The provincial government in Manitoba has proposed amendments to the Child and Family Services (CFS) Act to transition services from provincial CFS agencies to Indigenous Governing Bodies (IGB).

These amendments fall into four key themes, noted Families Minister Rochelle Squires, that would:

• provide IGB and Indigenous Service Providers (ISP) with access to information about children and families receiving services;
• authorize the administrative transfer of service responsibility;
• enable the use of the provincial CFS electronic information system and the Child Abuse Registry; and
• protect certain information (ISP records uploaded to the provincial CFS electronic information system, closed records, sources of referral and Child Abuse Registry information) shared under the act.

“These amendments will support ongoing provincewide child and family service co-ordination and ensure the continued safety of children,” said Squires. “Information sharing will be vital for ensuring co-ordination between existing CFS agencies and those established under Indigenous laws in the best interests of those children.”

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