OTTAWA — Gerald Lavallee was just three months old when he had his first contact with the child welfare system. When the child welfare authorities came calling, family members were willing to take him in but they didn’t have the financial means. Instead of foster care funding going to them so they could take him in, Lavallee went to foster care. It’s estimated 40,000 Indigenous kids are in foster care in Canada, more than 50 per cent of the total number of kids in care. You’re damn tootin’ we could have.”Jesse Downing is a 22 year old whose history with the foster care system goes back to before his first birthday.

Source: National Post January 25, 2018 16:41 UTC