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

Reports
Title Year
Mesnmimk Wasatek: Catching a Drop of Light. Understanding the Overrepresentation of First Nations Children in Canada’s Child Welfare System: An Analysis of the Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (FN-CIS-2003)
Nistawatsimin: Exploring First Nations Parenting: A Literature Review and Expert Consultation with Blackfoot Elders
Pilot Study: The Child Welfare System and Homelessness among Canadian Youth
Recommendations for Canada from the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child
Reconciliation in Child Welfare: Touchstones of Hope for Indigenous Children, Youth, and Families
Recruitment and Retention in Child Welfare Services: A Survey of Child Welfare League of Canada Member Agencies
Research Brief: Identifying and Responding to Intimate Partner Violence Against Women
Research Brief: Interventions to Prevent Child Maltreatment
Research Brief: Resilience, Mental Health and Family Violence
Review of Data and Process Considerations for Compensation Under 2019 CHRT 39 January, 2022
Shameful Neglect: Indigenous Child Poverty in Canada
Substance Use among Adolescents in Child Welfare versus Adolescents in the General Population: A Comparison of the Maltreatment and Adolescent Pathways (MAP) Longitudinal Study and the Ontario Student Drug Use Survey (OSDUS) Datasets
Summary report: Canadian child welfare administrative data knowledge exchange meeting (2023)
Summary report: Canadian child welfare administrative data knowledge exchange meeting (2024)
Summary report: Canadian child welfare administrative data knowledge exchange meeting (2025)
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