Concern over the scale of child removal and the treatment of Aboriginal children by provincial and
territorial child welfare authorities laid the groundwork for First Nations groups to develop federally
funded child welfare agencies which provided services on-reserve (Auditor General of Canada, 2008).
Some First Nations groups pioneered efforts in the 1960s and 1970s; the number of First Nations
agencies grew from 4 in 1981 to 30 in 1986 (Armitage, 1995) before a federal moratorium on the
recognition of new agencies was imposed. The moratorium was lifted in 1991 when a national funding
formula (Directive 20-1) and a program manual for First Nations child welfare agencies were
introduced. Both placed greater constraints on First Nations child welfare agencies, requiring them to
comply with provincial standards and introducing strict controls on funding (Auditor General of
Canada, 2008). Despite these restrictions, the number of First Nations child welfare agencies and the
scope of their responsibilities have continued to expand. While First Nations agencies initially served
only on-reserve populations, they now increasingly serve off-reserve populations as well. In addition to
First Nations agencies, there are now multiple agencies serving Métis children and families and panAboriginal
populations in urban areas (urban Aboriginal agencies).