Location: Anywhere in Canada
Deadline for submission: April 4th, 2025 at 5pm EST
Project term: April 15 to September 2025
Background
Inuit communities in Canada face unique challenges regarding child welfare, as historical policies and systemic barriers have led to a disproportionate number of Inuit children being placed in child welfare. According to 2021 data from Statistics Canada, over 40% of Inuit are 19 years old or younger, with over half under the age of 25. Ensuring culturally safe and community-led child welfare systems is crucial to the well-being of Inuit youth and the future of Inuit communities.
Despite efforts to improve Inuit child welfare, a significant number of Inuit children continue to be placed in foster care, often away from their communities and cultural environments. Current child welfare policies are largely administered by non-Inuit governments, leading to a lack of culturally appropriate services and the continuation of colonial structures. There is an urgent need to transition child welfare administration to Inuit-led organizations that can prioritize family preservation, community support, and culturally relevant services.
Project Overview
With a collaborative relationship, this project aims to identify successful approaches used by other Indigenous groups to reduce child placements in foster care; Inuit organizations can apply these lessons to take over the administration of child welfare and ensure better outcomes for Inuit youth and families.
This initiative supports both Inuit living in their homelands and those who have relocated to urban centers, where they often face additional challenges due to colonial displacement, healthcare accessibility barriers, and lack of culturally relevant services. This project will allow the opportunity for knowledge transfer and exchange.
Scope of Work
This project aims to support the advancement of Inuit-led child welfare services by engaging with key stakeholders, conducting thorough research, and fostering strategic partnerships. The work will focus on identifying child welfare leaders and key priorities from Inuit regions to ensure culturally relevant and community-driven solutions. Through collaboration with Indigenous groups that have successfully assumed control over child welfare services, the project will gather insights and best practices to inform future initiatives. Additionally, comprehensive research, data collection, and analysis will be conducted to assess current gaps and opportunities. All findings will be documented to support evidence-based policy recommendations and the development of Indigenous-led child welfare frameworks. We anticipate this amount of work will require approximately 355 hours.
Key activities:
- Engagement
- Identifying child welfare leaders
- Identifying key priorities from Inuit regions
- Partnership Development
- Research
- Data collection
- Documentation
- Compile findings into reports and policy recommendations
- Direct observation
- Direct observation in a rural or remote community
- Assist in hosting a Virtual Knowledge Exchange Event in Summer 2025
Qualifications
Through this request for proposals, ICC is seeking an experienced Inuk consultant who can accomplish the above scope of work. The ideal consulting team would have the following qualifications:
- Beneficiary under an Inuit Land Claims Agreement in Canada
- Knowledge & Experience in Child Welfare Systems – Demonstrates a strong understanding of child welfare systems in Canada, particularly in regions where Indigenous communities reside.
- Professional Experience in Relevant Fields: Social work, Health care, Early childhood education, or related fields
- Project Coordination Experience – Proven ability to coordinate projects, including planning, execution, and collaboration with stakeholders
- Interpersonal & Communication Skills - Comfortable hosting interviews and engaging in direct conversations. An ability to work professionally and sensitively in environments that may involve difficult or emotional subject matter.
- Reliable access to a computer and internet
- Ability to travel to a rural or remote community for direct observation and collaboration with participating Indigenous organizations and communities
Proposals
The proposal should describe the consultant’s qualifications, identify examples of similar work, as well as the following documents:
- Resume
- Letter of intent
- Detailed budget
- Detailed work plan to complete the work (proposed approach)
Selection Criteria
ICC is looking for an Inuk consultant who has expertise within social work, health care, early childhood education, or related fields, and can provide high quality work. We will assess proposals based on the following criteria:
- Qualifications of the applicant and examples of similar work
- Detailed work plan
- Letter of intent
- Detailed budget with justification that fit within the project description
Contact Information
Melynda Ehaloak
Health Knowledge Transfer Specialist
1-613-922-2304
Submissions are due by April 4, 2025 at 5pm EST.