Urgent Protection versus Chronic Need: Clarifying the Dual Mandate of Child Welfare Services across Canada

Nico Trocmé, Alicia Kyte, Vandna Sinha and Barbara Fallon
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Nico Trocmé: School of Social Work, McGill University, 3506 University, Montreal, QC H3A 2A7, Canada
Alicia Kyte: School of Social Work, University of Montreal, Pavillon Lionel Groulx, C.P 6128, Montreal, QC H3C 3J7, Canada
Vandna Sinha: School of Social Work, McGill University, 3506 University, Montreal, QC H3A 2A7, Canada
Barbara Fallon: Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto, 246 Bloor W, Toronto, ON M5S 1V4, Canada

Social Sciences, 2014, vol. 3, issue 3, 1-16

Abstract: This study analyzed data from the 1998, 2003 and 2008 Canadian Incidence Study of reported child abuse and neglect (CIS) and compared the profile of children who were reported for an urgent protection investigation versus any other investigation or assessment. As a proportion of all investigations, urgent protection cases have dropped from 28% of all investigations in 1998, to 19% in 2003, to 15% in 2008. Results from the CIS-2008 analysis revealed that 7% of cases involved neglect of a child under four, 4% of cases involved sexual abuse, 2% of cases involved physical abuse of a child under four and 1% of cases involved children who had sustained severe enough physical harm that medical treatment was required. The other 85% of cases of investigated maltreatment involved situations where concerns appear to focus less on immediate safety and more on the long-term effects of a range of family related problems. These findings underscore the importance of considering the dual mandate of child welfare mandates across Canada: intervening to assure the urgent protection and safety of the child versus intervening to promote the development and well-being of the child.

Keywords: child protection; child development; well-being; risk-assessment; policy; differential response (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A B N P Y80 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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