Canadian Child Welfare System Research Articles

Structural Racism and Sexism in Settler Societies: Families at the Confluence of Colonialism and Neoliberalism

Abstract: This study problematizes the intersections of settler colonialism and neoliberalism with heteropatriarchy/heteropaternalism when considering the vast overrepresentation of Indigenous children in the Canadian child welfare system and Indigenous women in prisons. Using the lens of historical institutionalism, we demonstrate how heteropatriarchy and heteropaternalism provide the normative social order for settler colonial governance, including its most recent iteration, neoliberal governance. We argue that the neoliberal rhetoric of individual rights and responsibilities to assess fitness of families (and more specifically mothers) against a western European neoliberal ideal underpins Canada’s social policy reproducing the structural racism and sexism imposed by colonization. In Canada, there is growing awareness of system dysfunction; it is Indigenous women who are providing the leadership to resist this oppressive model. Resisting neoliberal family policies pushes back against oppressive colonial structures that exacerbate growing systemic inequities thereby negatively impact all families.

The Erasure of Blackness and Shortcomings Within the Early Learning and Care Sector in Canada: Recommendations for the Way Forward

This article critically examines the domain of early learning and care (ELC) in Canada, often termed early childhood education or early childhood studies. We delve into the Canadian ELC landscape, focusing on identified gaps in antibias education, especially concerning African/Black families. Drawing from a comprehensive literature review, we highlight disparities faced by African/Black children and families compared to their white and other racialized peers in the Canadian child welfare system. We conclude with six actionable recommendations to bridge these gaps, emphasizing collaboration among all stakeholders.

Treatment of Native Youth Requires Incorporating Culture, Recognizing Trauma

Treatment of Native Youth Requires Incorporating Culture, Recognizing Trauma

The overrepresentation of First Nations children in the Ontario child welfare system: A call for systemic change

First Nations children are overrepresented in the Canadian child welfare system as a result of generations of colonial practices that have systematically separated First Nations children from their families. In recent years in Ontario and Canada, changes to policies and practice guidelines have been aimed at ameliorating outcomes for First Nations children and families involved with the child welfare system. Given the significant changes made to policy and practice between the 2013 and 2018 cycles of the Ontario Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (OIS), this paper examines if the disparities in child welfare service dispositions persisted for First Nations children between study cycles. Secondary analyses of the OIS-2013 and OIS-2018 were conducted. Descriptive information on investigations involving First Nations children in Ontario in 2018 is presented along with two logistic regressions predicting placement in 2013 and 2018. When controlling for child, caregiver, household, and investigation characteristics, investigations involving First Nations children were approximately two times as likely to result in an out-of-home placement compared to investigations involving white children in both 2013 and 2018. Despite significant policy and practice changes that were implemented in the intervening five years between study cycles, the disparity in placement rates documented in Ontario in 2013 remained in 2018. Systemic re-structuring of Ontario child welfare is required to address this overrepresentation, and the existing forensic investigation model needs to be replaced with a more supportive, community-based, and prevention-focused model.

Issue 2: How We Can “Bell the Cat”: African Canadian Perspectives of the Canadian Child Welfare System

Issue 2: How We Can “Bell the Cat”: African Canadian Perspectives of the Canadian Child Welfare System

Trauma-symptom profiles of adolescents in child welfare

In the province of Ontario (Canada), over 28,900 adolescents are investigated by child welfare agencies each year because of suspected maltreatment. Exposure to childhood maltreatment represents a major threat to the psychological well-being of young people, particularly in terms of trauma-related stress. The present study investigated trauma symptom profiles among 479 adolescents (13–17 years) involved with the Canadian child welfare system between 2003 and 2010. Latent profile analysis identified three profiles using self-report data from the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children. Most adolescents (59%, n=281) were classified into the profile depicting minimal trauma-related symptoms, 30% (n=144) were characterized by moderate trauma-related symptoms, and 11% (n=54) were in the profile reflecting severe trauma-related symptoms. Several variables predicted profile membership. Greater severity of sexual abuse and female sex were associated with a greater likelihood of belonging to the severe trauma symptom profile than both the moderate and the minimal trauma symptom profiles. In addition, having society ward status (compared to crown ward) was related to an increased likelihood of belonging to both the severe and moderate symptom profiles relative to the minimal symptom profile. This study provides some insight into the typologies of trauma experienced among child-welfare-involved adolescents and the set of factors which relate to the specific profiles. Findings are important for informing psychological assessment practices, as well as tailored interventions, for adolescents in the child welfare system.

“Act Like my Friend”

Through a final qualitative interview question, we asked mothers who were involved with the Canadian child welfare system to provide recommendations to improve practices in this system. Through their responses, these women focused on the relationships between parents and workers. Surprisingly, they stated that child welfare workers should “act like friends.” In these descriptions, they stated that child welfare workers should be respectful, honest, caring, supportive, non-judgmental, and encouraging. They further stated that workers should have empathy and provide concrete supports so that parents maintain connections to their children. First, we present the mothers’ recommendations. Then, we situate these findings into best practice literature and discuss both the possibilities and challenges of developing stronger relationships between parents and child welfare workers.

An uncaring state? The overrepresentation of First Nations children in the Canadian child welfare system.

> According to tradition, [children] are gifts from the spirit world and have to be treated very gently lest they become disillusioned with this world and return to a more congenial place. — Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (1996) As the Idle No More movement fades in people’s minds,

Physical Abuse among Asian Families in the Canadian Child Welfare System

This study examines child maltreatment investigations, child welfare placement, and transfer to ongoing services for a Canadian sample of East and Southeast Asian families. Findings revealed a higher percentage of substantiated physical abuse investigations involving the most harmful subtype “hit with object,” greater likelihood for child welfare placement despite lower rates of emotional harm, no significant differences in physical harm, and fewer identified caregiver risk factors for child maltreatment investigations involving Asian versus non-Asian families. The findings suggest differences in services experienced by Asian compared to non-Asian families in the Canadian child welfare system. This is a crucial first step for child welfare professionals and community partners to better understand and provide services to Canadian children and families.

Substantiating neglect of first nations and non-aboriginal children

First Nations (Native American) children are greatly overrepresented in the Canadian child welfare system, and disproportionality in the substantiation of maltreatment contributes to this overrepresentation. This study explores the factors driving disproportionality in the substantiation of maltreatment and, more specifically, neglect. Data from the Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (2008) are used in multivariate analyses which examine the relationship between the substantiation of maltreatment/neglect and worker assessments of case, child, household, and caregiver characteristics. These case factors fully explain disproportionality in maltreatment substantiation for First Nations and non-Aboriginal children; the disproportionality reflects underlying differences in the case, child, household and caregiver characteristics identified in First Nations and non-Aboriginal investigations. However, case factors do not fully explain disproportionality in substantiation of neglect-only investigations. Further analysis indicates that the weight that workers assigned to caregiver substance abuse, housing problems, and presence of a lone caregiver when substantiating neglect also differed for First Nations and non-Aboriginal children. Discussion of these findings explores possible explanations for these differences, and links to broader discussions around definitions of neglect and the role of substantiation in child welfare decision making processes. • Focus: First Nations/non-Aboriginal child maltreatment substantiation in Canada • Higher substantiation rate in First Nations investigations, especially for neglect • Difference in maltreatment substantiation rates reflects case factor differences. • A difference in neglect substantiation persists even with case factors controlled. • Differential case factor weighting also drives difference in neglect substantiation.

Differentiating between child protection and family support in the Canadian child welfare system's response to intimate partner violence, corporal punishment, and child neglect

Rates of reported child maltreatment nearly doubled in Canada over the period 1998-2003, an increase that reflects growing awareness of the harmful effects of an expanding array of parental behaviors, including corporal punishment, lack of supervision, and exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV). Some of these situations may benefit from voluntary family support programs outside of the child welfare system. Analyzing a sample of 11,807 investigations, this paper compares cases where the sole concern is exposure to IPV, or hitting a child, or neglect, or other forms of investigated maltreatment. Situations where exposure to IPV or potentially abusive hitting were the sole reason for investigation presented with fewer risk factors and were less likely to lead to ongoing child welfare interventions compared to other maltreatment investigations. While situations involving alleged neglect presented a higher risk profile and elicited a more intensive child welfare response than did exposure to IPV or hitting, opportunities for alternative services were nevertheless identified. The study also found that visible minority families were overrepresented in cases involving hitting and that Aboriginal families were overrepresented in cases involving neglect. Overall the findings support the development of alternative response programs in Canada.

Opportunities for prevention and intervention with young children: lessons from the Canadian incidence study of reported child abuse and neglect

BackgroundThe most effective way to provide support to caregivers with infants in order to promote good health, social, emotional and developmental outcomes is the subject of numerous debates in the literature. In Canada, each province adopts a different approach which range from universal to targeted programs. Nonetheless, each year a group of vulnerable infants is identified to the child welfare system with concerns about their well-being and safety. This study examines maltreatment-related investigations in Canada involving children under the age of one year to identify which factors determine service provision at the conclusion of the investigation.MethodsA secondary analysis of the Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect CIS-2008 (PHAC, 2010) dataset was conducted. Multivariate analyses were conducted to understand the profile of investigations involving infants (n=1,203) and which predictors were significant in the decision to transfer a case to ongoing services at the conclusion of the investigation. Logistic Regression and Classification and Regression Trees (CART) were conducted to examine the relationship between the outcome and predictors.ResultsThe results suggest that there are three main sources that refer infants to the Canadian child welfare system: hospital, police, and non-professionals. Infant maltreatment-related investigations involve young caregivers who struggle with poverty, single-parenthood, drug/solvent and alcohol abuse, mental health issues, lack of social supports, and intimate partner violence. Across the three referral sources, primary caregiver risk factors are the strongest predictor of the decision to transfer a case to ongoing services.ConclusionsMultivariate analyses indicate that the presence of infant concerns does not predict ongoing service provision, except when the infant is identified with positive toxicology at birth. The opportunity for early intervention and the need to tailor interventions for specific caregiver risk factors is discussed.

Supervisory neglect and risk of harm. Evidence from the Canadian Child Welfare System

ObjectiveThis study explores prevalence and characteristics associated with supervisory neglect and physical harm in children in the child welfare system in Canada. MethodsThe sample included all substantiated primary maltreatment investigations in the 2008 Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect excluding cases where exposure to intimate partner violence was the sole reason for investigation (n=3,380). Bivariate tests were used to assess differences across types of maltreatments and to compare supervisory neglect cases with and without physical harm on factors related to child injury and supervision. ResultsSupervisory neglect was the primary concern in an estimated 12,793 cases of substantiated maltreatment across Canada in 2008. Compared to other types of maltreatment, cases of supervisory neglect involved more overcrowded housing conditions and children who were younger and less likely to have any functioning issue. Injuries were noted in only 2% of cases supervisory neglect and half of these injuries were not severe enough to require medical treatment. Other physical health conditions were noted in 2% of supervisory neglect cases. Physical harm was noted most often for toddlers (1–2 years old) and adolescents (12–15 years old). Household and caregiver characteristics were not associated with greater rates of physical harm. In contrast, 7% of children with any risk factor suffered physical harm as a result of supervisory neglect mainly related to substance abuse, self-harming behavior, and multiple incidents of running from care. ConclusionsChild risk factors are often present in cases of supervisory neglect with physical harm. Nonetheless, 96% of all cases of supervisory neglect substantiated by Canadian child welfare authorities do not involve physical harm. Clearer guidelines are needed for the assessment of supervisory neglect. Alternative response systems may be more suitable for low-risk cases.

'Here's my Story': Fathers of 'Looked After' Children Recount their Experiences in the Canadian Child Welfare System

Fathers tend to be excluded and ‘invisible’ participants in the child welfare system. We interviewed fathers with ‘looked after’ children in a child protection system in Western Canada. They wanted active roles in children's lives and to become engaged fathers, whether the children were theirs by birth or not. Their stories exposed the strategies they used to convince social workers that they were ‘good enough’ fathers. In the telling, they revealed the barriers they surmounted to create meaningful relationships with these children. In this paper, we focus on the stories fathers used to describe their involvement in caring for children. These were: ‘misrepresented dad’; ‘survivor dad’; ‘mothering father’; ‘denied identity dad’; and ‘citizen dad’. We conclude that the fathers' narratives depict a complex typology that transcends the ‘good father’–‘bad father’ binary that informs practice and consider how social workers can involve fathers more effectively in child welfare practice by actively listening and drawing on their strengths.

The Canadian child welfare system response to exposure to domestic violence investigations

Objective While child welfare policy and legislation reflects that children who are exposed to domestic violence are in need of protection because they are at risk of emotional and physical harm, little is known about the profile of families and children identified to the child welfare system and the system's response. The objective of this study was to examine the child welfare system's response to child maltreatment investigations substantiated for exposure to domestic violence (EDV). Methods This study is based on a secondary analysis of data collected in the 2003 Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (CIS-2003). Bivariate analyses were conducted on substantiated investigations. A binary logistic regression was also conducted to attempt to predict child welfare placements for investigations involving EDV. Results What emerges from this study is that the child welfare system's response to EDV largely depends on whether it occurs in isolation or with another substantiated form of child maltreatment. For example, children involved in substantiated investigations that involve EDV with another form of substantiated maltreatment are almost four times more likely than investigations involving only EDV to be placed in a child welfare setting (Adjusted Odds Ratio = 3.87, p < .001). Conclusions These findings suggest that the involvement of child welfare has not resulted in the widespread placement of children exposed to domestic violence. The Canadian child welfare system is substantiating EDV at a high rate but is concluding that these families do not require child protection services. Practice implications There is debate in the literature about how the child welfare sector should respond to cases involving exposure to domestic violence. Contrary to conventional wisdom, this study finds that children who are the subject of investigations involving substantiated exposure to domestic violence are less likely to be removed from their home than children experiencing other forms of maltreatment. Strategies need to be developed to counter misperceptions about the intrusiveness of child welfare, and discussions need to take place about when it is appropriate for child welfare to become involved when children are exposed to domestic violence.

Physical punishment and the response of the Canadian child welfare system: implications for legislative reform

Currently, the Criminal Code of Canada provides a defence to assault for persons in authority who use physical punishment with children. This defence has been challenged in the Ontario courts on the grounds that it violates children's constitutional rights. Some child welfare authorities fear that if the defence were repealed the child protection system would be flooded with reports of abuse. In the present study, the potential impact of a repeal on child welfare services was assessed through an examination of current child welfare responses to reports of physical punishment. Examination of a national sample of child maltreatment investigations revealed that physical punishment is one of the most common types of maltreatment investigated by the Canadian child welfare system and that services are being provided in these cases. These findings suggest that the Canadian child welfare system is already in a position to respond to changes in the Criminal Code. The effectiveness of its response would likely be increased by the repeal of the defence.