WINNIPEG, MB-A new provincial law will broaden the province's advocacy of children who are in the care of Child and Family Services (CFS) in Manitoba.

Family Services Minister Kerri Irvin-Ross made the announcement in the company of First Nations leaders and acting assistant deputy minister for Family Services at the legislature in Manitoba's capital.

"We are stepping aside...this is the next days of devolution," Minister Irvin-Ross stated at a press conference in December 2015.

Up until now, details concerning the deaths of teens and children such as Tina Fontaine and Kierra Williams, who died while in the care of CFS, were kept secret. The new law expands the mandate of the Office of the Children's Advocate and will allow the office to release public reports whenever a child dies while in the care of the province.

Forty-one children have died in Manitoba while in the care of CFS. Most have died by accident or illness. Many of these were Indigenous youth. These figures also include four homicides and 26 suicides, some of which made headlines but the details, often including the names, were kept secret because of rules of privacy.

These changes open the way for greater First Nations control over their frontline services. According to Manitoba's Children's Advocate Darlene MacDonald, "We're pleased with the announcement of proposed changes," she told the Winnipeg Free Press. "...we'll

be really excited when the changes mean a change in service for children and youth."

MacDonald indicated that she wasn't sure the changes would be implemented before she leaves office at the end of 2017.