Collectively, the above developments point to the potential for the expansion and improvement of
services for Aboriginal children and their families in the near future. However, greater knowledge about
the policies that shape Aboriginal child welfare is needed to support development of these services.
Currently, significant barriers exist to the compilation of even basic information about Aboriginal child
welfare policy and structure. Barriers include the challenge of collecting information about multiple
jurisdictions in a decentralized child welfare system, limited academic literature on Aboriginal child
welfare, and an AANDC culture in which even complex and essential information - such as the terms
and conditions of federal funding for Aboriginal child welfare agencies – has sometimes been verbally or
informally communicated rather than being published in formal documents (O. Johnston, 2009).