Quebec

The Quebec Ministry of Health and Social Services (Ministère de la Santé et Services sociaux) is responsible for providing protection services to children and youth in accordance with the mandate outlined in the Youth Protection Act. There are currently 16 Youth Centres (YC) and three multi-mission centres across the province.  Both of these centres are responsible for services under the Youth Protection Act as well as the Youth Criminal Justice Act (2002). In each centre, there is a director of youth protection (DYP) who is responsible for enforcing the Youth Protection Act. The DYP also has the powers of a provincial director under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. In the youth protection system in Quebec, the intervention process consists of the following stages: receiving and processing a report (intake), evaluating the situation (investigation), orienting the child (intervention planning), and implementing interventions and reviewing the situation. These stages are carried out in separate administrative units, except for the evaluation and orientation stages which are carried out by the same workers.

There are several First Nations and Inuit child welfare agencies across the province which serve children living on reserve. First Nations and Inuit children living off reserve or in regions without a designated First Nations Child and Family Service Agency are served through local DYP offices. First Nations Child Welfare Agencies in Quebec are required to uphold the Youth Protection Act.

For more information, please see the information sheet on Quebec's child welfare system.

Statistics

Quebec - Statistics

External Statistics Links

Family and Household Statistics
Taux d'incidence des nouvelles prises en charge dans le cadre de la Loi sur la Protection de la Jeunesse (LPJ)
Certains indicateurs repères en vertu de la LPJ, 1994-1995 à 2006-2007

Child Maltreatment Investigations in Quebec, 1998, 2008* and 2014**

  1998 2008 2014
Child population 1,658,480 1,549,200 1,521,298
Number of child maltreatment investigations 25,615 28,608 31,529
Incidence of child maltreatment investigations per 1000 children 15.44 18.47 20.72

Type of Child Maltreatment Investigation in Quebec in 2014**

  # Rate per 1,000 children %
No Risk or Substantiated Maltreatment  8,565 5.63 27%
Confirmed Risk of Future Maltreatment 4,101 2.70 13%
Substantiated Maltreatment 18,860 12.40 60%

Categories of Substantiated Child Maltreatment Investigations in Quebec in 2014**

Category of Maltreatment # Rate per 1,000 children %
Physical Abuse 4,457 2.93 19%
Sexual Abuse 732 0.48 3%
Neglect 6,127 4.03 27%
Emotional Maltreatment 2,486 1.63 11%
Behavioural Problems 4,364 2.87 19%
Exposure to Intimate Partner Violence 4,790 3.15 21%

Placement in Child Maltreatment Investigations in Quebec, 1998, 2008* and 2014**

  1998 # 1998 Rate 2008 # 2008 Rate 2014 # 2014 Rate
No Placement 16,776 10.12 24,238 15.65 27,221 17.89
Informal Kinship Care - - 780 0.50 1,664 1.09
Formal Placement 7,790 4.7 3,178 2.06 2,558 1.68
Type of Placement Unknown 834 0.50 340 0.22 -- 0.04

-- n <100


Children and youth in out-of-home care in 2019^

Children in care   Child (0-17) population Rate per 1000****
9,174***   1,584,856 5.79

* Hélie, S., Turcotte, D., Trocmé, N., & Tourigny, M. (2012). Étude d’incidence québécoise sur les situations évaluées en protection de la jeunesse en 2008: Rapport final (p. 252). Montreal, QC: Centre jeunesse de Montréal-Institut universitaire. Retrieved from https://cwrp.ca/fr/publications/etude-dincidence-quebecoise-sur-les-situations-evaluees-en-protection-de-la-jeunesse

** Hélie, S., Collin-Vézina, D.,Turcotte, D., Trocmé, N., & Girouard, N. (2017). Étude d’incidence québécoise sur les situations évaluées en protection de la jeunesse en 2014: Rapport final. Montreal, QC: Centre jeunesse de Montréal-Institut universitaire. Retrieved from https://cwrp.ca/publications/quebec-incidence-study-2014-eiq-2014-final-report

^Gouvernement du Québec. (2019). 40 ans d’expertise pour bâtir l’avenir - Bilan des Directeurs de la Protection de la Jeunesse / Directeurs Provinciaux 2019. http://www.cissslanaudiere.gouv.qc.ca/fileadmin/internet/cisss_
lanaudiere/Documentation/Rapports/DPJ/2019/Bilan2019_VersionW EB.pdf.

***This number does not include the administrative regions 17 and 18 in Quebec. It is therefore an underestimate.

****The rate per 1000 is calculated using the population of children covered under the age of protection in Quebec (under 18 years old).

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

Reports
Title Authors Year
First Nations/Quebec Incidence Study of Child Maltreatment and Serious Behaviour Problems Investigated by Child Protection Services in 2019 - Report FN/QIS-2019

Hélie, S.

Trocmé, N.

Collin-Vézina, D.

Esposito, T.

Saint-Girons, M.

Morin, S. 

VOLET PREMIÈRES NATIONS de l’Étude d’incidence québécoise sur les situations évaluées en protection de la jeunesse en 2019 - ÉIQ /PN-2019

Hélie, S.

Trocmé, N.

Collin-Vézina, D. 

Esposito, T.

Saint-Girons, M. 

Morin, S. 

The system is "broken": concrete actions are needed to end systemic discrimination

The Assembly of First Nations Quebec-Labrador (AFNQL) and the First Nations of Quebec and Labrador Health and Social Services Commission (FNQLHSSC)

Étude d’incidence québécoise sur les situations évaluées en protection de la jeunesse en 2014 (ÉIQ-2014): Portrait provincial

Hélie, Sonia
Collin-Vézina, Delphine
Turcotte, Daniel
Trocmé, Nico
Esposito, Tonino
Girouard, Nadine

Étude d’incidence québécoise sur les situations évaluées en protection de la jeunesse en 2014 (ÉiQ-2014): Faits saillants

Hélie, Sonia
Collin-Vézina, Delphine
Turcotte, Daniel
Trocmé, Nico
Girouard, Nadine

Étude d’incidence québécoise sur les situations évaluées en protection de la jeunesse en 2014 (ÉIQ-2014): Annexes

Hélie, Sonia
Collin-Vézina, Delphine
Turcotte, Daniel
Trocmé, Nico
Girouard, Nadine

Quebec Incidence Study 2014 (ÉIQ-2014): Final Report

Hélie, Sonia
Collin-Vézina, Delphine
Turcotte, Daniel
Trocmé, Nico
Girouard, Nadine

Analysis of the Trajectories of Young First Nations subject to the Youth Protection Act: Component 3: Analysis of mainstream youth protection agencies administrative data

De La Sablonnière-Griffin, Mireille
Sinha, Vandna
Esposito, Tonino
Chabot, Martin
Trocmé, Nico
First Nations of Quebec and Labrador Health and Social Services Commission

Analyse des trajectoires des jeunes des Premières Nations assujettis à la Loi sur la protection de la jeunesse Rapport D'Analyse VOLET 1: Analyse des données finançières et clientèles d'AADNC

Bagirishya, Hélène; First Nations of Quebec and Labrador Health and Social Services Commission

Analyse des trajectoires des jeunes des Premières Nations assujettis à la Loi sur la protection de la jeunesse Rapport D'Analyse VOLET 2: Analyse des données des rapports statistiques AS-480

Bagirishya, Hélène; First Nations of Quebec and Labrador Health and Social Services Commission

Analyse des trajectoires des jeunes des Premières Nations assujettis à la Loi sur la protection de la jeunesse: Rapport Synthèse

Bagirishya, Hélène; First Nations of Quebec and Labrador Health and Social Services Commission

Analysis of the Trajectories of Young First Nations subject to the Youth Protection Act: Component 1: Analysis of AANDC financial and client data

Bagirishya, Hélène; First Nations of Quebec and Labrador Health and Social Services Commission

Analysis of the Trajectories of Young First Nations subject to the Youth Protection Act: Component 2: Analysis of data from the AS-480 statistical reports

Bagirishya, Hélène; First Nations of Quebec and Labrador Health and Social Services Commission

Analysis of the Trajectories of Young First Nations subject to the Youth Protection Act: Summary Report

Bagirishya, Hélène; First Nations of Quebec and Labrador Health and Social Services Commission

Enquête sur l’application de la Loi sur la protection de la jeunesse par le Centre de protection et de réadaptation de la Côte-Nord

Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse