Ontario

For more information, visit the information sheet on Ontario's child welfare system.

Overview

Children’s Aid Societies in Ontario have the exclusive mandate under the Child, Youth and Family Services Act (CYFSA) to protect children who have been or are at risk of being abused and/or neglected by their caregivers, to provide for their care and supervision where necessary and to place children for adoption (CFYSA, 2017). A total of 38 Children’s Aid Societies and 13 Indigenous Child and Family Wellbeing Agencies (ICFWBA) are specifically designated by the Minister of Children, Community and Social Services to investigate child abuse and neglect and take the necessary steps to care for children and youth in need of protection. Three Children’s Aid Societies specifically serve religious communities. Children’s Aid Societies are independent legal entities (corporations run by Boards of Directors) or Indian Bands (that operate under the Indian Act) and are accountable to the communities they serve. In addition to the CYFSA, the Ontario Child Welfare Eligibility Spectrum and Child Protection Standards guide child protection workers at each phase of service delivery. 

Statistics
Child Maltreatment Investigations in Ontario, 20081, 20132 and 20183
 200820132018
Child population (0-15)2,382,0352,349,6002,361,870
Number of child maltreatment investigations128,748125,281148,536
Incidence of child maltreatment investigations per 1,000 children54.0553.3262.89
Type of Child Maltreatment Investigation in Ontario, 20183
 NumberRate per 1,000 children
Maltreatment Investigation94,47640.00
Risk Investigation54,06022.89
Categories of Substantiated Child Maltreatment Investigations in Ontario, 20183
Category of MaltreatmentNumberRate per 1,000 children
Physical Abuse7,0813.00
Sexual Abuse1,0190.43
Neglect8,0823.42
Emotional Maltreatment4,6891.99
Exposure to Intimate Partner Violence17,0517.22
Placement in Child Maltreatment Investigations in Ontario, 20081, 20132 and 20183
 2008 #2008 Rate2013 #2013 Rate2018 #2018 Rate
No Placement121,43650.98121,02051.51144,35161.12
Informal Kinship Care3,6161.521,8740.802,4881.05
Formal Placement3,6961.552,3871.021,6970.71
Children and youth in out-of-home care in 20224
Children in out-of-home care Child (0-17) populationRate per 1000
7, 489 2, 750, 0142.72

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 service, differences in the length of time a child can receive out-of-home care and the definition of out-of-home care.

References

1 Fallon, B., Trocmé, N., MacLaurin, B., Sinha, V., Black, T., Felstiner, Schumaker, K., Van Wert, M., Herbert, A., Petrowski, N., Daciuk, J., Lee, B., DuRoss, C., & Johnston, A. (2010). Ontario Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect-2008 (OIS‑2008). Toronto, ON: Child Welfare Research Portal. https://cwrp.ca/publications/ontario-incidence-study-reported-child-abuse-and-neglect-2008-ois-2008

2 Fallon, B., Van Wert, M., Trocmé, N., MacLaurin, B., Sinha, V., Lefebvre, R., Allan, K., Black, T., Lee, B., Rha, W., Smith, C., & Goel, S. (2015). Ontario Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect-2013 (OIS‑2013) Toronto, ON: Child Welfare Research Portal. https://cwrp.ca/publications/ontario-incidence-study-reported-child-abuse-and-neglect-2013-ois-2013.

3 Fallon, B., Filippelli, J. Lefebvre, R., Joh-Carnella, N., Trocmé, N., Black, T., .... Stoddart, J.(2020). Ontario Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect-2018 (OIS‑2018). Toronto, ON: Child Welfare Research Portal. https://cwrp.ca/publications/ontario-incidence-study-reported-child-abuse-and-neglect-2018-ois-2018.

4 Pollock, N., Ouédraogo, A., Trocmé, N., Hovdestad, W., Miskie, A., Crompton, L., Campeau, A., Tanaka, M., Zhang, C., Laprise, C., Tonmyr, L. (2024). Rates of out-of-home care among children in Canada: an analysis of national administrative child welfare data. Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention in Canada (44)4. https://doi.org/10.24095/hpcdp.44.4.02

 

Reports
Title Year
'Not so Easy to Navigate': A Report on the Complex Array of Income Security Programs and Educational Planning for Children in Care in Ontario
2011/2012 Report to Legislature: Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth
A New Approach to Accountability and System Management
A study of three community and school-based models of child welfare service delivery in Ontario
Because Young People Matter: Report of the Residential Services Review Panel
Building Bridges: The Collaborative Development of Culturally Appropriate Definitions of Child Abuse and Neglect for the South Asian Community
Children Aging Out of Care
Children's Rights Matter to Us: Findings from the First Annual Listening Tour of the Ontario Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth
Children's Well-Being: The Ontarian Perspective, Child Welfare Report 2011
Clarifying the Scope of Child Welfare Services: Report and Recommendations
Creating a Climate of Safety: An Evaluation of the School Based Child Welfare Social Worker Program in Huron and Renfrew Counties
Empowering Families, Strengthening and Protecting Children: Introducing Kinship Program and Family Group Conferencing Program at the Children’s Aid Society of London and Middlesex
Evaluating the Effectiveness of "Beyond the Basics" Parenting Groups for Parents/Caregivers of Young Children Involved with Child Welfare
Exploring Youth Outcomes After Aging-Out of Care
Family Group Conferencing: Assessing the long-term effectiveness of an alternative approach in child protection
Legislation
Links