Decolonizing Child Welfare IT: A Practitioner’s Literature Review on Integrating Indigenous Knowledges

As a child welfare practitioner reviewing current scholarship, I examine how mainstream child welfare case management information technology (CWCMIT) perpetuates colonial values and constrains Indigenous self-determination. The analysis focuses on settler colonial contexts in Canada, Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand, and the United States, where Indigenous children remain disproportionately represented in child welfare systems and where Indigenous-led governance reforms are emerging in policy and scholarship. The review identified no documented examples of a fully Indigenized child welfare information system in which Indigenous epistemologies and governance authority are embedded within system design. Three themes emerged: (1) technology in child welfare, where systems prioritize managerial documentation and institutional accountability while marginalizing cultural identity and relational continuity; (2) Indigenous Data Sovereignty, which asserts Indigenous authority over the collection, ownership, and use of data; and (3) decolonial technology design, emphasizing Indigenous-led governance and cocreation are necessary to embed Indigenous Knowledges into system architecture rather than retrofitting colonial technologies. From a practitioner perspective, the chapter identifies actionable implications across four domains: frontline practice, Indigenous Governing Body governance, policy and procurement, and system design. These include embedding Indigenous Data Governance from project inception, reforming procurement frameworks to support Indigenous-governed data architectures, and designing systems that allow families to contribute directly to children’s records during periods of separation. The chapter offers a practitioner-focused synthesis intended to inform agencies, Indigenous Governing Bodies, technologists, and policymakers seeking to align child welfare technology with Indigenous governance, relational accountability, and resurgence.