Children with Disabilities Involved with the Child Welfare System in Manitoba: Current and Future Challenges

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Brown, I., Chaze. F., Fuchs, D., Lafrance, J., McKay, S., & Thomas Prokop, S. (Eds.). Putting a Human Face on Child Welfare: Voices from the Prairie. Prairie Child Welfare Consortium / Centre of Excellence for Child Welfare: pp. 127-145.

The number of children who are involved with mandated child welfare agencies and have medical, physical, intellectual, and mental health disabilities has increased dramatically in the past decade. Often, these children are involved with the child welfare system due to their high care demands as a result of their disabilities and the inability of communities and services to fully meet the needs of these children and their families. The capacity of the child welfare system to respond to the service needs of this growing number of children has become strained, particularly in light of the unique needs of children with disabilities and their families. Another reason disability is particularly important in child welfare is that this population, already vulnerable because of disability, is very much over-represented in reported child abuse and neglect. This chapter presents much needed data on the growing number of children with a range of disabilities receiving services in both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal child welfare agencies.

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