FNCFS program. In 2023-24, $3.57 billion was allocated through the FNCFS program to fund prevention and protection services, post-majority supports, and First Nations Representative Services, ensuring that communities are resourced to meet the needs of children and families in culturally grounded and holistic ways.

In 2024–25, ISC continued its work with Indigenous governing bodies to support the implementation of the Act. While the final figures can only be confirmed once the Government of Canada's 2024-25 Public Accounts become available, ISC estimates that, since the Act came into force on January 1, 2020 and up until March 31, 2025, the Department has provided over $750 million to more than 14 Indigenous governing bodies to exercise their jurisdiction under the Act. In 2024-25, ISC estimates that more than $90 million was provided to Indigenous groups for capacity building and participation in coordination agreement discussions.

Progress was also made on the upcoming five-year review of the provisions and operation of the Act, which will be conducted in collaboration with Indigenous partners beginning in 2025. Pre-engagement activities included the development of a collaborative workplan and identification of initial themes and priorities for engagement. The Act's implementation continues to be guided by Indigenous communities and partners, ensuring that it remains responsive to community-identified needs and priorities.

This initiative responds to Call for Justice 12.7 by embedding the principle of cultural continuity within the Act and obligating service providers to uphold and protect Indigenous languages, ceremonies, traditions, and customs. Section 9(2) of the Act recognizes these elements as essential to the well-being of the child, family, and Indigenous communities. The Act further supports culturally specific laws and service models developed by Indigenous governing bodies. ISC provides funding to implement these models, including supports for Elders, traditional knowledge keepers, and community-led programs.

For Indigenous families, children and communities impacted by the MMIWG2S+ crisis, this legal foundation promotes healing and belonging. It reduces the likelihood of culturally harmful care arrangements and ensures that children in care remain connected to who they are and where they come from.

• Strengthens Indigenous jurisdiction: Enables Indigenous communities to reclaim authority over child and family services and enact their own laws.
• Reduces overrepresentation: Supports preventive and culturally appropriate approaches to address the structural drivers of child welfare involvement.
• Protects the best interest of the child and cultural continuity: Prioritizes the preservation of Indigenous languages, traditions, kinship systems, and identity in care decisions.
• Enhances service equity: Mandates national standards that support substantive equality and prohibit child apprehension based on poverty.
• Promotes long-term safety and wellness: Improves conditions for Indigenous children and families through sustainable, trauma-informed, and community-led service delivery.

Since 2020, multiple federal budget allocations have supported the implementation of the Act:

• July 2020 Economic and Fiscal Snapshot: $542 million over five years (ending in 2024–25).
• Budget 2021: $73.6 million over four years (ending in 2024–25).
• Budget 2022: $428.1 million over three to ten years.
• Budget 2023: $444.2 million over three years (ending in 2026–27).
• Budget 2024: $1.8 billion over 11 years (ending in 2035).

These investments have supported capacity-building, coordination agreement discussions, and the implementation of Indigenous child and family service laws. All funding is administered through contribution and grant mechanisms, with implementation led by Indigenous Governing Bodies.

While the final figures will be confirmed in the Government of Canada's 2024-25 Public Accounts, Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) estimates that it provided more than $3.5 billion in support through the FNCFS program in 2024-25, continuing a comprehensive suite of reforms.

Key developments for the FNCFS program in 2024-25 include:

In 2024-25, engagement focused on public validation of the KECD and co-development of the final IJS. Key milestones included:

• Continued delivery of culturally grounded prevention and protection services, post-majority support services, First Nations Representative Services.
• Continuing to provide funding to First Nations to support building housing for families to address a structural driver of child welfare system involvement.
• On July 11, 2024, the Assembly of First Nations, Chiefs of Ontario, Nishnawbe Aski Nation and Canada reached a Final Agreement on the long-term reform of the FNCFS program. This agreement was rejected by the First Nations-in-Assembly in October 2024.
• In February 2025, the Chiefs of Ontario, Nishnawbe Aski Nation and the Government of Canada signed a landmark $8.5 billion agreement to reform the FNCFS program in Ontario. In March 2025, the Chiefs of Ontario and Nishnawbe Aski Nation filed a joint motion with the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal to seek its approval of the agreement and the end of its oversight over the program in Ontario.
• Continued collaboration with partners to uphold and integrate the principles of An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families.

The FNCFS program responds to part of Call for Justice 12.8 by emphasizing prevention, early intervention, and the use of the least disruptive measures in child and family services. It supports community-led approaches that prioritize keeping children safely with their families and within their communities, wherever possible, through culturally appropriate supports that address underlying risk factors such as poverty, trauma, and housing insecurity. Intervention plans are developed with a focus on minimizing separation and maintaining relational, cultural, and linguistic ties. Families and children benefit from services that aim to strengthen—not replace—existing caregiving systems, supporting healing and reducing the trauma of child apprehension. Communities are strengthened through the restoration of Indigenous caregiving practices and the preservation of intergenerational relationships.

• Prevents family separation: Prioritizes prevention and early intervention services with the aim of helping families remain together safely. Supports kinship care, culturally grounded parenting programs, and early responses to family stressors with the objective of reducing the risk of child apprehension.
• Supports intergenerational healing: Seeks to break cycles of intergenerational trauma caused by colonization and the legacy of residential schools and the Sixties Scoop, through culturally rooted services designed and delivered by First Nations. Provides supports that aim to help families and communities reconnect with cultural teachings, language, and traditional caregiving practices.
• Provides holistic, wraparound supports: Funds a wide range of wrap-around services that address the underlying drivers of child and family vulnerability, including poverty, food insecurity, inadequate housing, substance use, and mental health challenges. Funds post-majority supports for youth aging out of care, such as access to housing, employment, and mental health resources, reducing the risk of homelessness and exploitation.
• Promotes cultural continuity and identity: Works to ensure that children remain connected to their cultures, communities, and languages through services delivered by their own Nations. This cultural grounding builds identity and belonging, critical protective factors that reduce risk and promote healing, particularly for those who have experienced or are at risk of gender-based violence.
• Centers the best interests of the child: All services funded through the program are guided by the principles of An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families, including the best interests of the child, cultural continuity, and substantive equality. This ensures that interventions prioritize safety, healing, and the long-term well-being of First Nations children within the context of their families and Nations.
• Supports First Nation self-determination: As part of the ongoing reform of the FNCFS program and alignment with An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families, places greater emphasis on the design and delivery of prevention services and supports (e.g., First Nations Representative Services, Post-Majority Support Services) by First Nations in a flexible, community-led, needs-based manner.
• Builds community capacity: Invests in the infrastructure, staff, and leadership development needed for First Nations to design, implement, and oversee their own child and family service systems. Funding for First Nations Representative Services enables Nations to respond to their unique realities and support families with dignity and care.
• Addresses systemic inequities: Continues to address the legacy of discriminatory funding and policy frameworks by transitioning to needs-based models and implementing Canadian Human Rights Tribunal-ordered reforms. Enables equitable access to services that are responsive to the actual conditions in First Nations communities, contributing to broader reconciliation, justice, and safety for First Nations women, girls, and 2SLGBTQI+ people.

Budget 2021 allocated $1 billion over five years, starting in 2021, with $118.7 million ongoing to support the FNCFS program. In 2023-24, $3.57 billion was allocated through the FNCFS program to fund prevention and protection services, post-majority supports, and First Nations Representative Services, ensuring that communities are resourced to meet the needs of children and families in culturally grounded and holistic ways.

In 2024–25, ISC continued its work with Indigenous governing bodies to support the implementation of the Act. While the final figures can only be confirmed once the Government of Canada's 2024-25 Public Accounts become available, ISC estimates that, since the Act came into force on January 1, 2020 and up until March 31, 2025, the Department has provided over $750 million to more than 14 Indigenous governing bodies to exercise their jurisdiction under the Act. In 2024-25, ISC estimates that more than $90 million was provided to Indigenous groups for capacity building and participation in coordination agreement discussions.

Progress was also made on the upcoming five-year review of the provisions and operation of the Act, which will be conducted in collaboration with Indigenous partners beginning in 2025. Pre-engagement activities included the development of a collaborative workplan and identification of initial themes and priorities for engagement. The Act's implementation continues to be guided by Indigenous communities and partners, ensuring that it remains responsive to community-identified needs and priorities.

This initiative responds to part of Call for Justice 12.8 by prioritizing prenatal preventative services as part of its national standards. Section 14(2) of the Act states that services which promote prenatal health and family support are to be prioritized to prevent child apprehensions at birth. This approach reflects the broader shift toward upstream, holistic interventions that aim to preserve family unity.

For Indigenous families, children, and communities, especially those impacted by the MMIWG2S+ crisis, these measures can break cycles of intergenerational separation. Culturally appropriate prenatal support reduces the likelihood of early system involvement and improves long-term outcomes for mothers and infants.

• Strengthens Indigenous jurisdiction: Enables Indigenous communities to reclaim authority over child and family services and enact their own laws.
• Reduces overrepresentation: Supports preventive and culturally appropriate approaches to address the structural drivers of child welfare involvement.
• Protects the best interest of the child and cultural continuity: Prioritizes the preservation of Indigenous languages, traditions, kinship systems, and identity in care decisions.
• Enhances service equity: Mandates national standards that support substantive equality and prohibit child apprehension based on poverty.
• Promotes long-term safety and wellness: Improves conditions for Indigenous children and families through sustainable, trauma-informed, and community-led service delivery.

Since 2020, multiple federal budget allocations have supported the implementation of the Act:

• July 2020 Economic and Fiscal Snapshot: $542 million over five years (ending in 2024–25).
• Budget 2021: $73.6 million over four years (ending in 2024–25).
• Budget 2022: $428.1 million over three to ten years.
• Budget 2023: $444.2 million over three years (ending in 2026–27).
• Budget 2024: $1.8 billion over 11 years (ending in 2035).

These investments have supported capacity-building, coordination agreement discussions, and the implementation of Indigenous child and family service laws. All funding is administered through contribution and grant mechanisms, with implementation led by Indigenous Governing Bodies.

While the final figures will be confirmed in the Government of Canada's 2024-25 Public Accounts, Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) estimates that it provided more than $3.5 billion in support through the FNCFS program in 2024-25, continuing a comprehensive suite of reforms.

Key developments for the FNCFS program in 2024-25 include:

• Continued delivery of culturally grounded prevention and protection services, post-majority support services, First Nations Representative Services;
• Continuing to provide funding to First Nations to support building housing for families to address a structural driver of child welfare system involvement;
• On July 11, 2024, the Assembly of First Nations, Chiefs of Ontario, Nishnawbe Aski Nation and Canada reached a Final Agreement on the long-term reform of the FNCFS program. This agreement was rejected by the First Nations-in-Assembly in October 2024.
• In February 2025, the Chiefs of Ontario, Nishnawbe Aski Nation and the Government of Canada signed a landmark $8.5 billion agreement to reform the FNCFS program in Ontario. In March 2025, the Chiefs of Ontario and Nishnawbe Aski Nation filed a joint motion with the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal to seek its approval of the agreement and the end of its oversight over the program in Ontario.
• Continued collaboration with partners to uphold and integrate the principles of An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families.

The FNCFS program responds to part of Call for Justice 12.10 by implementing reforms to its funding model that address longstanding discriminatory practices confirmed by the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (CHRT). These reforms include transitioning to needs-based models that recognize the actual costs of delivering culturally appropriate child and family services. The program also includes targeted investments to support prevention services, post-majority supports, and First Nations Representative Services. While work is ongoing to fully realize a reformed and equitable funding framework, these measures represent a significant shift toward fairness and cultural relevance in service delivery. Families and children benefit from more consistent, accessible supports that reflect their real-life needs and uphold their dignity, while communities gain greater control over resources to design services that promote healing, safety, and long-term well-being.

• Prevents family separation: Prioritizes prevention and early intervention services with the aim of helping families remain together safely. Supports kinship care, culturally grounded parenting programs, and early responses to family stressors with the objective of reducing the risk of child apprehension.
• Supports intergenerational healing: Seeks to break cycles of intergenerational trauma caused by colonization and the legacy of residential schools and the Sixties Scoop, through culturally rooted services designed and delivered by First Nations. Provides supports that aim to help families and communities reconnect with cultural teachings, language, and traditional caregiving practices.
• Provides holistic, wraparound supports: Funds a wide range of wrap-around services that address the underlying drivers of child and family vulnerability, including poverty, food insecurity, inadequate housing, substance use, and mental health challenges. Funds post-majority supports for youth aging out of care, such as access to housing, employment, and mental health resources, reducing the risk of homelessness and exploitation.
• Promotes cultural continuity and identity: Works to ensure that children remain connected to their cultures, communities, and languages through services delivered by their own Nations. This cultural grounding builds identity and belonging, critical protective factors that reduce risk and promote healing, particularly for those who have experienced or are at risk of gender-based violence.
• Centers the best interests of the child: All services funded through the program are guided by the principles of An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families, including the best interests of the child, cultural continuity, and substantive equality. This ensures that interventions prioritize safety, healing, and the long-term well-being of First Nations children within the context of their families and Nations.
• Supports First Nation self-determination: As part of the ongoing reform of the FNCFS program and alignment with An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families, places greater emphasis on the design and delivery of prevention services and supports (e.g., First Nations Representative Services, Post-Majority Support Services) by First Nations in a flexible, community-led, needs-based manner.
• Builds community capacity: Invests in the infrastructure, staff, and leadership development needed for First Nations to design, implement, and oversee their own child and family service systems. Funding for First Nations Representative Services enables Nations to respond to their unique realities and support families with dignity and care.
• Addresses systemic inequities: Continues to address the legacy of discriminatory funding and policy frameworks by transitioning to needs-based models and implementing Canadian Human Rights Tribunal-ordered reforms. Enables equitable access to services that are responsive to the actual conditions in First Nations communities, contributing to broader reconciliation, justice, and safety for First Nations women, girls, and 2SLGBTQI+ people.

Budget 2021 allocated $1 billion over five years, starting in 2021, with $118.7 million ongoing to support the FNCFS program. In 2023-24, $3.57 billion was allocated through the FNCFS program to fund prevention and protection services, post-majority supports, and First Nations Representative Services, ensuring that communities are resourced to meet the needs of children and families in culturally grounded and holistic ways.

In 2024–25, ISC continued its work with Indigenous governing bodies to support the implementation of the Act. While the final figures can only be confirmed once the Government of Canada's 2024-25 Public Accounts become available, ISC estimates that, since the Act came into force on January 1, 2020 and up until March 31, 2025, the Department has provided over $750 million to more than 14 Indigenous governing bodies to exercise their jurisdiction under the Act. In 2024-25, ISC estimates that more than $90 million was provided to Indigenous groups for capacity building and participation in coordination agreement discussions.

Progress was also made on the upcoming five-year review of the provisions and operation of the Act, which will be conducted in collaboration with Indigenous partners beginning in 2025. Pre-engagement activities included the development of a collaborative workplan and identification of initial themes and priorities for engagement. The Act's implementation continues to be guided by Indigenous communities and partners, ensuring that it remains responsive to community-identified needs and priorities.

This initiative responds to part of Call for Justice 12.10 by mandating service providers to prevent jurisdictional disputes from resulting in service gaps. Section 9(3)(e) of the Act establishes this principle as part of its commitment to substantive equality. The Act also includes a broader mandate to prioritize preventative care and family reunification, ensuring that children receive continuous services regardless of jurisdiction.

For families and children affected by the MMIWG2S+ crisis, these measures help ensure that children and caregivers are not harmed by bureaucratic delays or intergovernmental conflicts. It supports uninterrupted access to culturally safe services and protects children from falling through systemic gaps.

• Strengthens Indigenous jurisdiction: Enables Indigenous communities to reclaim authority over child and family services and enact their own laws.
• Reduces overrepresentation: Supports preventive and culturally appropriate approaches to address the structural drivers of child welfare involvement.
• Protects the best interest of the child and cultural continuity: Prioritizes the preservation of Indigenous languages, traditions, kinship systems, and identity in care decisions.
• Enhances service equity: Mandates national standards that support substantive equality and prohibit child apprehension based on poverty.
• Promotes long-term safety and wellness: Improves conditions for Indigenous children and families through sustainable, trauma-informed, and community-led service delivery.

Since 2020, multiple federal budget allocations have supported the implementation of the Act:

• July 2020 Economic and Fiscal Snapshot: $542 million over five years (ending in 2024–25).
• Budget 2021: $73.6 million over four years (ending in 2024–25).
• Budget 2022: $428.1 million over three to ten years.
• Budget 2023: $444.2 million over three years (ending in 2026–27).
• Budget 2024: $1.8 billion over 11 years (ending in 2035).

These investments have supported capacity-building, coordination agreement discussions, and the implementation of Indigenous child and family service laws. All funding is administered through contribution and grant mechanisms, with implementation led by Indigenous Governing Bodies.

This initiative responds to part of Call for Justice 12.10, as it supports the implementation of Jordan's Principle in relation to all First Nations children, by providing funding for the provision of services on a needs basis, and to prioritize family support, reunification, and prevention of harms.

From 2016-17 to 2024-25, a total of $6.7 billion has been allocated to Jordan's Principle. Since 2022:

• Budget 2022 allocated $4 billion over six years (2022-2028).
• Supplementary Estimates C 2023-24 allocated $803.9 million over two years (2023-2025).
• Supplementary Estimates B 2024-25 allocated $725 million over one year (2024-25).

While the final figures will be confirmed in the Government of Canada's 2024-25 Public Accounts, Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) estimates that it provided more than $3.5 billion in support through the FNCFS program in 2024-25, continuing a comprehensive suite of reforms.

Key developments for the FNCFS program in 2024-25 include:

In 2024-25, engagement focused on public validation of the KECD and co-development of the final IJS. Key milestones included:

• Continued delivery of culturally grounded prevention and protection services, post-majority support services, First Nations Representative Services.
• Continuing to provide funding to First Nations to support building housing for families to address a structural driver of child welfare system involvement.
• On July 11, 2024, the Assembly of First Nations, Chiefs of Ontario, Nishnawbe Aski Nation and Canada reached a Final Agreement on the long-term reform of the FNCFS program. This agreement was rejected by the First Nations-in-Assembly in October 2024.
• In February 2025, the Chiefs of Ontario, Nishnawbe Aski Nation and the Government of Canada signed a landmark $8.5 billion agreement to reform the FNCFS program in Ontario. In March 2025, the Chiefs of Ontario and Nishnawbe Aski Nation filed a joint motion with the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal to seek its approval of the agreement and the end of its oversight over the program in Ontario.
• Continued collaboration with partners to uphold and integrate the principles of An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families.

The FNCFS program responds to part of Call for Justice 12.11 by funding post-majority support services to youth formerly in care, up to the age of 26 or to the age as defined in provincial or Yukon legislation, whichever is greater. These services are designed to help young adults transition to independence and stability by addressing critical needs such as housing, food security, education, employment, mental health, addiction support, and healthy relationships. By offering these supports, the program recognizes that the impacts of care and trauma do not end at the age of majority and aims to reduce the risks of homelessness, exploitation, and continued marginalization. Youth benefit from extended, culturally grounded supports that help them reclaim agency over their futures, while communities are better able to support youth in healing, reconnecting with culture and family, and contributing to community life. This approach fosters long-term safety, resilience, and self-determination for young adults as they move into adulthood.

• Prevents family separation: Prioritizes prevention and early intervention services with the aim of helping families remain together safely. Supports kinship care, culturally grounded parenting programs, and early responses to family stressors with the objective of reducing the risk of child apprehension.
• Supports intergenerational healing: Seeks to break cycles of intergenerational trauma caused by colonization and the legacy of residential schools and the Sixties Scoop, through culturally rooted services designed and delivered by First Nations. Provides supports that aim to help families and communities reconnect with cultural teachings, language, and traditional caregiving practices.
• Provides holistic, wraparound supports: Funds a wide range of wrap-around services that address the underlying drivers of child and family vulnerability, including poverty, food insecurity, inadequate housing, substance use, and mental health challenges. Funds post-majority supports for youth aging out of care, such as access to housing, employment, and mental health resources, reducing the risk of homelessness and exploitation.
• Promotes cultural continuity and identity: Works to ensure that children remain connected to their cultures, communities, and languages through services delivered by their own Nations. This cultural grounding builds identity and belonging, critical protective factors that reduce risk and promote healing, particularly for those who have experienced or are at risk of gender-based violence.
• Centers the best interests of the child: All services funded through the program are guided by the principles of An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families, including the best interests of the child, cultural continuity, and substantive equality. This ensures that interventions prioritize safety, healing, and the long-term well-being of First Nations children within the context of their families and Nations.
• Supports First Nation self-determination: As part of the ongoing reform of the FNCFS program and alignment with An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families, places greater emphasis on the design and delivery of prevention services and supports (e.g., First Nations Representative Services, Post-Majority Support Services) by First Nations in a flexible, community-led, needs-based manner.
• Builds community capacity: Invests in the infrastructure, staff, and leadership development needed for First Nations to design, implement, and oversee their own child and family service systems. Funding for First Nations Representative Services enables Nations to respond to their unique realities and support families with dignity and care.
• Addresses systemic inequities: Continues to address the legacy of discriminatory funding and policy frameworks by transitioning to needs-based models and implementing Canadian Human Rights Tribunal-ordered reforms. Enables equitable access to services that are responsive to the actual conditions in First Nations communities, contributing to broader reconciliation, justice, and safety for First Nations women, girls, and 2SLGBTQI+ people.

Budget 2021 allocated $1 billion over five years, starting in 2021, with $118.7 million ongoing to support the FNCFS program. In 2023-24, $3.57 billion was allocated through the FNCFS program to fund prevention and protection services, post-majority supports, and First Nations Representative Services, ensuring that communities are resourced to meet the needs of children and families in culturally grounded and holistic ways.

Funding through Budget 2024 to continue supporting First Nations students through the Post-Secondary Student Support Program.

The First Nations Post-Secondary Education Strategy responds to part of Call for Justice 12.11 by supporting access to culturally appropriate post-secondary education for First Nations youth. By providing funding and First Nations-led programming, the Strategy helps ensure that students aging out of care or facing financial hardship can pursue higher education, supporting long-term socio-economic stability and personal empowerment.

First Nations communities benefit through increased access to affordable, culturally grounded education that promotes healing, well-being, and self-determination. Investments in First Nations-led institutions and community-based programming contribute to safer, more inclusive learning environments that reflect and affirm First Nations identities and priorities.

• Increased post-secondary completion rates: By providing funding and preparatory programs, the Strategy supports First Nations youth in accessing and completing their studies.
• Financial stability for students: Direct financial assistance reduces the burden of tuition and living costs, allowing First Nations youth to focus on their education.
• Pathways to economic and social advancement: Higher education leads to increased employment opportunities and economic participation for First Nations youth.

In addition to historical allocations, Budget 2024 added $242.7 million over three years, to support access to post-secondary education for First Nations students through the Post-Secondary Student Support Program. The total annual allocation for the First Nations Post-Secondary Education Strategy in 2024-25 was $461.7 million, of which $367.2 million was for Post-Secondary Student Support Program, $22.1 million for Post-Secondary Partnerships Program, and $72.3 million in time-limited Budget 2024 investments in Post-Secondary Student Support Program/University and College Entrance Preparation Program. This funding is divided among ISC regions using defined allocation methodologies, and distributed to First Nations recipients by ISC regional offices.

In 2024–25, ISC continued its work with Indigenous governing bodies to support the implementation of the Act. While the final figures can only be confirmed once the Government of Canada's 2024-25 Public Accounts become available, ISC estimates that, since the Act came into force on January 1, 2020 and up until March 31, 2025, the Department has provided over $750 million to more than 14 Indigenous governing bodies to exercise their jurisdiction under the Act. In 2024-25, ISC estimates that more than $90 million was provided to Indigenous groups for capacity building and participation in coordination agreement discussions.

Progress was also made on the upcoming five-year review of the provisions and operation of the Act, which will be conducted in collaboration with Indigenous partners beginning in 2025. Pre-engagement activities included the development of a collaborative workplan and identification of initial themes and priorities for engagement. The Act's implementation continues to be guided by Indigenous communities and partners, ensuring that it remains responsive to community-identified needs and priorities.

This initiative responds to part of Call for Justice 12.11 by providing a framework for the implementation of sustainable, needs-based fiscal arrangements to support the exercise of Indigenous jurisdiction. The Act's implementation includes funding for prevention, protection, and post-majority support services, which help youth transition successfully out of care. ISC provides tailored funding based on community-led laws and coordination agreements.

For Indigenous families and communities affected by the MMIWG2S+ crisis, this investment supports wraparound services that meet real and evolving needs. It allows for culturally anchored approaches that prioritize safety, healing, and long-term well-being for children and youth in care.

• Strengthens Indigenous jurisdiction: Enables Indigenous communities to reclaim authority over child and family services and enact their own laws.
• Reduces overrepresentation: Supports preventive and culturally appropriate approaches to address the structural drivers of child welfare involvement.
• Protects the best interest of the child and cultural continuity: Prioritizes the preservation of Indigenous languages, traditions, kinship systems, and identity in care decisions.
• Enhances service equity: Mandates national standards that support substantive equality and prohibit child apprehension based on poverty.
• Promotes long-term safety and wellness: Improves conditions for Indigenous children and families through sustainable, trauma-informed, and community-led service delivery.

Since 2020, multiple federal budget allocations have supported the implementation of the Act:

• July 2020 Economic and Fiscal Snapshot: $542 million over five years (ending in 2024–25).
• Budget 2021: $73.6 million over four years (ending in 2024–25).
• Budget 2022: $428.1 million over three to ten years.
• Budget 2023: $444.2 million over three years (ending in 2026–27).
• Budget 2024: $1.8 billion over 11 years (ending in 2035).

These investments have supported capacity-building, coordination agreement discussions, and the implementation of Indigenous child and family service laws. All funding is administered through contribution and grant mechanisms, with implementation led by Indigenous Governing Bodies.

• Implementation of the Inuit PSE Strategy continues through Inuit-designated regional delivery partners to support Inuit students, programs and services, community engagement and governance or national coordination.
• ISC continued work with partners to update Inuit PSE Strategy Terms and Conditions to ensure continued relevance and responsiveness.

The Inuit PSE Strategy responds to part of Call for Justice 12.11 by providing distinctions-based funding that supports Inuit post-secondary students, including women, girls, and 2SLGBTQI+ individuals. Through financial supports and complementary programs and services, the Inuit PSE Strategy provides Inuit students with equitable pathways to higher education, fostering long-term success. Inuit post-secondary students, community and education organizations, regional service providers and post-secondary institutions all benefit from the Inuit PSE Strategy that provides increased access to PSE.

• Targeted financial support: Covers tuition, books, living expenses, and travel for Inuit students.
• Transition and retention programs: Provide academic readiness, mentorship, and career navigation support to promote student success.
• Capacity building for Inuit education organizations: Strengthens the ability of regional organizations to support Inuit youth in education.

Budget 2019 provided $125.5 million over ten years (2019-29), plus $21.8 million in ongoing funding, to support the Inuit PSE Strategy.

• Continued delivery of the Métis Nation PSE Strategy through Métis Nation partners providing direct student aid, funding for programs and services, and support for education governance capacity.
• ISC started work with partners to update program Terms and Conditions in line with current needs.

The Métis Nation PSE Strategy responds to part of Call for Justice 12.11, by providing distinctions-based, culturally appropriate post-secondary education funding; supports that specifically address the needs of Métis Nation youth; and, helping create safe, supportive learning environments. The Métis Nation PSE Strategy's holistic, community-led design creates a more supportive path to education and long-term employment opportunities for Métis Nation women, girls, and 2SLGBTQI+ learners.

Métis Nation students, families and communities benefit from the Métis Nation PSE Strategy by gaining greater access to culturally grounded and supportive pathways to education. For survivors and families, the strategy helps break cycles of marginalization and trauma by creating opportunities for Métis Nation women, girls, and 2SLGBTQI+ people to pursue education in environments that are supportive, affirming, and designed with their unique needs in mind. Survivors are more likely to succeed when services include wraparound supports like counselling, mentoring, and culturally safe spaces. Access to funded education opportunities eases financial burdens and opens doors for future generations. When students succeed, families gain role models and increased opportunity for economic stability. For Métis Nation communities, the Métis Nation PSE Strategy strengthens self-determination by allowing its recipients to design and deliver post-secondary programming. This ensures that educational spaces are grounded in Métis Nation identity, language, and culture—an essential component of safety, belonging, and healing for students affected by intergenerational harm.

• Increased educational attainment: Direct financial assistance helps close the post-secondary education attainment gap between Métis Nation and non-Indigenous students.
• Culturally relevant learning supports: Student success is supported through financial assistance for tuition and living expenses as well as culturally grounded wraparound services like counselling, mentorship, Elder guidance, and tutoring.
• Pathways to economic independence: Higher education access contributes to greater employment opportunities and stronger Métis Nation economies.

To implement the Métis Nation PSE Strategy, Budget 2019 announced $362 million over ten years, with $40 million ongoing. The funding is distributed annually to Métis Nation recipients, supporting a distinctions-based approach to education that meets the specific needs of Métis youth. The total annual allocation for the Métis Nation PSE Strategy in 2024-25 was approximately $39.8 million, which was distributed to Métis Nation recipients, including Métis Nation British Columbia, Métis Nation-Saskatchewan, Otipemisiwak Métis Government (formerly Métis Nation of Alberta), Métis Nation of Ontario, Manitoba Métis Federation, and Métis National Council.

While the final figures will be confirmed in the Government of Canada's 2024-25 Public Accounts, Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) estimates that it provided more than $3.5 billion in support through the FNCFS program in 2024-25, continuing a comprehensive suite of reforms.

Key developments for the FNCFS program in 2024-25 include:

• Continued delivery of culturally grounded prevention and protection services, post-majority support services, First Nations Representative Services.
• Continuing to provide funding to First Nations to support building housing for families to address a structural driver of child welfare system involvement.
• On July 11, 2024, the Assembly of First Nations, Chiefs of Ontario, Nishnawbe Aski Nation and Canada reached a Final Agreement on the long-term reform of the FNCFS program. This agreement was rejected by the First Nations-in-Assembly in October 2024.
• In February 2025, the Chiefs of Ontario, Nishnawbe Aski Nation and the Government of Canada signed a landmark $8.5 billion agreement to reform the FNCFS program in Ontario. In March 2025, the Chiefs of Ontario and Nishnawbe Aski Nation filed a joint motion with the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal to seek its approval of the agreement and the end of its oversight over the program in Ontario.
• Continued collaboration with partners to uphold and integrate the principles of An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families.

The FNCFS program responds to part of Call for Justice 12.13 by collaborating with First Nations partners to comply with the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal's orders regarding the program's discriminatory underfunding . These reforms include adjustments to the program's funding for prevention, protection, First Nation representative services, post-majority supports and capital, as well as changes to ensure that First Nations communities have greater influence over the use of funding and service design and delivery. This collaborative approach ensures that service design reflects First Nation needs, cultural practices, and community-identified priorities. Families and children benefit from systems that are becoming more culturally responsive and trauma-informed, while communities are actively engaged in shaping the future of their child welfare systems, contributing to greater accountability, equity, and long-term healing.

• Prevents family separation: Prioritizes prevention and early intervention services with the aim of helping families remain together safely. Supports kinship care, culturally grounded parenting programs, and early responses to family stressors with the objective of reducing the risk of child apprehension.
• Supports intergenerational healing: Seeks to break cycles of intergenerational trauma caused by colonization and the legacy of residential schools and the Sixties Scoop, through culturally rooted services designed and delivered by First Nations. Provides supports that aim to help families and communities reconnect with cultural teachings, language, and traditional caregiving practices.
• Provides holistic, wraparound supports: Funds a wide range of wrap-around services that address the underlying drivers of child and family vulnerability, including poverty, food insecurity, inadequate housing, substance use, and mental health challenges. Funds post-majority supports for youth aging out of care, such as access to housing, employment, and mental health resources, reducing the risk of homelessness and exploitation.
• Promotes cultural continuity and identity: Works to ensure that children remain connected to their cultures, communities, and languages through services delivered by their own Nations. This cultural grounding builds identity and belonging, critical protective factors that reduce risk and promote healing, particularly for those who have experienced or are at risk of gender-based violence.
• Centers the best interests of the child: All services funded through the program are guided by the principles of An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families, including the best interests of the child, cultural continuity, and substantive equality. This ensures that interventions prioritize safety, healing, and the long-term well-being of First Nations children within the context of their families and Nations.
• Supports First Nation self-determination: As part of the ongoing reform of the FNCFS program and alignment with An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families, places greater emphasis on the design and delivery of prevention services and supports (e.g., First Nations Representative Services, Post-Majority Support Services) by First Nations in a flexible, community-led, needs-based manner.
• Builds community capacity: Invests in the infrastructure, staff, and leadership development needed for First Nations to design, implement, and oversee their own child and family service systems. Funding for First Nations Representative Services enables Nations to respond to their unique realities and support families with dignity and care.
• Addresses systemic inequities: Continues to address the legacy of discriminatory funding and policy frameworks by transitioning to needs-based models and implementing Canadian Human Rights Tribunal-ordered reforms. Enables equitable access to services that are responsive to the actual conditions in First Nations communities, contributing to broader reconciliation, justice, and safety for First Nations women, girls, and 2SLGBTQI+ people.

Budget 2021 allocated $1 billion over five years, starting in 2021, with $118.7 million ongoing to support the FNCFS program. In 2023-24, $3.57 billion was allocated through the FNCFS program to fund prevention and protection services, post-majority supports, and First Nations Representative Services, ensuring that communities are resourced to meet the needs of children and families in culturally grounded and holistic ways.

Jordan's Principle responds to Call for Justice 12.13 by supporting the implementation of the Spirit Bear Plan.

From 2016-17 to 2024-25, a total of $6.7 billion has been allocated to Jordan's Principle. Since 2022:

• Budget 2022 allocated $4 billion over six years (2022-2028).
• Supplementary Estimates C 2023-24 allocated $803.9 million over two years (2023-2025).
• Supplementary Estimates B 2024-25 allocated $725 million over year (2024-25).

While the final figures will be confirmed in the Government of Canada's 2024-25 Public Accounts, Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) estimates that it provided more than $3.5 billion in support through the FNCFS program in 2024-25, continuing a comprehensive suite of reforms.

Key developments for the FNCFS program in 2024-25 include:

• Continued delivery of culturally grounded prevention and protection services, post-majority support services, First Nations Representative Services.
• Continuing to provide funding to First Nations to support building housing for families to address a structural driver of child welfare system involvement.
• On July 11, 2024, the Assembly of First Nations, Chiefs of Ontario, Nishnawbe Aski Nation and Canada reached a Final Agreement on the long-term reform of the FNCFS program. This agreement was rejected by the First Nations-in-Assembly in October 2024.
• In February 2025, the Chiefs of Ontario, Nishnawbe Aski Nation and the Government of Canada signed a landmark $8.5 billion agreement to reform the FNCFS program in Ontario. In March 2025, the Chiefs of Ontario and Nishnawbe Aski Nation filed a joint motion with the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal to seek its approval of the agreement and the end of its oversight over the program in Ontario.
• Continued collaboration with partners to uphold and integrate the principles of An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families.

The FNCFS program responds to part of Call for Justice 12.14 by funding culturally appropriate prevention, protection, First Nation representative services and post-majority support services that prioritize early intervention, family preservation, and the well-being of First Nations children, youth, and families. The program supports community-led initiatives that strengthen family and caregiver capacity, reduce risk, and uphold children's rights to safety, identity, and belonging. Families and children benefit from holistic supports that reflect their lived realities and promote healing, while communities are empowered to maintain systems of care that are proactive, strengths-based, and grounded in cultural and linguistic continuity. Although the services and supports funded under the FNCFS program are not limited to victims of human trafficking, it is possible that some who access the services are victims. Access to the services under the FNCFS program could help reduce a child or youth's vulnerability to being exploited or trafficked.

• Prevents family separation: Prioritizes prevention and early intervention services with the aim of helping families remain together safely. Supports kinship care, culturally grounded parenting programs, and early responses to family stressors with the objective of reducing the risk of child apprehension.
• Supports intergenerational healing: Seeks to break cycles of intergenerational trauma caused by colonization and the legacy of residential schools and the Sixties Scoop, through culturally rooted services designed and delivered by First Nations. Provides supports that aim to help families and communities reconnect with cultural teachings, language, and traditional caregiving practices.
• Provides holistic, wraparound supports: Funds a wide range of wrap-around services that address the underlying drivers of child and family vulnerability, including poverty, food insecurity, inadequate housing, substance use, and mental health challenges. Funds post-majority supports for youth aging out of care, such as access to housing, employment, and mental health resources, reducing the risk of homelessness and exploitation.
• Promotes cultural continuity and identity: Works to ensure that children remain connected to their cultures, communities, and languages through services delivered by their own Nations. This cultural grounding builds identity and belonging, critical protective factors that reduce risk and promote healing, particularly for those who have experienced or are at risk of gender-based violence.
• Centers the best interests of the child: All services funded through the program are guided by the principles of An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families, including the best interests of the child, cultural continuity, and substantive equality. This ensures that interventions prioritize safety, healing, and the long-term well-being of First Nations children within the context of their families and Nations.
• Supports First Nation self-determination: As part of the ongoing reform of the FNCFS program and alignment with An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families, places greater emphasis on the design and delivery of prevention services and supports (e.g., First Nations Representative Services, Post-Majority Support Services) by First Nations in a flexible, community-led, needs-based manner.
• Builds community capacity: Invests in the infrastructure, staff, and leadership development needed for First Nations to design, implement, and oversee their own child and family service systems. Funding for First Nations Representative Services enables Nations to respond to their unique realities and support families with dignity and care.
• Addresses systemic inequities: Continues to address the legacy of discriminatory funding and policy frameworks by transitioning to needs-based models and implementing Canadian Human Rights Tribunal-ordered reforms. Enables equitable access to services that are responsive to the actual conditions in First Nations communities, contributing to broader reconciliation, justice, and safety for First Nations women, girls, and 2SLGBTQI+ people.

Budget 2021 allocated $1 billion over five years, starting in 2021, with $118.7 million ongoing to support the FNCFS program. In 2023-24, $3.57 billion was allocated through the FNCFS program to fund prevention and protection services, post-majority supports, and First Nations Representative Services, ensuring that communities are resourced to meet the needs of children and families in culturally grounded and holistic ways.

In 2024–25, ISC continued its work with Indigenous governing bodies to support the implementation of the Act. While the final figures can only be confirmed once the Government of Canada's 2024-25 Public Accounts become available, ISC estimates that, since the Act came into force on January 1, 2020 and up until March 31, 2025, the Department has provided over $750 million to more than 14 Indigenous governing bodies to exercise their jurisdiction under the Act. In 2024-25, ISC estimates that more than $90 million was provided to Indigenous groups for capacity building and participation in coordination agreement discussions.

Progress was also made on the upcoming five-year review of the provisions and operation of the Act, which will be conducted in collaboration with Indigenous partners beginning in 2025. Pre-engagement activities included the development of a collaborative workplan and identification of initial themes and priorities for engagement. The Act's implementation continues to be guided by Indigenous communities and partners, ensuring that it remains responsive to community-identified needs and priorities.

This initiative responds to part of Call for Justice 12.14 by introducing national principles and standards under the Act that prioritize prevention services, cultural continuity, and community-based care. ISC flows funding to Indigenous governing bodies to deliver culturally appropriate and needs-based child and family services, which may include prevention, protection, and post-majority supports. The goal is to address systemic drivers of overrepresentation—such as intergenerational trauma, housing insecurity, and poverty—through a distinctions-based and culturally grounded approach. By investing in holistic services that support family unity and reduce apprehensions, the Act encourages systemic reform in line with this Call for Justice.

Indigenous families, children and communities impacted by the MMIWG2S+ crisis benefit from strengthened community-based supports that prioritize safety, healing, and cultural connection. By improving access to Indigenous-led prevention services and keeping children closer to home, these measures reduce vulnerability to harm and help interrupt cycles of violence and systemic marginalization.

• Strengthens Indigenous jurisdiction: Enables Indigenous communities to reclaim authority over child and family services and enact their own laws.
• Reduces overrepresentation: Supports preventive and culturally appropriate approaches to address the structural drivers of child welfare involvement.
• Protects the best interest of the child and cultural continuity: Prioritizes the preservation of Indigenous languages, traditions, kinship systems, and identity in care decisions.
• Enhances service equity: Mandates national standards that support substantive equality and prohibit child apprehension based on poverty.
• Promotes long-term safety and wellness: Improves conditions for Indigenous children and families through sustainable, trauma-informed, and community-led service delivery.

Since 2020, multiple federal budget allocations have supported the implementation of the Act:

• July 2020 Economic and Fiscal Snapshot: $542 million over five years (ending in 2024–25).
• Budget 2021: $73.6 million over four years (ending in 2024–25).
• Budget 2022: $428.1 million over three to ten years.
• Budget 2023: $444.2 million over three years (ending in 2026–27).
• Budget 2024: $1.8 billion over 11 years (ending in 2035).

These investments have supported capacity-building, coordination agreement discussions, and the implementation of Indigenous child and family service laws. All funding is administered through contribution and grant mechanisms, with implementation led by Indigenous Governing Bodies.