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Nunavut needs more foster families

The Department of Family Services is putting a public call out for foster homes, in anticipation of future need.

The department currently has 45 foster homes and will need more homes available for new or repeat cases, said deputy minister Yvonne Niego.

It's the first time the department has made the appeal through the media, Niego said.

"This year we wanted to cast a wider net and inform families of what it would be like to host a child," said Niego.

In total, there are 450 children in care, with 250 in foster homes across the territory. The department has enough homes to foster those children.

"It's more preemptive. If we don't have a home and we have an apprehension, a social worker will stay with the child until a home is found," she said.

The department is "always in need of good foster homes" and recognizes that going through the onboarding process takes time."We want to inform the general public the difference you can make in a child's life in extended family, even through extended family relationships there is a possibility to become a foster parent," she said.

"We need culturally relevant and Inuit-specific homes for Inuit children. Keeping children as close to home as possible is our overall department policy," she said.

"We want to increase our Inuit foster home numbers. We want to do our work better and for the children."

The department "works closely" with families to put more children in their parental home on plans of care, said Niego.

Of all the children in care, just over 50 percent are placed in Nunavut homes. Roughly 20 per cent are in their parental homes where Family Services is working with the family to support them, she said.

In total, 70 children apprehended from within the territory are in residential out-of-territory care, where they get access to services for complex medical or behavioural needs that can't be met by services in Nunavut, she said.

A criminal record check and home inspection are required to ensure a family is capable of housing a child.

"We want to make sure the child has an appropriate place to sleep, we check references and then once the application is made there is a home study," said Niego.

Foster parents are compensated between $43 and $50 per day for their service, depending on the community they are based in, said Niego. Some children are temporarily in care while others are long term.

People who are interested in becoming a foster parent can contact their local community social workers, she said.

Single-parent homes are eligible to apply, though the department is ideally looking for two-parent homes with one parent at home who can provide fully for the child, she said.

Children are often coming from homes where there is "some sort of agitation in the family and they need that respite … and some time for the family to recover," she said.

Any foster family should be able to support "healthy relationships between children and their family and be part of a team to nurture a child," she said.

The department recognizes that overcrowding is a problem in Nunavut and is exploring equipment and training initiatives for foster parents in the coming months, Niego said.