Alberta

In Alberta, the Ministry of Human Services oversees the delivery of child intervention services provided by 8 regional Child and Family Service Authorities (CFSAs), one of which is a Métis Authority, under the Child, Youth and Family Enhancement Act (CYFEA). Seventeen Delegated First Nations Authorities (DFNAs) also provide services under CYFEA through agreements between the First Nations, the Government of Canada and the Government of Alberta. The Child and Family Services Authorities Act (2000), regulated in 2004, was the result of a series of policy initiatives designed to increase services to families before they reach crisis, establish permanent homes more quickly for children in government care and strengthen the involvement of First Nation, Métis and other Aboriginal communities in planning for their children. A key feature of the reform was the implementation of the Alberta Response Model (ARM), a differential response system with two legislated streams of activity: family enhancement services and protection services. For more information, please see the information sheet on Alberta's child welfare system.

Alberta - Statistics

Child Maltreatment Investigations in Alberta, 2003* and 2008**

  2003 2008
Child population 752,005 775,175
Number of child maltreatment investigations 32,453 27,147
Incidence of child maltreatment investigations per 1000 children 43.16 35.02

Type of Child Maltreatment Investigation in Alberta, 2008**

  Number Rate per 1,000 children Percent
Maltreatment Investigation 22,761 35.02 84%
Risk Investigation 4,386 5.66 16%

Categories of Substantiated Child Maltreatment Investigations in Alberta, 2008**

Category of Maltreatment Number Rate per 1,000 children Percent
Physical Abuse 1,933 2.49 13%
Sexual Abuse 285 0.37 2%
Neglect 5,328 6.87 37%
Emotional Maltreatment 1,974 2.55 14%
Exposure to Intimate Partner Violence 4,883 6.30 34%

Placement in Child Maltreatment Investigations in Alberta, 2003 and 2008**

  2003 Number 2003 Rate 2008 Number 2008 Rate
No Placement 28,294 37.62 23,625 30.48
Informal Kinship Care 1,923 2.56 1,139 1.47
Formal Placement 2,230 2.97 2,383 3.08

Children and youth in out-of-home care in 2018

Children in care Child (0-17) population Rate per 1000
7,329 923,175

7.9

* MacLaurin, B., Trocmé, N., Fallon, B., McCormack, M., Pitman, L., Forest, N., Banks, J., Shangreaux, C., & Perrault, E. (2005) Alberta Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (AIS-2003): Major Findings. Calgary, AB: University of Calgary. Retrieved from http://cwrp.ca/publications/884

** MacLaurin, B., Trocmé, N., Fallon, B., Sinha, V., Feehan, R., Enns, R., Gail, J., Kitt, O., Thomas‑Prokop, S., Zelt, C., Daoust, G., Hutcheon, E., & Budgell, D. (2013). Alberta Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect-2008 (AIS-2008): Major Findings. Calgary, AB: University of Calgary. Retrieved from http://cwrp.ca/publications/2758

§ Child welfare services fall under the jurisdiction of provincial and territorial authorities, making it difficult to compile statistics at the national level. The most notable variations between provinces include mandate variation by jurisdiction with respect to the age to which children are eligible for services, differences in the length of time a child can receive out-of-home care and the definition of out-of-home care.

Title Authors Yearsort icon Type
Mental health service use among post-secondary students in Alberta

Navjot Lamba and Xinjie Cui

 2017 Report
A profile of income support learners clients

Navjot Lamba and Xinjie Cui

 2017 Report
A profile of child support services dependents in Alberta

Ruiting Jia, Leslie Twilley, and Xinjie Cui

 2017 Report
A profile of children and youth whose families received family support for children with disabilities services

Ruiting Jia, Ozlem Cankaya, Leslie Twilley, and Xinjie Cui

 2017 Report
CYDL Data Byte: An insight on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder and educational achievement

Piatt, Carley
Cui, Xinjie

 2017 Report
A profile of young Albertans with Cerebral Palsy

Daniel O’Brien, Christine Werk, Carley Piatt, Hitesh Bhatt, and Xinjie Cui

 2017 Report
A profile of young Albertans with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Ruiting Jia and Xinjie Cui

 2017 Report
Voices for Change: Aboriginal Child Welfare in Alberta

Office of the Child and Youth Advocate Alberta

 2016 Report
Report of the Auditor General of Alberta: Human Services - Systems to Deliver Child and Family Services to Indigenous Children in Alberta

Auditor General of Alberta

 2016 Report
Provincial/Territorial Protocol On Children, Youth and Families Moving Between Provinces and Territories

Government of British Columbia
Government of Alberta
Government of Manitoba
Government of Saskatchewan
Government of New Brunswick
Government of Newfoundland and Labrador
Government of Nova Scotia
Government of Prince Edward Island
Government of Northwest Territories
Government of Nunavut
Government of Yukon
Government of Ontario

 2016 Report