Saskatchewan

For more information, please visit the information sheet on Saskatchewan's child welfare services.

Overview

In Saskatchewan, the Ministry of Social Services is responsible for providing protection services for children under the age of 16 (and in exceptional cases to youth under 18 years of age) under the mandate of the Child and Family Services Act (1989-90). There are 19 Child Protection offices across the province, within three service areas. Alleged maltreatment is reported directly to the child welfare offices in each of the three service areas that serve children off-reserve. The Adoption Act (1998) and The Emergency Protection for Victims of Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Act (2002) are other pieces of legislation related to the well-being and protection of children in Saskatchewan (MacLaurin et al., 2011).

Statistics

Saskatchewan: Children and youth in out-of-home care in 2022¹
Children in out-of-home care	Child (0-15) population	Rate per 1000
5,719	331,213	17.27

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 Pollock, N., Ouédraogo, A., Trocmé, N., Hovdestad, W., Miskie, A., Crompton, L., Campeau, A., Tanaka, M., Zhang, C., Laprise, C., Tonmyr, L. (2024). Original quantitative research – 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.

Publications

Title	Authors	Year Sort ascending
Ministry of Social Services Annual Report Highlights from 2010-11	Ministry of Social Services	2011
Saskatchewan Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect-2008 (SIS‑2008): Major Findings	MacLaurin, Bruce Trocmé, Nico Fallon, Barbara Sinha, Vandna Enns, Rick Feehan, Richard Rosenbluth, David Holroyd, Jill Farnell, Janet Gail, Jordan Kitt, Olivia Thomas-Prokop, Shelley Zelt, Carolyn Budgell, Danielle Hutcheon, Emily Daoust, Gabrielle	2011
The association between childhood physical abuse and heart disease in adulthood: Findings from a representative community sample	Fuller-Thomson, Esme Brennenstuhl, Sarah Frank, John	2010
Summary Review of Aboriginal Over-representation in the Child Welfare System	Galley, Valerie J.	2010
Saskatchewan Child Welfare Review Panel Report: For The Good of Our Children and Youth	Saskatchewan Child Welfare Review Panel Report	2010
Passion within the First Nations Social Work Profession	Kinequon, Dexter	2009
A Breach of Trust: An Investigation Into Foster Home Overcrowding in the Saskatoon Service Centre	Bernstein, Marvin	2009
Passion, Action, Strength and Innovative Change: The Experience of the Saskatchewan Children’s Advocate’s Office in Establishing Rights-Based “Children and Youth First” Principles	Bernstein, Marvin M. Schury, Roxane A.	2009
From Longing to Belonging: Attachment Theory, Connectedness, and Indigenous Children in Canada	Carriere, Jeannine Richardson, Cathy	2009
Rehearsing with Reality: Exploring Health Issues with Aboriginal Youth through Drama	Goulet, Linda Episkenew, Jo-Ann Linds, Warren Arnason, Karen	2009

Legislation

Links