The Tl’etinqox (Anaham) Government has informed the Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) it is withdrawing its membership from Denisiqi Services Society child and family services agency, based in Williams Lake.
Denisiqi Society is one of MCFD’s Delegated Aboriginal Agencies (DAAs) and has been since 2012.
In 2014-2015 the ministry provided Denisiqi with $1 million in local contracts, a ministry spokesperson said, adding the ministry will continue to provide direct services in partnership with the community.
Tl’etinqox Chief Joe Alphonse said they are making the move because with the Tsilhqot’in National Government’s win of its rights and title case, the community wants control of its greatest resource — its children.
“We will develop our own protocol and expectations for ministry involvement in our community,” Alphonse said.
Alphonse also said MCFD likes to remove children from communities and place them with non-First Nations families in Williams Lake.
“If anybody’s going to be sent out of the community it should be parents,” Alphonse said. “If adults need help with addictions or other issues they should be sent away for treatment. A plan has to be developed.”
However, the ministry said removal of a child from the community is the last resort, and is only done when the MCFD and the community have not been able to identify safe resources for children in their home community.
“The ministry’s priority is to keep children with their families,” the ministry said. “However, when it is determined that is not safe for a child to remain in their parental home, there are a number of specific options and programs for the children’s care.”
Alphonse said his is the only Tsilhqot’in community withdrawing its membership and that there are upwards of 40 children from his community presently involved with Denisiqi.
When contacted by the Tribune for an interview, Denisiqi’s executive director Nancy Sandy said she would not be commenting.
Alphonse criticized Denisiqi Society, saying the society has spent 10 years trying to pursue a delegated model.
Responding to the comment, a MCFD spokesperson said achieving delegation levels is a complex process that takes time.
“Community engagement is an important part of the process in order to ensure that the community is aware of the organization’s delegated mandate, and that they support the organization’s work,” the ministry spokesperson said.
Additionally the organization must recruit and train staff and develop policies and protocols to support their mandate.
DAAs receive funding from the federal government for on-reserve delegated services, while the province funds all off-reserve delegated services.
“Denisiqi Society has voluntary services delegation, which means they can approve foster homes and provide voluntary services to children, youth and families, including voluntary care agreements and support services,” the ministry said. “They have been preparing for the next level of delegation — guardianship services.”