The estimates presented here are from the 2019 national study that collected investigation data from a large number of First Nations and urban Indigenous agencies. All results must be interpreted with caution.
Interpretations must take into account the context and structure of First Nations child welfare. See Denouncing The Continued Overrepresentation Of First Nations Children In Canadian Child Welfare: Findings From The First Nations/Canadian Incidence Study Of Reported Child Abuse And Neglect-2019 (Fallon et al., 2021) for a contextualized summary of the findings. The data presented here are weighted estimates; for information regarding the FNCIS weighting procedure see the executive summary and appendices.
Child Maltreatment Investigations, First Nations (status and non-status) and Non-Indigenous Children
| First Nations Children | Non-Indigenous Children | |
|---|---|---|
| Number of child maltreatment investigations | 45,918 | 241,137 |
| Incidence of child maltreatment investigations per 1,000 children | 151 | 42.11 |
Type of Child Maltreatment Investigations in 2019 for First Nations (status and non-status) and Non-Indigenous Children
First Nations | Non-Indigenous | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of children | Rate per 1,000 | Number of children | Rate per 1,000 | |
| Maltreatment incident Investigation | 32,328 | 106.31 | 168,570 | 29.44 |
| Risk Investigation | 13,590 | 44.69 | 72,567 | 12.67 |
Level of Substantiation in Child Maltreatment Investigations in 2019 for First Nations (status and non-status) and Non-Indigenous Children
First Nations | Non-Indigenous | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of children | Rate per 1,000 | Number of children | Rate per 1,000 | |
| Substantiated | 19,143 | 62.95 | 76,899 | 13.43 |
| Suspected | 2,190 | 7.20 | 9,995 | 1.75 |
| Unfounded | 10,950 | 36.01 | 81,676 | 14.26 |
Primary Categories of Substantiated Child Maltreatment Investigations in 2019 for First Nations (status and non-status) and Non-Indigenous Children
First Nations | Non-Indigenous | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Category of Maltreatment | Number of children | Rate per 1,000 | Number of children | Rate per 1,000 |
| Physical Abuse | 1,570 | 5.16 | 14,459 | 2.53 |
| Sexual Abuse | 587 | 1.93 | 2,108 | 0.37 |
| Neglect | 8,400 | 27.62 | 18,600 | 3.25 |
| Emotional Maltreatment | 1,780 | 5.85 | 10,941 | 1.91 |
| Exposure to Intimate Partner Violence | 6,806 | 22.38 | 30,791 | 5.38 |
Placement in Child Maltreatment Investigations in 2019 for First Nations and Non-Indigenous Children
First Nations | Non-Indigenous | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of children | Rate per 1,000 | Number of children | Rate per 1,000 | |
Informal Placement (Kinship Out of Care and Customary Care) | 2,365 | 7.78 | 4,798 | 0.84 |
| Kinship in Care | 1,589 | 5.23 | 545 | 0.10 |
| Foster Care (Non-kinship) | 1,775 | 5.84 | 2,677 | 0.47 |
| Group Home/Residential or Secure Treatment | 207 | 0.68 | 757 | 0.13 |
| Other Placement (e.g., places of safety) | 205 | 0.67 | 153 | 0.03 |
| Subtotal: Placement Made | 6,141 | 20.20 | 8,930 | 1.56 |
| No Placement Made | 39,776 | 130.81 | 232,207 | 40.55 |
| Total Investigations | 45,917 | 151.00 | 241,137 | 42.11 |
Reference List
* Source: Fallon, B., Lefebvre, R., Trocmé, N., Richard, K., Hélie, S., Montgomery, M., Bennett, M., Joh-Carnella, N., Saint-Girons, M., Filippelli, J., MacLaurin, B., Black, T., Esposito, T., King, B., Collin-Vézina, D., Dallaire, R., Gray, R., Levi, J., Orr, M., Petti, T., Thomas Prokop, S., & Soop, S. (2021) Denouncing the Continued Overrepresentation of First Nations Children in Canadian Child Welfare: Findings from the First Nations/Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect-2019. Ontario: Assembly of First Nations.