Sturgeon Lake Child and Family Services has made another step towards keeping its kids safe.
The First Nation is the third-smallest group in all of Saskatchewan to have its programming pass the highest-level review available under the International Commission of Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF).
SLCFS’s programs met all of CARF’s 1,615 reviewed standards, with the exception of about 15.
It’s a huge turnaround for a community that’s been through dark times. Soon after SLCFS was formed just over eight years ago, two of the community’s young children died while in the care of foster parents through the Ministry of Social Services.
Shirley Bighead, directors of health with Sturgeon Lake, got emotional when she talked about those deaths.
“We’re trying to not (have) let those little people that we lost to have died in vain and try to look at, what are the positive things we can do,” she said. “Positive things have come out of this.”
Currently, about 80 children of Sturgeon Lake members are in foster care off-reserve, and about 30 are in foster care on reserve, said Eleanor Brazeau, executive director of SLCFS.
Sturgeon Lake’s programs for foster family and kinship care, child protection services, and intensive family-based services are not just meant to protect children – they’re meant to prevent future issues.
SLCFS’s staff of 13 worked for six months to achieve the accreditation, and Bighead said they all followed the values instilled by former chief Wesley Daniels. He had been a strong proponent of children’s rights, and his mantra was that child welfare is not just about providing needs – it’s also about providing love.
“All of them (SLCFS staff) work from their heart, they don’t consider it a job to make money. They adhere to what Chief Daniels spoke to,” Bighead said.
Daniels’ death late last year had a strong impact on Wednesday’s ceremony to celebrate, as most people at the mic mentioned the influence Daniels had.
Saskatchewan’s Children’s Advocate, Bob Pringle, was one of many special guests. He told the room that although Daniels’ has passed, his presence can still be felt.
“We did feel his presence in the room you know. Anytime that we celebrate anything, you know we, never forget about him because he’s such a guiding force for our agency and anything we do,” Bighead said.
Pringle, whose special relationship with Sturgeon Lake was first marked in 2012 when he became an honourary member, also applauded SLCFS for working to bring kids back to their homes and their cultures.
Eleanor Brazeau says they couldn’t find family programming that includes their culture, so they created their own.
“We had no model to look at so we developed within. We took time to do that, and you know, we had to work with the Elders,” she said.
Most families that enter are struggling with addictions, like IV drug use or prescriptions.