National

Child welfare services fall under the mandate of provincial and territorial governments, including a rapidly expanding system of Aboriginal child welfare authorities. This section contains material related to federal initiatives concerned with child welfare services as well as statistics compiled at the national level.

All Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect reports can be found here.

Statistics

Child Maltreatment Investigations in Canada, 1998 and 2008*

  1998 2008
Child population 6,301,295 6,022,005
Number of child maltreatment investigations 134,566 235,842
Incidence of child maltreatment investigations per 1,000 children 21.36 39.16


Type of Child Maltreatment Investigation in Canada, 2008*

  Number Rate per 1,000 children Percent
Maltreatment Investigation 174,411 28.97 74%
Risk Investigation 61,431 10.19 26%


Primary Categories of Substantiated Child Maltreatment Investigations in Canada, 2008*

Category of Maltreatment Number Rate per 1,000 children Percent
Physical Abuse 17,212 2.86 20%
Sexual Abuse 2,607 0.43 3%
Neglect 28,939 4.81 34%
Emotional Maltreatment 7,423 1.23 9%
Exposure to Intimate Partner Violence 29,259 4.86 34%


Placement in Child Maltreatment Investigations in 1998 and in Child Maltrement and Risk Investigations in Canada in 2008*

  1998 Number 1998 Rate 2008 Number 2008 Rate
Informal Kinship Care 5,851 0.93 8,713 1.45
Formal Placement 11,003 1.74 10,886 1.81


* Public Health Agency of Canada. (2010). Canadian incidence study of reported child abuse and neglect 2008: Major findings (p. 122). Public Health Agency of Canada. Retrieved from http://cwrp.ca/publications/2117

Publications
Filter by Publication Date Range
Title Year
Ministerial Mandate Letters: Relevance to Indigenous Child Welfare and Well-Being
Churchill, Molly; Sinha, Vandna
 2016
Jeffrey Baldwin: A thematic analysis of media coverage and implications for social work practice
Choate, Peter W.;
 2016
A prospective study of the impact of child maltreatment and friend support on psychological distress trajectory: From adolescence to emerging adulthood
Dion, Jacinthe; Matte-Gagné, Célia; Daigneault, Isabelle; Blackburn, Marie-Eve; Hébert, Martine; McDuff, Pierre; Auclair, Julie; Veillette, Suzanne; Perron, Michel
 2016
Injuries and Death of Children at the Hands of Their Parents
Wegner-Lohin, Jaime; Trocmé, Nico;
 2016
Shameful Neglect: Indigenous Child Poverty in Canada
Macdonald, David; Wilson, Daniel
 2016
Foster and adoptive parent training: A process and outcome investigation of the preservice PRIDE program
Nash, Jordanna; Flynn, Robert J.
 2016
Building research capacity in child welfare in Canada
Trocmé, Nico; Roy, Catherine; Esposito, Tonino
 2016
Child Death Review in Canada: A National Scan
Saskatchewan Prevention Institute
 2016
Better understand to better serve: A province-wide knowledge mobilization initiative in child protection
Esposito, Tonino; Trocmé, Nico; Chabot, Martin; Coughlin, Lorry; Gaumont, Chloé Delaye, Ashleigh
 2016
Nistawatsimin: Exploring First Nations Parenting: A Literature Review and Expert Consultation with Blackfoot Elders
Lindstrom, Gabrielle; Choate, Peter; Bastien, Leonard; Weasal Traveller, Audrey; Breaker, Stewart; Breaker, Kathy; Good Striker, Wilton; Good Striker, Evelyn
 2016
Legislation

Child welfare services fall under the jurisdiction of provincial and territorial authorities as a result each province and territory has different legislation pertaining to child protection interventions. For more information click here.

The only child welfare regulations and legislation that apply to all provinces and territories are the Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development First Nations Child and Family Services National Program Manual and the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of the Child:

Links
 
Adoption Council of Canada
Assembly of First Nations
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada
Campaign 2000
Canadian Association of Social Workers
Canadian Child Care Federation
Canadian Coalition for the Rights of Children
Canadian Council of Child and Youth Advocates
Canadian Council on Social Development
Canadian Institute for Child Health
Canadian Mental Health Association
Canadian Paediatric Society
CANGRANDS National Kinship Support
Caring for First Nations Children Society
Centre for Children and Families in the Justice System
Centres of Excellence for Children's Well-Being
Child Welfare League of Canada
Cybertip.ca
First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada
Human Resources and Social Development Canada
Indigenous Child Welfare Research Network
Infant Mental Health Promotion Program
Kids Help Phone
National Clearinghouse on Family Violence
National Youth in Care Network
Offord Centre for Child Studies
Parachute Canada (Safe Kids Canada)
Public Health Agency of Canada Child Maltreatment Division
Reconciliation in Child Welfare
Statistics Canada, Children and Youth
Statistics Canada, Juristat (Justice Statistics)
Stop Family Violence, Public Health Agency of Canada
UNICEF Canada