Alberta introduces legislation to better protect children in government care

Alberta is proposing legislation that would see First Nations notified if social workers were thinking of removing an Indigenous child from a family’s care.

It would ensure that a study would be done of a child’s home and cultural connections before any private guardianship application were approved.

There would also be new streamlined guidelines for social workers to follow when deciding whether to place a child in government care.

The proposed legislation was introduced Wednesday by Children’s Services Minister Danielle Larivee.

Larivee calls it a step toward improvements following the case of Serenity, a four-year-old Indigenous girl who died of traumatic injuries while in care.

Alberta has about 10,000 children in care; about 60 per cent are from First Nations.

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