Pathways to Restorative Child Welfare Practices: Decision Making at VACFSS

Research Start-up Summary and Abstract:

The Restorative Child Welfare Practices research project is conceptualized by the Vancouver Aboriginal Child and Family Services Society’s (VACFSS) leadership team. Located in Vancouver, VACFSS is the largest urban Aboriginal delegated child welfare agency in BC. In 2014, the VACFSS ED approached the UBC professor Shelly Johnson to co-develop the proposed research project.

The research goal of this project is to identify the pathways of decision-making and practice within child protection most likely to generate restorative outcomes for the unique aggregate of children and families and families served by VACFSS.

• Vancouver’s Urban Aboriginal Identity Population (2011, NHS)

  2.3% (52,375) of Vancouver’s population identifies as Aboriginal, 2.8% (64,945) report having Aboriginal ancestry.
• 62.7% are First Nation, 33.8% are Metis, less than 1% are Inuit and 2.8% report having multiple or other Aboriginal identities.