Children and Youth in Out-of‑Home Care in Canada

There currently are no Canada-wide statistics on the number of children and youth placed by child welfare authorities in out of-home care. Child welfare services fall under the jurisdiction of provincial and territorial authorities, making it difficult to compile statistics at a 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 services, and in the definition of “in out-of-home care.” The purpose of this information sheet is to compile the available statistics to derive a national estimate of out-of-home placement rates.