Jordan’s Principle – A Child First Initiative

General information

Lead department: Indigenous Services Canada

Federal partner organizations: Indigenous Services Canada: First Nations and Inuit Health Branch. Indigenous Services Canada: Education and Social Development Programs and Partnerships Sector.

Non-federal and non-governmental partners: Not applicable

Start date: September 29, 2016

End date: March 31, 2019

Total federal funding allocated (start to end date): $382,500,000

Total federal planned spending to date (dollars): $226,800,000

Total federal actual spending to date (dollars): $183,447,144

Funding contributed by non-federal and non-governmental partners: Not applicable

Governance structures: The Jordan's Principle - A Child-First Initiative will have Indigenous Services Canada, Assistant Deputy Minister (ADM)-level oversight. A new ADM-level committee consisting of Indigenous Services Canada's First Nation and Inuit Health Branch, Senior ADM and Indigenous Services Canada's ADM of Education and Social Development Programs and Partnerships, and Canadian Human Rights Tribunal complainants and interested parties, will meet regularly, and as often as needed to:

• Provide oversight and strategic direction on implementation of this initiative;
• Engage with First Nations leadership on the development of long-term policy and program reforms;
• Discuss requests, policy and programming issues and seek resolution and solutions (respectively);
• Monitor progress and results;
• Manage exceptions beyond the provincial/territorial normative standards and create a process for appeals;
• Engage with First Nations leadership on the development of a long-term plan, including consideration of Federal and Provincial/Territorial roles and responsibilities in an integrated system of supports and services; and,
• Coordinate and assess horizontal impacts (e.g., Health Accord; Truth and Reconciliation Commission).

Description: Jordan's Principle, as defined by the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (CHRT) May 26, 2017 orders (amended on November 2, 2017), helps to ensure that all First Nations children living on and off reserve have access to the government funded products, services and supports they need when they need them. To implement Jordan's Principle, in 2016, the Government of Canada committed through Jordan's Principle – A Child First Initiative up to $382.5 million in interim funding over three years starting in 2016–17 to improve service coordination, service access resolution, data collection, and capacity and engagement to address the CHRT orders.

This program uses funding from the following transfer payments: First Nations and Inuit Primary Health Care and Contributions to provide women, children and families with Protection and Prevention Services.

This initiative aligns with the Indigenous Services Canada's Outcome 3: First Nations and Inuit communities and individuals receive health services and benefits that are responsive to their needs so as to improve their health status, and with Indigenous Services Canada's Strategic Outcome 2: The People - Individual, family and community well-being for First Nations and Inuit.

Fiscal year of planned completion of next evaluation: The Case Studies on Delivery Models for Jordan's Principle is planned to be completed in fiscal year 2018−19 and the organization leading the evaluation is Indigenous Services Canada.

Shared outcome of federal partners: First Nations children receive health and social supports.

Performance Indicators:

• The number of First Nations children requesting services through the Jordan's Principle - A Child-First Initiative who receive services consistent with the provincial/territorial normative standard of care.
• The number and percentage of First Nations parents and guardians requesting services for their children through the Jordan's Principle - A Child-First Initiative reporting on follow-up that they have access to a coordinated system of supports and services.
• The number of First Nations children requesting services through the Jordan's Principle - A Child-First Initiative who have accessed specific services by type of service (such as respite care, home and community care, speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy).

Targets: A target will be set once a baseline is established after the first year results are gathered and analyzed.

Data source and frequency of monitoring and reporting:

Focal Point Case Management Form (annual reporting)

Client Satisfaction Survey (annual reporting)

Expected outcome or result of non-federal and non-governmental partners: Not applicable

Performance Highlight: Through its implementation of Jordan's Principle, Canada made significant progress to ensure that First Nations children have access to the health, educational and social supports they need. Between April 2017 and March 2018, Canada approved over 68,507 products, supports and services totaling $150 million for First Nations children and youth under Jordan's Principle.

Contact Information:

Indigenous Services Canada
Bonnie Beach
Jordan's Principle
Director
Indigenous Services Canada
613-858-2452
Bonnie.Beach@canada.ca