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A Microprogram to Develop Indigenous Family-Childhood Services

Subtitles are available.

We never thought about child protection services with Indigenous nations in mind.

An indigenous context is different. These are small communities. These are people who know each other in every way. That reality is reflected every single day when you become a social worker in a community.

The Microprogram in Development of Indigenous Family-Childhood Services is a short program that focuses on social intervention in an Indigenous context.

It was important to create a program at this moment in time, because the federal government put in place Bill C-92, which now allows communities to develop their own laws on families and children. What we did was ask communities what they needed to implement social interventions that were culturally appropriate and relevant. The services that have been in place until now have never taken into account our values, our ways of doing things, our culture, our language. So it was important for people at the community level to understand the current system well, but also to understand the aspects they can put in place in their own community. We will truly be integrating people from the field: Indigenous people who work in Indigenous contexts.

The program really opened my eyes and my heart. We weren’t just talking about theoretical context, we were talking about real stories, about what moms and families are going through right now with child protection.

It helped me better understand the systemic and historical barriers in our communities, but also to understand the strengths within our community.

The Micro-program gives people who are going to register the opportunity to have exchanges with people who come from other communities and different realities. Because we face great challenges in the field of social services, and we truly need to lean on one another.

It’s important to have a micro-program like this one, because it enables the self-determination of Indigenous peoples and above all, it allows for safe intervention, culturally speaking.

It allows Indigenous families to stay together.

The adoption of An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families (Bill C-92) marks a major turning point in the history of child and family services in Canada. By recognizing the inherent jurisdiction of Indigenous peoples in this area, the Act opens the door to a profound transformation of practices, governance structures, and relationships between Indigenous communities and institutions.

Implementing these changes in practice, however, requires the development of new expertise. Practitioners, managers, decision-makers, and community partners are called upon to navigate a rapidly evolving landscape in which the principles of self-determination, cultural safety, and Indigenous governance now occupy a central place.

It is with this in mind that the School of Social Work at the University of Ottawa developed the Microprogram in Development of Indigenous Family-Childhood Services – Foundations for Practice.

In this video capsule, Cyndy Wylde, the Microprogram Coordinator, Gilbert Whiteduck, former Chief of Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg, and Annie Mailhot, a program graduate, present the program’s foundations and the challenges this training is designed to address.

“The program really opened my eyes and my heart. We weren’t just talking about theoretical context — we were talking about real stories, about what mothers and families are going through right now with child protection.”

– Annie Mailhot, Microprogram graduate and counselor at the Wanaki Centre

Developed in collaboration with Indigenous partners, the program is designed to support individuals who work, or wish to work, with Indigenous children, youth, and families — equipping them with concrete tools to understand the transformations underway and contribute to their implementation.

Built around the realities of students already active in their communities, the Microprogram is offered online and in the evenings, making it accessible to learners across the country.

Through an approach grounded in Indigenous knowledge, intercultural dialogue, and on-the-ground realities in Indigenous contexts, the program helps prepare those called upon to support ongoing transformations within communities and organizations. The Microprogram is part of the broader movement toward self-determination in services for Indigenous children, youth, and families.

References and useful links
About
L’École de travail social de l’Université d’Ottawa

The School of Social Work at the University of Ottawa is part of the Faculty of Social Sciences. It trains practitioners who work with individuals, families, groups, and communities facing a range of social challenges, particularly in the areas of child and family services and health.

The School of Social Work is strongly committed to the values of social justice, equity, and t human rights. Its approach emphasizes critical analysis of social inequalities and the development of interventions suited to diverse social and cultural contexts.

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