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
Review of Data and Process Considerations for Compensation Under 2019 CHRT 39 January, 2022

Barbara Fallon

Nico Trocmé

Marie Saint-Girons

Ashley Quinn

Leyco Wilson

Graham Rotenberg

Szymon Rodomar

Eden Haber

Johanna Caldwell

Cheryl Milne

Lisa Paul

Joseph Mercado

Marina Sistovaris

Eliza Livingston

2022
Effectiveness of Interventions for the Prevention and Treatment of Substance Use Disorders Among First Nations, Métis and Inuit Populations

Sansone, G., Fallon, B., Vandermorris, A., Swardh, K., & Blackstock, C.

2022
Interventions for the Prevention of Family Violence in Indigenous Populations Policy Brief

Sistovaris, M., Fallon, B., & Sansone, G.

2022
The Efficacy of Birth Alerts: Fact Sheet

Sistovaris, M., Sansone, G., Fallon, B. & Miller, S.

2022
Parenting Capacity Assessments and Indigenous Parents in Canada: Fact Sheet

Sistovaris, M., Fallon, B., Sajedinejad, S., & Sansone, G. 

2022
Child Maltreatment-Related Investigations Involving First Nations Infants in Canada in 2019

Joh-Carnella, Nicolette
Fallon, Barbara
Saint-Girons, Marie 

2021
Child Maltreatment-Related Investigations Involving First Nations Children Aged 8-11 Years Old in Canada in 2019

Joh-Carnella, Nicolette
Fallon, Barbara
Saint-Girons, Marie 

2021
Child Maltreatment-Related Investigations Involving First Nations Children Aged 12-15 Years Old in Canada in 2019

Joh-Carnella, Nicolette
Fallon, Barbara
Saint-Girons, Marie 

2021
Child Maltreatment-Related Investigations Involving First Nations Children Aged One to Three Years Old in Canada in 2019

Joh-Carnella, Nicolette
Fallon, Barbara
Saint-Girons, Marie 

2021
Disparities in Investigation Characteristics by Age in Maltreatment-Related Investigations Involving First Nations and Non-Indigenous Children in Canada in 2019

Joh-Carnella, Nicolette
Fallon, Barbara
Saint-Girons, Marie

2021
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: