ABOUT The First Nations Component of the Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (FNCIS: 2008):
The First Nations Component of the Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (FNCIS) was a study of child welfare investigations involving First Nations children which was embedded within a larger, cyclical national study of the reported incidence of child maltreatment: the Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (CIS). The FNCIS was a collaborative effort, by CIS research team members and First Nations child welfare organizations to support participation of 22 First Nations and urban Aboriginal agencies in the CIS, analyze CIS data on investigations involving First Nations children, ensure appropriate contextualization of research findings, disseminate research results, and increase the capacity for First Nations child welfare research. The collaboration between research team members and First Nations child welfare organizations are guided by the OCAP principles (Ownership, Control, Access, Possession) for research in First Nations contexts. Building on results from two prior cycles of the CIS, FNCIS-2008 has been instrumental in developing understanding of the overrepresentation of First Nations children in the child welfare system. Results have clearly demonstrated that this overrepresentation starts at the point of first contact with the child welfare system, builds across the investigation process, and is driven primarily by investigations of neglect and risk of maltreatment, both of which are strongly associated with factors such as poverty, poor housing, social isolation and addictions. Findings have informed: the Truth and Reconciliation Commission final report, testimony before the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal, Assembly of First Nations and Canadian submissions to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, presentations to the provincial/territorial directors of child welfare, and advocacy efforts by individual child welfare agencies.
Published Reports
Sinha, V., Trocmé, N., Fallon, B., MacLaurin, Fast, E. Prokop, S.T. et al. (2011). Kiskisik Awasisak: Remember the children. Understanding the overrepresentation of First Nations children in the child welfare system. Ontario: Assembly of First Nations.
Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles
Fallon, B., Chabot, M., Fluke, J., Blackstock, C., Sinha, V., Allan, K., & MacLaurin, B. (2015) Exploring alternate specifications to explain agency-level effects in placement decisions regarding Aboriginal children: Further analysis of the Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect part C. Child Abuse & Neglect, 49, 97-106.
Sinha, V., Ellenbogen, S. & Trocmé, N. (2013). Substantiating neglect of First Nations and non-Aboriginal children. Children & Youth Services Review, 35(12), 2080-2090.
Sinha, V., Trocmé, N., Fallon, B. & MacLaurin, B. (2013). Understanding the investigation-stage overrepresentation of First Nations children in the child welfare system: An analysis of the First Nations component of the Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect 2008. Child Abuse and Neglect, 37(10), 821-831.
Sinha, V., Fast, E., Trocmé, N., Fallon, B. & MacLaurin, B. (2010). La composante Premières Nations de l’Étude Canadienne sur l'incidence des signalements de cas de violence et de négligence envers les enfants : une approche axée sur le renforcement des capacités dans le cadre d’une recherche nationale appliquée aux Premières nations. Nouvelles Pratiques Sociales, 23(1) 83-98.