Program directory · Department of Indigenous Services
Child and Family Services
- Department
- Department of Indigenous Services
- Program code
- BYP08 (INDSC)
- Core responsibility
- Indigenous Well-Being and Self-Determination
- In Departmental Plans
- 2023-24 – 2026-27 · New since an earlier plan
What it does
Under the Child and Family Services Program, the department provides funding to Indigenous communities and organizations, provinces, territories and agencies that deliver services to support Indigenous children and families, through two complementary but distinct initiatives: the administration of the First Nations Child and Family Services Program and the ongoing implementation of An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families (“the Act”).
The First Nations Child and Family Services program (FNCFS) supports the safety and well-being of First Nations children ordinarily resident on reserve and in the Yukon. The program provides funding to First Nations child and family services delegated agencies /service providers and First Nations to support the delivery of child and family services to First Nations on reserve. When a First Nation is not served by an FNCFS Agency, the Department funds the applicable provincial or Yukon Government to deliver these services. Protection Services are provided in accordance with the legislation and standards of the Province or Territory of residence and in a manner that is reasonable, within the Department program authorities.
The Department is ensuring the successful implementation of the Act by supporting First Nations, Métis and Inuit groups, communities and peoples to exercise jurisdiction through capacity-building, coordination agreement discussions, and through funding the operationalization of Indigenous child and family services models.
Source: the department's Program Inventory, via GC InfoBase.
History and lineage
First appears in GC InfoBase's actual spending by program in 2023-24. The data does not record when a program was created; it may be older than its first appearance here, which is limited by the sources (program spending starts in 2010-11, Departmental Plans in 2018-19).
| Program | Relation | Years with data | Actual spending over those years |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Nations Child and Family Services | Earlier program (name match, high confidence) | 2018-19 – 2020-21 | $1.25B |
| First Nations Child and Family Services | Earlier program (name match, medium confidence) | 2019-20 – 2024-25 | $8.09B |
| Child and Family Services | This program | 2023-24 – 2028-29 | $31.9B |
Significant changes in scope and budget
Detected from the data: renames between plans, programs it appears to replace, merge with or split into (matched by name), year-over-year changes in spending of at least 25% and $5M, or in employees of at least 20% and 25 FTEs, linked budget measures, and results indicators added or dropped.
| Year | What changed | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2023-24 | Appears to replace First Nations Child and Family Services | Canada Spends name match across plans (an inference) |
| 2024-25 | Spending $4.59B, against $27.3B in 2023-24 (−83%). | Actual spending (GC InfoBase) |
| 2025 | Budget 2025 measure “Continued Implementation of An Act Respecting First Nations, Métis and Inuit Children, Youth and Families”: $528M in total over its years (linked to this program by name, a best-effort match). | Budget 2025, PDF page 284 |
| 2025-26 | Indicators dropped: Percentage of children in care who are placed with a family member (kinship care) | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2027-28 | Planned employees (FTEs) 194, against 389 in 2026-27 (−50%). | FTEs (GC InfoBase) |
| 2028-29 | Planned employees (FTEs) 147, against 194 in 2027-28 (−24%). | FTEs (GC InfoBase) |
Success criteria
The program's indicators from its department's Departmental Results Framework: the target set in each year's plan, and the result reported the following year. Source: GC InfoBase.
Historical: targets against results
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-24 | — | — | Not available Recipient reporting and data inputs were not finalized for 2022-23 or 2023-24. These results will be presented in future reports once data becomes available. The 2021-22 result was previously not available but has since been determined as 14.62%. | No result reported |
| 2024-25 | Maintain or decrease results year over year | 2025 | Not Available Recipient reporting ae not finalized for 2023-24 and 2024-25. These results will be presented in future reports once data becomes available. The 2022-23 result was previously not available but has since been determined as 14.95%. | No result reported |
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-24 | — | — | Not available Recipient reporting and data inputs were not finalized for 2022-23 or 2023-24. These results will be presented in future reports once data becomes available. The 2021-22 result was previously not available but has since been determined as 27.87%. | No result reported |
| 2024-25 | Maintain or increase results year over year | 2025 | Not Available Recipient reporting are not finalized for 2023-24 and 2024-25. These results will be presented in future reports once data becomes available. The 2022-23 result was previously not available but has since been determined as 28.34%. | No result reported |
Current: the 2026-27 plan's targets
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | ≤ 14.9% | 2027 | — | Planned |
Future goals: targets due after 2026-27
No targets with a later due date.
Spending and employees: planned against actual
Spending
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2023-24 | $23.6B | $27.3B |
| 2024-25 | $3.7B | $4.59B |
| 2025-26 | $4.68B | — |
| 2026-27 | $5.18B | — |
| 2027-28 | $5.57B* | — |
| 2028-29 | $5.12B* | — |
Employees (FTEs)
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2023-24 | 288 | 356 |
| 2024-25 | 324 | 404 |
| 2025-26 | 396 | — |
| 2026-27 | 389 | — |
| 2027-28 | 194* | — |
| 2028-29 | 147* | — |
Planned spending, plan by plan
Each row is one year's Departmental Plan and its forecast for the next three fiscal years; read a column down to see how the forecast for one year changed. The last row is what was actually spent. Click an amount for its source. Biggest changes in federal spending plans
| Plan | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 2025-26 | 2026-27 | 2027-28 | 2028-29 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-24 plan | $23,559,820,831 | $2,468,117,153 | $2,294,366,718 | |||
| 2024-25 plan | $3,702,615,065 | $2,311,154,143 | $2,359,059,556 | |||
| 2025-26 plan | $4,683,479,445 | $4,509,151,534 | $4,221,382,092 | |||
| 2026-27 plan | $5,184,720,528 | $5,574,850,093 | $5,121,028,117 | |||
| Actual | $27,333,183,719 | $4,586,290,101 |
Actual spending is from Departmental Results Reports and the Public Accounts, as published in GC InfoBase. FTEs are full-time equivalents.
