Alternatives to the FFCNWT Guide for NWT Foster Care Licensing

The Foster Family Coalition of the Northwest Territories is a genuinely valuable advocacy organization. Their peer support network, fostering Facebook group, and helpline connect foster families across the territory. Their publicly available NWT Foster Family Guide, however, was published in March 2019 — before the 2021 Inuvialuit Qitunrariit Inuuniarnikkun Maligaksat (Family Way of Living Law), before the 2024 Canada-GNWT-IRC coordination agreement, and before several shifts in how Bill C-92 is operationalized in the territory. If you are using the FFCNWT guide as your primary licensing resource today, you are working from a document that does not reflect the current legal landscape. The best alternative for a current, comprehensive NWT-specific licensing resource is the Northwest Territories Foster Care Guide, which covers the full four-law framework, community-indexed financial information, and northern-specific home study preparation. But there are several other resources worth understanding, each with distinct strengths and limitations.

Why the FFCNWT Guide Needs an Update

The FFCNWT's NWT Foster Family Guide is not a bad resource. For its time, it provided genuinely useful orientation material for prospective foster families. The issue is currency. Three developments since its March 2019 publication have materially changed the NWT foster care landscape:

The Inuvialuit Family Way of Living Law (2021). The Inuvialuit Qitunrariit Inuuniarnikkun Maligaksat established a legal framework for child welfare specific to the Inuvialuit Settlement Region. It introduced the "right of return" principle for Inuvialuit children in care and created obligations for foster parents that did not exist when the FFCNWT guide was written. If you are fostering a child from Inuvik, Aklavik, Tuktoyaktuk, Paulatuk, Sachs Harbour, or Ulukhaktok, this law governs your placement in ways the 2019 guide does not describe.

The Canada-GNWT-IRC coordination agreement (2024). This agreement operationalized the relationship between federal, territorial, and Inuvialuit authorities on child welfare. It clarified jurisdictional questions that were unresolved in 2019 and established coordination mechanisms that affect how placements involving Inuvialuit children are managed. The FFCNWT guide predates this entirely.

Evolving Bill C-92 implementation. Bill C-92 — the federal Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Metis children, youth and families — was passed in 2019 but its implementation in the NWT has continued to develop, with Indigenous governing bodies progressively asserting jurisdiction over child welfare for their citizens. The practical implications for foster parents have become clearer and more concrete since the FFCNWT guide was published.

The FFCNWT's strength is advocacy and community, not publishing. They are a small, government-funded coalition serving the entire territory. Expecting them to maintain a continuously updated comprehensive guide is not realistic. But prospective foster parents need to understand that the 2019 guide is a historical document, not a current one.

The Full Landscape of Alternatives

What the FFCNWT Still Does Best

It is important to be clear about what the FFCNWT provides that no guide can replace. The Coalition offers:

• A peer network of NWT foster parents. When you are struggling with a placement, dealing with a social worker who is not returning calls, or navigating the emotional weight of fostering an Indigenous child with a history of intergenerational trauma, talking to someone who has been through it in the same territory is irreplaceable.
• The fostering Facebook group. This is the closest thing to a real-time forum for NWT foster families. Questions get answered by people with lived experience in northern communities. The information is anecdotal and unvetted, but the emotional support is genuine.
• Advocacy and systemic voice. The FFCNWT has publicly challenged HSS on issues like social workers withholding information from foster parents, inadequate check-ins with children in care, and the lack of systemic support for northern caregivers. Their 2020 letter to the government documented grievances that matter to every prospective and current foster family.
• The helpline. For licensed foster parents with immediate questions, the FFCNWT helpline provides a direct connection to someone who understands the NWT system.

None of these are things a written guide can provide. The FFCNWT's value is in community and advocacy. Its limitation is in comprehensive, current process documentation for pre-licensing applicants.

What a Current Guide Gives You That the FFCNWT Guide Does Not

The gap between the 2019 FFCNWT guide and the current NWT licensing landscape is not trivial. A current guide addresses:

The four-law framework. Foster parents in the NWT operate under four overlapping legal systems: the territorial Child and Family Services Act, federal Bill C-92, the Inuvialuit Family Way of Living Law, and the Aboriginal Custom Adoption Recognition Act. The 2019 guide covers the CFSA and references Bill C-92 in its early implementation phase. It does not cover the Inuvialuit Law at all, and its Bill C-92 content does not reflect how the law has been operationalized in the years since.

Community-indexed financial detail. The FFCNWT guide references per diem rates but does not provide the Community Price Index analysis that shows the real purchasing power of those rates across the territory. The NWT Foster Care Guide breaks down rates from $33 in Yellowknife to $65 in the most remote communities and explains why the highest per diem does not mean the most money.

SAFE home study preparation for non-Indigenous applicants. The 2019 guide provides general home study information. It does not address the specific cultural competency assessment that non-Indigenous applicants face when 99% of children in care are Indigenous. Understanding what the SAFE assessment evaluates on cultural grounds — residential school history, intergenerational trauma awareness, concrete plans for cultural support — is critical preparation that the 2019 guide does not offer in sufficient depth.

Northern home safety standards with current detail. The guide covers NWT-specific inspection requirements: egress windows in fuel-heated homes, CO detectors for oil and wood heat, water and sanitation for trucked-water communities, satellite communication requirements, emergency preparedness for minus-40 winters. The 2019 guide covers some of this but at a higher level of generality.

Conflict escalation and system navigation. The FFCNWT's 2020 letter documented systemic issues — social workers providing "incomplete or inaccurate information," failure to check in with children, privacy concerns in small communities. A current guide provides the escalation pathway (assigned worker to supervisor to regional COO to the NWT Human Rights Commission) and the system navigation strategies that help foster parents advocate for themselves and the children in their care.

Who This Is For

• Prospective foster parents who have found the FFCNWT guide and realized it predates significant legal changes in NWT child welfare
• Anyone who has been told to "check the FFCNWT website" and wants to understand what additional resources exist for the current licensing landscape
• Families who value the FFCNWT's peer support but want a structured, current reference document for the licensing process itself
• Applicants who want to understand the four-law framework before their SAFE assessment, not during it

Who This Is NOT For

• Licensed foster families who are active members of the FFCNWT and primarily need ongoing peer support and advocacy — the Coalition is the right resource for that
• Anyone looking for a single resource that replaces both process guidance and community connection — no guide replaces the peer network; the two serve different purposes
• Families whose primary concern is legal representation in an active dispute — a family lawyer is appropriate, not a guide

The Recommended Approach: Use Both

The FFCNWT and a current guide are not competing resources. They serve different functions and the ideal approach uses both:

1. Use the guide for process preparation: understand the four-law framework, prepare for the SAFE assessment, walk your home against the inspection checklist, understand the financial picture for your community, and know which regional office to contact.
2. Join the FFCNWT for community: connect with the fostering Facebook group, attend support group meetings when available, use the helpline once you are licensed, and benefit from the Coalition's ongoing advocacy work.
3. Rely on your regional office for case-specific decisions: forms, scheduling, case-specific guidance, and communication about the child or children in your care.

No single resource covers all three needs. The guide handles process and preparation. The FFCNWT handles community and advocacy. Your regional office handles case management. Understanding which resource to use for which need prevents the frustration of expecting any one of them to do everything.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the FFCNWT guide still available to download?

The FFCNWT's NWT Foster Family Guide is available through their website. It remains a useful historical document and provides context about the NWT fostering experience. It should be read with the understanding that the legal framework has changed since its March 2019 publication, particularly regarding Indigenous jurisdiction under the Inuvialuit Law and Bill C-92.

Does the FFCNWT plan to update their guide?

The FFCNWT is a small, government-funded advocacy coalition. Their resources are directed toward direct support for foster families — the helpline, support groups, advocacy — rather than publishing. Whether they plan a guide update is a question for the Coalition directly. In the meantime, applicants need current information now, not when an update may or may not arrive.

Can I just use the FFCNWT Facebook group instead of a guide?

The fostering Facebook group is valuable for peer support and anecdotal advice. It is not a structured resource. Answers to licensing questions vary in accuracy, reflect individual experiences rather than current legal requirements, and cannot cover the full four-law framework in a social media thread. For specific process questions — what the SAFE assessment evaluates, what the home inspection checks, how the community-indexed per diem works — a structured guide provides more reliable and comprehensive information.

Is the paid guide written by the same people as the FFCNWT guide?

No. The Northwest Territories Foster Care Guide is an independent resource built specifically for the NWT licensing process. It is not affiliated with the FFCNWT, HSS, or any territorial agency. This independence means it can address system navigation topics — like how to escalate when a social worker is unresponsive — that government-funded organizations may not be positioned to cover directly.

What if my social worker tells me the FFCNWT guide is sufficient?

Your social worker's recommendation is well-intentioned but may not account for the legal changes since 2019. If you are fostering an Inuvialuit child, the Inuvialuit Family Way of Living Law creates obligations the 2019 guide does not mention. If you are a non-Indigenous applicant, the cultural competency dimension of the SAFE assessment has become more specific than what the 2019 guide prepares you for. Having current information does not contradict your social worker's guidance — it supplements it.

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