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
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Title Authors Year Sort ascending
Emotion regulation in sexually abused preschoolers: The contribution of parental factors
Langevin, Rachel
Hébert, Martine
Allard-Dansereau, Claire
Bernard-Bonnin, Anne-Claude
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
Physical and mental health of sexually abused boys: A 5 year matched-control and cohort study
Daigneault, Isabelle
Bourgeois, Catherine
Vézina-Gagnon, Pascale
Alie-Poirier, Alexane
Dargan, Sonia
Hébert, Martine
Frappier, Jean-Yves
2016
A culturally relevant measure of client satisfaction in child welfare services
Mundy, Crystal
Neufeld, Amanda N. 
Wells, Susan J
2016
Foster and adoptive parent training: A process and outcome investigation of the preservice PRIDE program

Nash, Jordanna
Flynn, Robert J.

2016
Mindfulness as mediator and moderator of post-traumatic symptomatology in adolescence following childhood sexual abuse or assault
Daigneault, Isabelle
Dion, Jacinthe
Hébert, Martine
Bourgeois, Catherine
2016
Association of child abuse exposure with suicidal ideation, suicide plans, and suicide attempts in military personnel and the general population in Canada

Afifi, Tracie O.
Taillieu, Tamara
Zamorski, Mark A.
Turner, Sarah
Cheung, Kristene
Sareen, Jitender

2016
Child Death Review in Canada: A National Scan

Saskatchewan Prevention Institute

2016
Protecting visible minority children: Family-caseworker dynamics and protective authority intervention strategies
Dufour, Sarah
Gaudet, Judith
Lavergne, Chantal
Couture, Dominique
2016
Growing up with foster siblings: Exploring the impacts of fostering on the children of foster parents

Serbinski, Sarah

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: