“This funding model has failed. It does not provide the resources our agencies need to keep children safe. It does not support prevention. It does not treat First Nations children equitably. Our families are paying the price.”
– Grand Chief Jerry Daniels
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 13, 2026
ANISHINAABE AND DAKOTA TERRITORY, MB — The Southern Chiefs’ Organization is calling for an immediate and comprehensive review of Manitoba’s “single envelope funding” (SEF) model for child and family services, warning that the current system is placing First Nations children and families at risk.
“This funding model has failed,” said Grand Chief Jerry Daniels. “It does not provide the resources our agencies need to keep children safe. It does not support prevention. It does not treat First Nations children equitably. Our families are paying the price.”
The Province of Manitoba introduced the SEF model in 2019. It was presented as a flexible, block funding approach that would strengthen prevention services, reduce the number of children in care, and support family reunification. However, funding levels did not increase, and financial allocations remain largely driven by the number of children already in care.
A promised three-year review of the model has never been completed.
In Manitoba, 91 per cent of children in care are Indigenous, according to the 2024–25 Annual Report of the Department of Families. Despite this overrepresentation, southern First Nations agencies funded by the province do not receive enough funding. This lack of funding makes it harder to offer prevention programs, culturally based services, and enough frontline staff to properly support children and families.
On February 5, 2026, the Southern First Nations Network of Care met with child and family services stream funding structure, which is divided between federal and provincial responsibility. They warned that this split is creating unequal outcomes for First Nations children depending on which system funds their services. As a result, discrimination is built directly into the funding model. Children should not receive different levels of support based solely on which government pays the bill.
“When prevention programs are underfunded, families don’t get help early. When agencies are stretched too thin, workers burn out. When funding does not reflect the true needs of our Nations, children suffer,” said Lake Manitoba First Nation Chief Cornell McLean. “We know how to keep our families strong, but we need the resources to do it.”
The SEF model also creates significant barriers for First Nations working to rebuild and exercise their inherent jurisdiction over child welfare. On October 19, 2023, Premier Wab Kinew directed the Minister of Families through a mandate letter to collaborate with Indigenous governments and transfer responsibility for child welfare back to Nations and families where it belongs. However, meaningful change cannot occur under a system that remains structurally underfunded and inequitable.
“If the province is truly committed to truth and reconciliation—and genuinely cares about the well-being of our children—then it must begin engaging directly with our technicians, our experts, and most importantly, our Chiefs. Progress requires open communication and respectful collaboration with our leadership,” shared Dakota Plains Wahpeton Oyate Chief Don Smoke.
“First Nations leadership and youth must be at the forefront when decisions are made about child welfare, from the federal government to our own Nations. If responsibility is truly being transferred back to us, then our inherent rights must be respected and properly supported,” added Youth Chief Billy Bird of Peguis First Nation.
“We signed a declaration with the province for a good working relationship. It was signed in May. Now, we come to the table again on behalf of our children. We need that same response from the province, not just to hear us, listen, and sign a declaration,” said Pinaymootang First Nation Chief Kurvis Anderson. “We need action, and we need action right now for our children.”
SCO is calling on the Manitoba government to immediately begin the comprehensive review that was promised in 2019, fully engage First Nations leadership and agencies, and ensure equitable, prevention-based funding for southern First Nations child and family services.
“Our children deserve safety, stability, and culturally grounded care,” said Grand Chief Daniels. “If the province is serious about reconciliation and returning jurisdiction, it must fix the funding. You cannot transfer responsibility without transferring the resources needed to do the job safely and properly.”
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The Southern Chiefs’ Organization represents 33 First Nations and more than 92,000 citizens in what is now called southern Manitoba. SCO is an independent political organization that protects, preserves, promotes, and enhances First Nations peoples’ inherent rights, languages, customs, and traditions through the application and implementation of the spirit and intent of the Treaty-making process.
For media inquiries:
Email: Media@scoinc.mb.ca