Understanding the Child and Family Services Act
The NWT Child and Family Services Act requires that protective and support services be provided to children and families. Health and Social Services, which is part of the NWT government, must meet the requirements of the Act.
What is the Office of the Children's Lawyer?
In 2011, the Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) opened the Office of the Children's Lawyer, providing legal services to children in child protection proceedings and custody and access disputes. In 2024, the GNWT cut the budget by $200,000, and there is no more senior lawyer.
Other Services for Children and Youth
There are other service that fill some gaps, but there are still some gaps in services for children and youth in the NWT. Understanding what services exist and where there are gaps is useful to ensure the needs of children and youth are being met.
In 2025, Advocate NWT is focusing on children’s and youth’s rights.
Our priorities include:
Interview experts
A lot can be learned from talking to current and former children in care, folks working in the child protection system, lawyers working for children, and Child and Youth Advocacy offices around Canada. With proper consent, our team reaches out to and learns from these experts in the field to be able to share information about how these systems are actually working.
Read and write!
We read news articles, legislation, and other public documents that have information that is helpful to know. We take this information and turn it into bite size pieces of information to make it easier to understand.
Join Us
Advocate NWT is a volunteer effort. If you want to join our team of volunteers, message us below or send an email. We always need volunteers to interview experts, to conduct more research, and to make information more accessible through posts online.
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