Exploring Indigenous understandings of family, safety and care as they relate to child welfare: a literature review

Abstract

The purpose of this report is to address the short-termed and rigid conceptualizations of “family”, “care” and “safety” in child welfare services by juxtaposing Indigenous perspectives to the current models in legislation and practice. Raised research questions were tackled through a literature review in reputable databases. The resulting 42 sources were analyzed in their entirety and findings were explored in the final sections of this report. An important limitation to the reported findings lies in the diversity of Indigenous groups and their perceptions within Canada and the province of British Columbia, making rigid definitions of “family”, “safety” and “care” unattainable.