Alberta

The Ministry of Children’s Services is responsible for child welfare in Alberta. The Child, Youth, and Family Enhancement Act governs child protection and intervention services, which are provided in five regions, and through 19 delegated First Nations Agencies (Government of Alberta, 2021). Delegated First Nations Agencies (DFNAs) have authority to provide Child Intervention services to First Nations children living on-reserve. Children living off-reserve, as well as children living on a reserve that does not have a DFNA are protected by provincial Child Intervention services in their region (Government of Alberta, 2022).

The Protection of Sexually Exploited Children Act, the Drug-Endangered Children Act, and the Protection Against Family Violence Act also guide child welfare practice in Alberta, allowing caseworkers and social workers to intervene in a broad range of issues related to harm or risk of harm to children (Government of Alberta, 2021).

For more information, please see the information sheet on Alberta's child welfare system.

Statistics

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 2022^

Children in care   Child (0-17) population Rate per 1000***
7,985   469,965 16.99

* 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

^Government of Alberta. (2022, February 10). Child Intervention Information and Statistics Summary Child Intervention Information and Statistics – 2021-22 Third Quarter (December) Update. alberta.ca/child-intervention-statistics.aspx  

Government of Alberta. (n.d.). Child Intervention Information and Statistics Summary 2018/19 Fourth Quarter (March) Update. https://open.alberta.ca/dataset/de167286-500d-4cf8-bf01-0d08224eeadc/resource/b8142559-cb87- 49b7-bd30-d0a3d2f113bc/download/child-intervention-quarterly-stats-2018-19-q4.pdf

***The rate per 1000 is calculated using the population of children covered under the age of protection in Alberta (under 18 years old).

§ 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.

Reports
Title Authors Year
Child Intervention Information and Statistics Summary Child Intervention Information and Statistics – 2021-22 Third Quarter (December) Update.

Government of Alberta

Mandatory Review into Child Deaths

Office of the Child and Youth Advocate Alberta

Indigenous Cultural Understanding Framework (ICUF)

Children's Services 

19-Year-Old Dakota: An Investigative Review

Office of the Child and Youth Advocate Alberta

CYDL Data Byte: An insight into child intervention clients’ mental health

Ruiting, Jia
Xinjie, Cui

15-Year-Old Levi: An Investigative Review

Office of the Child and Youth Advocate Alberta

18-Year-Old Peter: An Investigative Review

Office of the Child and Youth Advocate Alberta

A profile of adult corrections involvement

Werk, Christine
Twilley, Leslie
Cui, Xinjie

A profile of child support services dependents in Alberta

Ruiting Jia, Leslie Twilley, and Xinjie Cui

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

A profile of children in Alberta receiving child care subsidy

Hesam Izakian, Leslie Twilley, and Xinjie Cui

A profile of income support learners clients

Navjot Lamba and Xinjie Cui

A profile of young Albertans

Christine Werk, Leslie Twilley, and Xinjie Cui

A profile of young Albertans with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Ruiting Jia and Xinjie Cui

A profile of young Albertans with Cerebral Palsy

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