Indigenous Adoption in Ontario: Customary Care, Bill C-92, and Cultural Continuity

Adoption involving Indigenous children in Ontario is governed by a legal and cultural framework that is meaningfully different from the standard provincial adoption pathway. Families navigating this territory — whether they are Indigenous families seeking to formalize care within their community, or non-Indigenous families who have been connected with an Indigenous child — need to understand a framework shaped by both provincial statute and federal legislation that the provincial system must defer to.

Why Indigenous Adoption Has a Distinct Framework

Canada's history with Indigenous children and the child welfare system — including the Sixties Scoop and ongoing overrepresentation in foster care — has shaped both law and practice. The principles underlying Ontario's Indigenous adoption framework reflect both accountability for that history and recognition of Indigenous communities' inherent rights over their children's lives.

Two pieces of legislation govern this area:

Ontario's Child, Youth and Family Services Act, 2017 (CYFSA): The CYFSA establishes a hierarchy of placement preferences for Indigenous children in need of protection. Agencies are required to make "active efforts" to place Indigenous children within their own families, extended families, and communities before considering options outside those communities. "Active efforts" is a higher standard than the ordinary "reasonable efforts" standard — it requires documented, genuine engagement, not just a checkbox.

Federal Bill C-92 (An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families, effective January 1, 2020): Bill C-92 established national standards for Indigenous child welfare and, more significantly, affirmed the inherent right of Indigenous communities to assert jurisdiction over child and family services for their members. Communities that pass their own child welfare laws can have those laws recognized by provincial and federal courts as the governing framework — superseding provincial child welfare law for their members.

What Is Customary Care?

Customary care is a culturally grounded alternative to standard adoption for Indigenous children. It allows a child to be cared for by an individual or family chosen according to the traditions and customs of the child's Nation — rather than through the provincial court process that grants an adoption order.

Unlike adoption, customary care does not legally sever the child's connection to their birth family or their Nation. The child retains their legal status within their Indigenous community. Customary care maintains the child's identity as a member of their Nation while providing a permanent, secure, and nurturing family arrangement.

Ontario's CYFSA formally recognizes customary care as a permanency option, and the province provides funding to Indigenous families providing customary care. A customary care agreement is documented and can be made enforceable, but the process and governance are led by the Indigenous community, not the provincial court.

Indigenous-Led Agencies in Ontario

Ontario has a comprehensive network of Indigenous-led Child and Family Well-Being agencies. These agencies hold the mandate for child welfare services in their respective communities and are the primary point of contact for any adoption or customary care involving children from those communities.

Key agencies include:

The Association of Native Child and Family Services Agencies of Ontario (ANCFSAO) maintains a directory of all Indigenous agencies: ancfsao.ca

The Métis Nation of Ontario

The Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO) has developed its own child welfare protocols, focused on keeping children connected to their "circles of care" — extended Métis family networks. The MNO provides community-based prevention programs and advocates for culturally grounded solutions that prevent the unnecessary entry of Métis children into the provincial child welfare system.

Adoption or customary care involving Métis children should involve direct engagement with the MNO or the regional Métis organization for the community in question.

What This Means for Non-Indigenous Families

Non-Indigenous families who are connected with an Indigenous child through the CAS system — whether through foster care, concurrent planning, or the AdoptOntario matching process — are entering a legally and ethically distinct space.

Several points are essential to understand:

Placement preference is not optional. If an Indigenous child becomes legally available for adoption, the CAS is required under both the CYFSA and Bill C-92 to demonstrate documented, active efforts to find placement within the child's family, extended family, and community before placing outside those circles. Only after those efforts are exhausted can a non-Indigenous family be considered.

Cultural continuity is an ongoing obligation. If a non-Indigenous family does adopt an Indigenous child, supporting that child's cultural identity and connections to their Nation is not optional. It is embedded in the spirit of both the CYFSA and Bill C-92. Openness arrangements that maintain connection to birth family, extended family, and community are typical.

Indigenous communities may assert jurisdiction. Under Bill C-92, a First Nations, Inuit, or Métis community can enact its own child welfare law. If the child's Nation has done so, that law may govern the placement, regardless of provincial proceedings.

These are not barriers to caring for Indigenous children — many non-Indigenous families provide loving, culturally engaged care. They are realities that require genuine engagement with the Indigenous community involved.

For families seeking a full understanding of the Ontario adoption framework — including how the public pathway interacts with Indigenous child welfare — the Ontario Adoption Process Guide addresses the CYFSA's cultural continuity requirements and how they apply at each stage.

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