Philip Burge Publishes Article in the Journal of Public Child Welfare

Tags: Vol. 1, Issue 3, March 2021

If living through this pandemic can teach us anything, it the importance of belonging and family. A publication authored by our faculty member Philip Burge, recently published in the Journal of Public Child Welfare highlights some positive news in Canada’s child welfare sphere. The paper focuses on findings from the Bringing Families Together project launched in Manitoba in the shadow of the long ‘Sixties Scoop’ of children, wherein the child welfare systems of the time conducted wide-spread apprehensions of Indigenous children and youth. 

The charity Until the Last Child, launched and funded the intensive 2-year pilot program project, along with partners including the Government of Manitoba, the four provincial child welfare authorities, representatives from Indigenous communities, the University of Manitoba and Deloitte Canada. The publication highlights the high belonging and well-being target of 76% achieved for the approximately 150 children in care. More importantly, the paper features the novel permanency (or belonging) definition that the partnership devised and was informed by Indigenous concepts. As Indigenous communities break from the colonial past focus on legal permanency (i.e., success equals only a legal adoption) and stress the need for belonging factors to take precedence; the definition was operationalized and used to measure progress.  

Read the full article here. 

Share this article: