Dakota Ojibway Child & Family Services

What Dakota Ojibway Child & Family Services does

Dakota Ojibway Child and Family Services (DOCFS) is a non-profit, community-based child welfare organization established on July 1, 1981, mandated to deliver child protection and family services to seven First Nations communities in Southern Manitoba: Birdtail Sioux, Canupawakpa, Dakota Plains, Dakota Tipi, Roseau River, and Swan Lake. The agency operates under the statutory oversight of the Southern First Nations Network of Care (Southern Authority) pursuant to Manitoba's Child and Family Services Act and Child and Family Services Authorities Act. Its service portfolio spans the full continuum of child welfare — child protection investigations, foster care with extended-family and customary-care preference, family enhancement, family wellness, prevention programs, Honouring Family Voices (a family-led safety-planning process), family group conferencing, guardianship and adoption, post-majority support for youth aging out of care, minor parent support, and repatriation/post-adoption services — with cultural grounding in the Seven Sacred Teachings and board governance that reserves seats for community representatives plus designated Dakota and Ojibway Elders.

The agency's underlying "technology" is its human-social-work infrastructure: trained child welfare workers delivering services through a ten-location network comprising one headquarters office in Carberry, six community-embedded offices in the member First Nations, and three urban offices in Brandon, Portage la Prairie, and Headingley/Winnipeg. There is no software platform, no API surface, and no digital product component referenced in the available data. Distribution is fully direct — staff deployed into communities and into family homes — with no third-party channel partners.

DOCFS's business model is government transfer funding rather than fee-for-service. The agency is financed through provincial and federal Indigenous child welfare funding channels routed via the Southern First Nations Network of Care, and recipients receive services at no cost. The revenue model therefore resembles a contracted service-delivery mandate with a single principal payer (government) rather than a commercial enterprise. Recent commercial-adjacent activity includes administrative support for families pursuing CSA and federal Indian Day School settlement claims, but these are community-support services rather than revenue-generating products.

Name

Dakota Ojibway Child & Family Services

Legal name

Dakota Ojibway Child and Family Services Inc.

Website

https://docfs.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1981

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Dakota Ojibway Child and Family Services is a non-profit, government-mandated child welfare agency delivering culturally grounded child protection, foster care, family enhancement, and adoption services to seven First Nations communities in Southern Manitoba under the Southern First Nations Network of Care.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Child Welfare Services

NAICS

Individual and Family Services (6241), Child and Youth Services (62411)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Family & Parenting Support Services (BPAGAEAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Family Resource Centers & Wraparound Support Services (EDACALAH)

Keywords

• Child welfare services
• Foster care services
• First Nations family services
• Indigenous child protection
• Customary care

Headquarters

HQ city

Carberry

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices11 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Dakota Ojibway Child & Family Services is a non-profit, designated child welfare agency that provides child protection, foster care, family enhancement, family wellness, prevention, customary care, family group conferencing, guardianship/adoption, repatriation, post-majority, and minor parents program services to seven First Nations communities in Southern Manitoba. The agency is governed by a Board of Directors drawn from member communities and Elders and operates under the Southern First Nations Network of Care (Southern Authority).

Product overview

DOCFS is a non-profit, community-based child and family services agency serving seven First Nations communities in Southern Manitoba under the Southern First Nation Network of Care. The organization offers a unified suite of culturally-appropriate child welfare services including Child Protection, Foster Care, Family Enhancement, Family Wellness, Prevention Programs, Honouring Family Voices, Post Majority, Customary Care, Family Group Conferencing, Guardianship/Adoption, and Repatriation services. These services work together to protect children and strengthen families while honoring Indigenous values and traditions. The agency also provides settlement support services for families involved in CSA and Federal settlement claims.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Child Protection Services

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Southern First Nations Network of Care (SFNNC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDOCFS is a non-profit, community-based organization which provides child protection and family services under the auspices of the Southern First Nations Network of Care (Southern Authority). SFNNC is the governing body that oversees and coordinates child and family services for First Nations in Southern Manitoba.
• ANCR (All Nations Coordinated Response Network)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerChild and Family All Nations Coordinated Response Network serves Winnipeg, Headingley, East St. Paul, and West St. Paul. Coordinates child protection intake and response services across multiple jurisdictions.
• Animikii Ozoson Child and Family Services (AOCFS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerServes Ontario First Nations and other families as assigned by the Southern Network. Located at 313 Pacific Avenue, Winnipeg.
• Anishinaabe PimadiziwinminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerServes Dauphin River, Pinaymootang, Lake Manitoba, Lake St. Martin, and Little Saskatchewan communities with child and family services.
• Dakota Tiwahe Services Inc. (DTS)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFormerly served Sioux Valley Dakota Nation before receiving independent mandate. Located in Griswold, Manitoba.
• Intertribal Child and Family Services (ICFS)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerServes Dakota Tipi, Fisher River, and Kinonjeoshtegon communities. Head office at Fisher River Cree Nation with Winnipeg outreach.
• Kinonje Abinoonjiag Niigan Inc (KANI)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerChild and family services for Dallas community in Manitoba.
• Makose C Gamik Inc.minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFormerly served Long Plain First Nation before receiving independent mandate. Located in Keeshkeemaquah, Manitoba.
• Sagkeeng Child and Family Services (SCFS)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerServes Sagkeeng First Nation with offices in Pine Falls and Winnipeg.
• Sandy Bay Child and Family Services (SBCFS)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerServes Sandy Bay First Nation community. Became independent agency on September 1, 2007.
• Southeast Child and Family Services (SECFS)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerServes Berens River, Bloodvein, Brokenhead, Buffalo Point, Hollow Water, Black River, Little Grand Rapids, Pauingassi, and Poplar River communities.
• Waywayceecappo Child and Family ServicesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerChild and family services for Waywayseecappo community in Manitoba.
• West Region Child and Family Services (WRCFS)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerServes Ebb & Flow, Gambler, Keeseekoowenin, O-Chi-Chak-Ko-Sippi, Pine Creek, Rolling River, Skownan, and Tootinaowaziibeeng communities.

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Dakota Tiwahe Services Inc. Became an independent First Nations CFS agency in July 2022 after separating from DOCFS (formerly Sioux Valley Dakota Nation's child welfare program in Griswold, Manitoba); a near-clone of DOCFS in service scope.
• Makose C. Gamik Inc. Became an independent First Nations CFS agency in December 2024 after separating from DOCFS (formerly Long Plain First Nation's child welfare program); operates the exact same mandated service model DOCFS previously delivered.
• West Region Child and Family Services: A Manitoba First Nations child and family services authority serving eight western Manitoba communities with child protection, family enhancement, and customary care under the same Southern First Nations Network of Care umbrella.
• Southeast Child and Family Services: A First Nations–designated child and family services authority serving nine Anishinaabe communities in eastern Manitoba, delivering the same mandated child protection, foster care, and prevention services under the Southern First Nations Network of Care.
• Intertribal Child and Family Services: A Manitoba-based First Nations child welfare agency with offices at Fisher River Cree Nation and Winnipeg, serving Dakota Tipi, Fisher River, and Kinonjeoshtegon communities with identical mandated child protection services.
• Sandy Bay Child and Family Services: Became an independent First Nations child welfare agency on September 1, 2007 after separating from DOCFS; provides an identical mandate to its member community in the same Southern Manitoba region and was previously part of DOCFS's structure.
• Anishinaabe Pimadiziwin: A Manitoba-based First Nations child and family services agency serving five western communities (Dauphin River, Pinaymootang, Lake Manitoba, Lake St. Martin, Little Saskatchewan); directly comparable in delivering Indigenous child welfare under the same provincial framework.
• Sagkeeng Child and Family Services: A First Nations–mandated child welfare agency in Manitoba with offices in Pine Falls and Winnipeg, delivering child protection, foster care, and customary care to Sagkeeng First Nation — directly comparable culturally grounded CFS mandate and operating model.
• Animikii Ozoson Child and Family Services: A Winnipeg-based Indigenous child welfare agency serving Ontario First Nations and other families as assigned by the Southern Network; directly comparable in delivering delegated child welfare services with cultural programming.

Broad incumbents

• Children's Aid Society of Toronto: A large mainstream (non-Indigenous) mandated child welfare authority in Ontario providing child protection, foster care, and adoption across the GTA; relevant only as a scale/comparable reference for the broader child protection category, not for cultural model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Dakota Ojibway Child & Family Services