scholarly journals A Story of their own: Adolescent Pregnancy and Child Welfare in Aboriginal Communities

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 30-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emilia Ordolis
Keyword(s):  
Child Welfare ◽  
Adolescent Pregnancy ◽  
Child Welfare System ◽  
Welfare System ◽  
Aboriginal Communities ◽  
Structural Problems ◽  
Rights Of The Child ◽  
Alternative Approaches ◽  
The Relationship

The phenomenon of adolescent pregnancy and its relationship to child welfare in Aboriginal communities provides a useful lens through which to understand fundamental and structural problems with the current child welfare system in Canada. The following paper will examine the relationship between adolescent pregnancy and child welfare, investigate concerns with the current child welfare system, and look to the Convention on the Rights of the Child as a framework for conceptualizing alternative approaches.

scholarly journals Realising treaty-based protection in Aotearoa’s child welfare system

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire Achmad
Keyword(s):  
Child Welfare ◽  
Child Welfare System ◽  
Welfare System ◽  
The State ◽  
Family Court ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
United Nation Convention ◽  
Non Profit ◽  
Rights Of The Child ◽  
Role Of The State

The year 2019 represented a watershed moment for Aotearoa New Zealand’s child welfare system, as a public spotlight was shone on systemic ethnic inequities during ongoing legislative changes aimed at centering Te Tiriti o Waitangi and whänau, hapü, and iwi considerations in policy and practice. In the midst of this dialogue, Victoria University of Wellington’s School of Government hosted the “Children, Families, and the State”– a seminar series focused on the historical, current, and future role of the state in the lives of families and children. The seminars, and the discussion it generated, was due to the calls to action from speakers across the system, including leadership at Oranga Tamariki, within the family court, non-profit providers, commissioners and advocates, and academics. The four brief essays in this edition of Policy Quarterly capture viewpoints from several of the seminar speakers. Despite their different perspectives, common threads unite them. A greater recognition of the structural causes of the historical and current patterns of ethnic inequities in child welfare system contact, a commitment to whänau, hapü, and iwi-centred policy, practice, and partnership, the authors argue, are vital for a more just and empowering system. In this essay, Claire Achmad discusses how Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the United Nation Convention on the Rights of the Child can be frameworks for policy change aimed at making the child welfare system both child-centred while reducing ethnic inequities.

Assessing the Effectiveness of Coroners’ Inquests in Relation to Child Maltreatment Fatalities: A Human Rights Perspective

2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 510-547
Author(s):  
Joseph Martino
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Child Welfare ◽  
Child Maltreatment ◽  
United Nations ◽  
International Law ◽  
Child Welfare System ◽  
Welfare System ◽  
Rights Of The Child ◽  
Child Deaths ◽  
United Nations Convention

The potential of the coroner’s office in Ontario to reduce the incidents of child maltreatment-related fatalities is assessed through an examination of the four inquests completed between 2000 and 2015 involving the deaths of children connected with the child welfare system. Applying a human rights perspective rooted in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, it is argued that a concern for the fundamental legal entitlements of children has been little in evidence at the inquests of child fatalities, detracting from the ability of these proceedings to contribute to the prevention of maltreatment-related child deaths. Data derived from the juries’ verdicts at these inquests are compared with the rights and principles prescribed in the Convention with a view to assessing the extent to which the latter are implicated in the former. Findings of note include the absence of a simple instance in which the Convention or its provisions were explicitly referenced in the inquest verdicts, a startling fact given Canada’s obligations under international law to a treaty dedicated to the preservation of the life and wellbeing of children.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document