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This paper explores the relationships between low‐income single mothers and their adolescent and early adult children utilizing qualitative interview and focus group data with youth from three Canadian cities. The research explored youth provisioning roles in these families. Provisioning, a concept widely understood in the global south, refers to labour used to sustain low‐income families and includes emotional labour, care work, trade and exchange and paid labour. Findings from this study identified strong expressions of positive attachment and close relationships between youth and their family members. The paper queries whether positive attachment may be built through roles where youth see themselves as integral parts of a family team and where their contributions are acknowledged. These findings invite us to explore and perhaps challenge the oft‐reported correlations between living in a low‐income, lone mother‐led family and poor childhood outcomes and poor attachment. Can these outcomes be mediated and can the provisioning roles youth undertake possibly be such mediators? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As opioid fatalities rise in North America, the need to improve the supports available to those who are dependent on opioids and pregnant has become more urgent. This paper discusses the social organisation of drug treatment supports for those who are pregnant, using Canadian clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) for methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) as a case study. Pregnant patients are a priority population for MMT, both in Canada and internationally; the regulatory bodies that oversee MMT in Canada are the provincial Colleges of Physician and Surgeons and Health Canada. The paper analyses MMT CPGs published by these agencies, comparing their general recommendations to those specific to pregnant patients. We demonstrate that the guidelines address few treatment considerations for pregnant patients, other than improved birth outcomes and child welfare, despite acknowledging their more complex needs. Drawing on social science studies of gender and drugs, we argue that MMT CPGs therefore perpetuate the intensified surveillance and foetal prioritisation that have long generated barriers to care for opiate‐dependent pregnant patients. We also discuss how and why the CPGs ultimately only reinforced these current limitations in the drug treatment sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Drawing on historical constructions of Indigenous peoples, this paper analyses the continued impact of settler discourses of Indigenous families, parenting, and children on child welfare policy in Canada today. Findings: In this work, two provincial children's Advocate reports on the deaths of Indigenous children in care, Tina Fontaine and Alex Gervais, are critically assessed in order to explore the processes through which these colonial constructions operate to create adverse outcomes for Indigenous people. Through this analysis, a number of contemporary colonial narratives are made visible, including the belief that Indigenous parents are inherently incapable of caring for their children, and the gendered construction of Indigenous men and boys as criminal and deviant and Indigenous girls as sexually exploitable. Application: These findings suggest that greater critical reflection is needed when working with Indigenous peoples, including greater awareness of the ongoing impact of settler colonialism and the necessity of engaging in anti-colonial work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There exist ongoing calls among social work scholars and practitioners to cultivate applied knowledge of critical and emancipatory practice. In this paper, I explore the utility of text-based vignettes as instruments that can be used to elicit insight from marginalized service users on critical social work practice. To do this work, I draw on data from interviews with 20 transgender and gender diverse (TGD) social service users, along with 10 social workers, whose responses to a text-based vignette were originally used to build an understanding of the constituents of equitable social work practice with TGD people. Incorporating critical pragmatism as a conceptual framework and constructivist grounded theory as a methodological orientation, I analyze data from this study as an exemplar that substantiates the promise of using text-based vignettes in qualitative social work research to generate knowledge of critical social work practice. Specifically, I demonstrate how text-based vignettes in this study (1) contextualized the meaning, significance, and impact of oppression for service users, (2) built insight on practice that reflects solidarity and allyship, and (3) identified opportunities for social workers' reflexive use of professional power to effect change. Accounting for the tensions between empiricism and critical praxis in social work, I consider the promise of incorporating text-based vignettes to develop empirical social work literature that is rooted in the voices of marginalized service users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Indigenous tourism sector in Canada is rapidly developing. However, Indigenous communities are challenged by the overrepresentation of Indigenous children in the child welfare system. This multidisciplinary paper explores the intersection of child welfare and Indigenous tourism in Canada, specifically, by examining the role of Indigenous tourism in contributing to the welfare of Indigenous children in their communities. This paper reviewed grey Canadian tourism literature and analysed whether the industry is publicly acknowledging child welfare in their public discourse. Results indicate that Canadian tourism associations are not addressing child welfare in their public facing documents. Applying complexity theory as a lens, this paper discusses how this unlikely partnership between the child welfare and Indigenous tourism industry is critical in increasing the benefits of tourism, while intentionally finding ways to reduce the risks, particularly to children. This article concludes with recommendations on how this unlikely partnership can be fostered to become a likely partnership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the first phase of a community engagement project that explores (re)connecting to coming-of-age teachings grounded in Indigenous ways of knowing and doing for urban Indigenous youth in foster or away-from-home care. An intergenerational group of urban Indigenous Knowledge Holders in and around Victoria, British Columbia, Canada came together to discuss what a culturally appropriate coming of age could look like for urban Indigenous youth in care and how delegated Indigenous child and family service organizations could be involved. Four questions were discussed, and the conversations were recorded and subsequently themed. The event reflected the community's commitment to supporting youth in their coming-of-age journey. Delegated organizations, in addition to acting as legal guardians for the youth, are cultural resources for the community and help connect youth to culture in their ancestral/home and urban communities. Communities work to ensure that youth have access to safe spaces where they can self-determine their identities as they enter adulthood. (Re)connecting to coming-of-age teachings is important because the imposition of Euro-Western child welfare legislation prevented the passing of cultural teachings. Our findings are consistent with literature that indicates culturally grounded, positive-action initiatives, like traditional coming-of-age rites of passage, help youth to cultivate resilience that can support the transition to adulthood. This aligns with evidence that demonstrates intergenerational cultural continuity is protective to health and wellness for Indigenous youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research pertaining to racial disparities for Black families in child welfare is relatively limited in Canada. Recent research reveals that the overrepresentation of Black families in Canadian child welfare systems typically begins at the reporting or investigation stage and continues throughout the child welfare service and decision-making continuum. This research is occurring against the backdrop of increasing public acknowledgement of Canada's historic anti-Black policy-making and institutional relationships to Black communities. Though there is increased awareness about anti-Black racism, there has been limited exploration of the connection between anti-Black racism in child welfare legislation and how this policy generates disparities for Black families in both child welfare involvement and outcomes – this paper seeks to fill this gap in knowledge. The objective of this paper is to explore the entrenchment of anti-Black racism within the child welfare system by critically assessing the language and absence of language within the guiding legislative and implementation policies. Utilizing a critical race discourse analysis method, this study explores the entrenchment of anti-Black racism within the Ontario child welfare system by critically assessing the language and absence of language within the guiding legislative policies that shape practice for Black children, youth, and families. The findings revealed that though the legislation does not explicitly address anti-Black racism, there were instances where the legislation indicated that race and culture may be considered in responding to children and families. The lack of specificity, particularly in the Duty to Report, has the potential to contribute to disparate reporting and decision-making for Black families. Policy makers should acknowledge the history of anti-Black racism that informed the development of the legislation in Ontario and move towards tackling systemic injustices that disproportionately affect Black families. More explicit language will shape future policies and practices to ensure that the impact of anti-Black racism is considered across the child welfare continuum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the Calls to Action outlined in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission on Residential Schools from the perspective of the current institutions of Canadian federalism. The first objective is to map out "who is being asked to do what" in the Canada state, and to see how this corresponds to the actual division of powers -- "who can actually do what. " To illustrate the complexity of this intersection between the Calls to Action and division of powers in the Canadian state, we explore three policy areas in greater detail: child welfare, health care, and education. Canadian federalism was clearly imposed on Indigenous peoples, in addition to 'Crown sovereignty. ' Neither has served them well. Our objective is not to contribute to this 'divide and conquer' approach. It is, rather, in a spirit of restorative justice and reconciliation, to outline how all orders of government must respond, whether they are explicitly identified in the Calls to Action or not. In conclusion, we explore the possibility that the realities of a constitutionally divided Crown -- which is a rupture with history for Indigenous Peoples -- might generate a constitutional duty to cooperate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This study examines a diverse range of life circumstances and outcomes for youth accessing homelessness services who have a history of involvement with child protection services. • Data presented is drawn from the 2019 Without a Home: The National Youth Homelessness Survey—which is the largest study ever conducted in Canada on youth homelessness (n = 1375). • This study presents risk factors that are likely to be associated with the first experience of homelessness, including adverse childhood experiences and involvement with child protection services. Youth leaving or being discharged from child protection services (CPS) are a particularly vulnerable population in Canada that could be at an increased risk of homelessness, which has many adverse consequences including declining physical and mental health, school disengagement, involvement with the justice system, and substance use disorders. In this paper, we examine the extent to which youth accessing homelessness services with a history of involvement with CPS differ from their peers who have not interacted with CPS using the 2019 Without a Home: The National Youth Homelessness Survey—which is by far the largest study ever administered in Canada on youth homelessness (n = 1375). This examination includes a diverse range of life circumstances and outcomes, including quality of life, relationships with friends and family, criminal records, education, and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Furthermore, controlling for demographic characteristics, we present risk factors that are likely to be correlated with youth homelessness, including ACEs and the CPS history, and conclude by discussing policy implications and proposing future research avenues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective This paper builds upon the analyses presented in three companion papers using data from the 2003 and 2008 cycles of the Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (CIS-2003 and CIS-2008) and the Ontario Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (OCANDS) to examine disproportionality and disparity of child welfare involvement for Asian-Canadian children involved in the child welfare system. Methods This study used CIS-2008 data adjusted by Census child population data to examine rates per 1000 and three disparity indexes (population-based disparity index [PDI], decision-based disparity index [DDI], and maltreatment-based disparity index [MDI]) to determine the representation of child maltreatment investigations for Asian-Canadian versus White-Canadian children involved in the child welfare system. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine the odds of case closure for substantiated child maltreatment investigations, and whether Asian ethnicity remained significant while controlling for child demographics and household composition, case characteristics, and clinical concerns. Results This study found that Asian-Canadian children were underrepresented in the child welfare system compared to White-Canadian children (13.9 per 1000 Asian children in the Canadian population vs. 36.1 per 1000 White children in the Canadian population). Child welfare involvement for Asian-Canadian children are almost 2 times more likely to close after an investigation than White-Canadian children. The three disparity indexes (PDI, DDI, MDI) showed substantially different results with respect to the representation of child maltreatment investigations involving Asian-Canadian versus White-Canadian children for physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, emotional maltreatment, and exposure to domestic violence. Conclusions Disproportionality and disparity are complex phenomena. The variation in results derived from different methods of calculating representation suggests the need for greater clarity and consistency in the definitions and methodology in examining racial disparity in child welfare research. Some methodological considerations for future child welfare research with Asian-Canadian populations were discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the employment experiences of racialized social workers, many of whom were immigrants, in Ontario in recent years. This article has four central objectives. First, to provide an overview of the perceptions of racialized social workers regarding the ways they are perceived and treated by supervisors, co-workers, other professionals, as well as clients and the effect that such views and treatment has on them. Second, the perceptions of racialized workers regarding the ghettoization, marginalization and disempowerment they may experience in the workplace. Third, to explain three strategies they use in managing power relations within the workplace (i.e., conformity, collaboration, and conflict). Fourth, to provide some suggestions on what must be done to improve the perceptions and treatment of racialized social workers by supervisors, co-workers, other professionals and clients. The major findings are that negotiating power relations is a complex process and includes experiences of tensions and awkward silences due to the sensitivity of the topic of race. The paper concludes that in moving forward constructively it is imperative to engage in difficult but crucial conversations that can contribute to the identification of ways to address tensions and awkward silences on matters of race in the context of social work, as well as in other contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Collaboration between child welfare and adult mental health service providers is important to address parental risk factors that may affect child wellbeing. The aim of this paper is to describe findings from a survey which identified barriers and facilitators to collaboration between these two sectors. A semi-structured instrument, adapted from Frederico et al. (2014), was used for data collection. A total of 339 service providers in Ontario, Canada, completed the survey. The collaborative strategies used most frequently were co-working with staff from other services and case conferences; yet, these strategies were only used by just over one half of all respondents. Several barriers and facilitators to collaboration were identified by respondents. To improve collaboration between child welfare and adult mental health services, respondents recommended better clarity of roles and goals, increased information sharing, capacity building across sectors and new models of integrated service delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The Finnish Baby Box provides parents of newborns with a wide range of infant clothing and other basics. • The cardboard box in which the infant can sleep was emphasized by the media and commercial companies outside Finland. • The box preventing SIDS was advanced by private companies and the media. • This was less the case in Wales and Scotland, a result of their being governed by authorities with a "left" orientation. For over 80 years the Finnish state has provided expectant mothers with a cardboard box containing an extensive collection of clothing, bathing products for the baby, nappies, bedding and a small mattress. Numerous jurisdictions have implemented it in some form. We investigated through a critical case study methodology whether its translation into the liberal welfare states of Canada, UK, and USA experienced message distortion (the box as a means of preventing SIDS), commercialization, watering down of content; and separation from the complex of Finnish welfare state policies that support families with children. We find that only Scotland and Wales recognized the decommodification and equity roles played by the baby box. This study identified numerous barriers to building progressive public policy in Canada, UK, and USA: the structures and processes of the liberal welfare state, commercial interests that skew public policymaking and media logic that limits news reporting to the concrete and simple, eschewing complex analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper draws on three studies conducted in Australia, Canada and Ireland which explore the factors influencing research utilisation in the child protection sector in each country. The paper recognises that research uptake is complicated by a number of factors. It also acknowledges critiques which cite the equally significant influence of ideologies, context, unpredictability, time constraints and political expediency. However, all three studies recognised the increasing importance of evidence-based practice. The methods used in the three studies were not identical but the frameworks used were sufficiently similar to enable the classification of both common and dissimilar barriers and facilitators to research use. Those which they identified were categorised into four types: individual, organisational, environmental and characteristics relating to the nature of research material. Implications were identified for policy makers, service providers and research producers. The point was made that we now live in a period where unprecedented means of knowledge transfer and exchange provide unique opportunities to improve the lives of children and families. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Key Practitioner Messages Avail of opportunities to attend learning events., Draw on research findings when conducting assessments, writing reports, devising intervention plans, evaluating programmes and tendering for funding., Establish links with research centres., Become involved in the conduct of research., Support colleagues (champions) who display particular interest and motivation in the use of research evidence by recognising and/or rewarding effort., Avail of opportunities to undertake further study that includes a research component. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper begins by suggesting that child welfare systems in North America and selected European and Scandinavian countries have converged functionally over the last two decades from a focus on child protection or family service to a more comprehensive child development orientation. The overview of the US in-care system covers the topics of mandatory reporting of child maltreatment, permanency planning, foster care funding, and decentralized service provision. It also portrays the current US foster care population and describes recent research on efforts to reduce the number of children in care, differential response, practice and policy reform, subsidized guardianship, Casey Family Programs, transitions to adulthood, and racial disparities in placements in out-of-home care. The overview of the Canadian in-care system notes the responsibility of the 10 provinces and three northern territories for child welfare and the concomitant lack of national data on child protection or out-of-home care. Estimates of the number of children in care are presented, and a review of research describes the following topics: rates and types of maltreatment, over-representation of Aboriginal children in care, prevention of the recurrence of neglect and physical abuse, effects of placement into care, differential response, resilience, educational achievement, and transitions from care. The paper concludes by noting certain differences and similarities between the US and Canadian in-care systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Objective: This paper builds upon the analyses presented in two companion papers (Fluke et al., 2010; Fallon et al., 2013) using data from the 1998 and 2003 cycles of the Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (CIS-1998 and CIS-2003) to examine the influence of clinical and organizational characteristics on the decision to place a child in out-of-home care at the conclusion of a child maltreatment investigation. This paper explores various model specifications to explain the effect of an agency-level factor, proportion of Aboriginal reports, which emerged as a stable and significant factor through the two data collection cycles. It addresses the issue of data comparability between the two cycles and explores various re-specifications and descriptive analyses of reported models to evaluate their solidity with regards to the sampling schemes and the precise contribution of a multi-level specification. Methods: The decision to place a child in out-of-home care was examined using data from the CIS-2003. This child welfare dataset collected information about the results of nearly 12,000 child maltreatment investigations as well as a description of the characteristics of the workers and organization responsible for conducting those investigations. Multi-level statistical models were developed using MPlus software, which can accommodate dichotomous outcome variables and are more reflective of decision-making in child welfare. The models are thus multi-level binary logistic regressions. Results: Final models revealed that two agency-level variables, ‘Education degree of majority of workers’ and ‘Degree of centralization in the agency’ clarify the nature of the effect of ‘Proportion of Aboriginal reports’, a stable, key second level predictor of the placement decision. The comparability of the effect of this agency-level variable across the 1998 and 2003 cycles becomes further evident through this analysis. By using a unified database including both cycles and various specifications of models, the comparability was found to be robust, in addition to clarifying the precise contribution of a multi-level specification. Conclusions: This third paper in a series establishes the ‘Proportion of Aboriginal reports’ received by the child welfare agency as an important agency level predictor associated with a child''s likelihood of being placed in the Canadian child protection system. While the more complex models give support to the notion that unequal resources subtend those results, more analyses are needed to confirm this hypothesis. Unequal resources for agencies with larger Aboriginal caseloads may explain the persistence of the results. These findings suggest that specific resource constraints related to worker education may be explanatory. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper reports on a qualitative study that used focus groups to gather data from the perspective of child protection workers on their experiences in providing services to clients with limited English proficiency (LEP). The goals of the study were to understand processes of relationship building and service provision that could contribute to improved practice. Focus groups are ideal in obtaining data on how a group deals with particular situations and for understanding their decision‐making processes. Measures to ensure rigour and trustworthiness were taken throughout the study. Findings provide rich and multilayered insights into the complexity of providing services for families with LEP showing that agencies use bilingual workers as well as interpreters for services. Participants noted, however, that services continued to be inconsistent with unclear guidelines and training about how and when to access interpreters. Lack of training for bilingual workers was also identified. Confidentiality issues, barriers to engaging with clients, problems with the quality of interpretation and role confusion together with benefits including interpreters being cultural and language ‘conduits’ and links to culturally specific services; enhanced communication decreasing the possibility of inaccurate assessments and lessening power differentials; and help with workload were noted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a growing interest in English-speaking jurisdictions, including Australia, North America, Canada, the United Kingdom and New Zealand, about the prevention of sexual abuse perpetrated by children against other children. The aim of this review was to identify opportunities for research, policy and practice which could enhance the prevention agenda relating to the perpetration of sexual abuse by children through conducting a Critical Interpretive Synthesis. Eleven electronic databases were searched in the period from 22 April to 23 May 2013 and included: SocINDEX, Social Services Abstracts, Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts, Family and Society Studies Worldwide, Project Muse, PsychINFO, Family and Society Plus, Jstor, Expanded Academic ASAP, Web of Science and Google Scholar. Key individual journals were also searched, including Child Abuse and Neglect and the Journal of Interpersonal Violence, as well as the grey literature. The search was guided by the research question: How could the prevention agenda relating to sexual abuse perpetrated by children be enhanced? The systematic literature search yielded 3323 titles, and 34 of these papers were included in the final synthesis. The authors identified five domains operating in the evidence base: characteristics, causes, communications, interventions and treatments. A synthesising construct emerged from the review: prevention-enhancing interactions. This construct referred to the potential for enhancing the prevention agenda which exists as the evidence domains interact with one another, and with the public health model of prevention. The authors consider this review to be a timely contribution to the current agenda pertaining to sexual abuse perpetrated by children. It provides researchers, policy makers and practitioners in the field with an evidence-informed conceptualisation of opportunities for enhancing prevention work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the methodological changes that occurred across cycles of the Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (CIS), specifically outlining the rationale for tracking investigations of families with children at risk of maltreatment in the CIS-2008 cycle. This paper also presents analysis of data from the CIS-2008 examining the differences between those investigations focusing on risk of maltreatment and those investigations focusing on an incident of maltreatment. The CIS-2008 uses a multi-stage sampling design. The final sample selection stage involves identifying children for which (a) there was a concern of a specific incident of maltreatment, and (b) there was no specific concern of past maltreatment but the risk of future maltreatment was being assessed. The present analysis included 11,925 investigations based on specific inclusion criteria. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to better understand maltreatment and risk only investigations in the CIS-2008. Families investigated for alleged maltreatment, compared to those investigated for future risk, were more likely to live in a home that was overcrowded, live with the presence of at least one household hazard, and run out of money for basic necessities. Younger children were more likely to be the subject of a risk investigation. Caregiver alcohol abuse, household hazards, and certain child functioning issues were associated with an increased likelihood in a finding of substantiated maltreatment. Several primary caregiver functioning concerns were associated with the decision to substantiate risk, as well as household hazards and overcrowding. This study represents the first exploration of a national profile of risk only investigations. The analyses provided an opportunity to examine differences in the profile of children and families in risk only investigations and child maltreatment investigations, revealing several important differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using feminist, queer and postcolonial theories, this paper analyzes the public commentary and anxious concern about child-welfare in a recent lesbian teacher sex scandal in Vancouver, Canada, involving Jean Robertson. Arguing that the public and professional uproar is not really about child-protectionism so much as it is about the place of white teacher lesbianism in school culture, I ask new questions about how the regulation of teenage sexuality operates to secure heterosexual bifurcations of gender in the school. The idea of the innocent, white 'girl' child is, in this paper, shown to anchor a public and professional worry about the proliferation of queer teenage identifications in the school. Using Judith Butler's formulation of the heterosexual matrix, Lee Edelman's conceptualization of reproductive futurity, Judith Halberstam's investigation of queer time and space, and Mikko Tuhkanen's postcolonial reading of lesbian sexuality in popular film, I underscore societal-based upset about white teacher lesbianism. I argue that the teacher sex scandals in North America are driven by an unspoken societal upset about identifications and desires inhospitable to binary gender positions and heteronormative futures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social work in the field of child welfare is complex and full of challenges. In British Columbia Canada, the Ministry of Children and Family Development, which is the main employer of social workers, entered a partnership with universities to educate baccalaureate social work students in a child welfare specialization. This paper examines an instructional approach to child welfare education at the University of Northern British Columbia. The geography of the university region as well as the need to maintain a critical standpoint presented challenges in the delivery of a child welfare specialization course. The development of an online child welfare practice course assisted the university in meeting the challenges. This paper describes the practice context for social workers in British Columbia as well as the design of the online course offered to social work students at the University of Northern British Columbia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a first-year doctoral student, I experience challenges of confronting conflicts between my secular education, my Islamic beliefs, my past in Guyana, and my present and presence in Canada, while simultaneously contemplating my future. In this paper, I share my struggles with identity and epistemology through the contours of clarity, confusion, and twilight as I think about my doctoral research. I will present a brief synopsis of my professional and educational background, as well as my identity as a Muslim immigrant, and examine what emerged from this as a personal epistemology that will guide my qualitative research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a surprising dearth of information about the services provided to the children and families being reported to Canadian child welfare authorities, little research on the efficacy of child welfare services in Canada, and limited evidence of new policies and programs designed to address these changes. This paper reports on a research capacity building initiative designed to address some of these issues. By fostering mutual co-operation and sharing of intellectual leadership, the Building Research Capacity initiative allows partners to innovate, build institutional capacity and mobilize research knowledge in accessible ways. The model rests on the assumption that by placing the university's research infrastructure at the service of community agencies, robust research partnerships are developed, access to agency-based research is significantly enhanced and community agencies make better use of research findings which all equate in greater research utilization and research capacity building. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Canada's laws regarding children and families can be examined on the basis of the balance they strike among the rights and obligations of the child, the family, and the state. In the past, the legislation and policies have traditionally adopted what may be called a paternalistic and reactive stance towards ensuring the well-being of Canadian children. The emphasis has been on apportioning power over children between parental figures and the state, on the weighing of family (parental) autonomy versus state intrusion into the family. Government intervention has generally followed a residual or safety net model, in which the authorities react to rescue or protect children, and only after specified problems have occurred in the families. A shift does, however, appear to be beginning in the field of child and family law. The earlier focus on parental and state rights is now being tempered with a growing concern for the rights of the children themselves, a movement which may lead to laws and policies that are more proactive or preventive in character. Following a brief description of the historical context for current child and family law in Canada, this paper outlines the important principles which underly the legislation and which reflect the continuing attempt to balance con attempted balance: first the field of "child protection," and second the field of what used to be termed "juvenile delinquents" but which is now referred to as "young offenders." The paper closes with an indication of future directions for the shifting balance of the child's, the family's, and the state's riots within the process of seeking the welfare of Canada's children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Aboriginal children experience challenges to their health and well-being, yet also have unique strengths. It has been difficult to accurately assess their health outcomes due to the lack of culturally relevant measures. The Aboriginal Children's Health and Well-Being Measure (ACHWM) was developed to address this gap. This paper describes the validity of the new measure.Methods: We recruited First Nations children from one First Nation reserve in Canada. Participants were asked to complete the ACHWM independently using a computer tablet. Participants also completed the PedsQL. The ACHWM total score and 4 Quadrant scores were expected to have a moderate correlation of between 0.4 and 0.6 with the parallel PedsQL total score, domains (scale scores), and summary scores.Results: Paired ACHWM and PedsQL scores were available for 48 participants. They had a mean age of 14.6 (range of 7 to 19) years and 60.4 % were girls. The Pearson's correlation between the total ACHWM score and a total PedsQL aggregate score was 0.52 (p = 0.0001). The correlations with the Physical Health Summary Scores and the Psychosocial Health Summary Scores were slightly lower range (r = 0.35 p = 0.016; and r = 0.51 p = 0.0002 respectively) and approached the expected range. The ACHWM Quadrant scores were moderately correlated with the parallel PedsQL domains ranging from r = 0.45 to r = 0.64 (p ≤ 0.001). The Spiritual Quadrant of the ACHWM did not have a parallel domain in the PedsQL.Conclusions: These results establish the validity of the ACHWM. The children gave this measure an Ojibway name, Aaniish Naa Gegii, meaning "how are you?". This measure is now ready for implementation, and will contribute to a better understanding of the health of Aboriginal children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a comprehensive historical and contemporary picture of filicide in Canada for more than half a century. Focusing on 1,612 children under age 18 that were killed by their parents between 1961 and 2011, regional and temporal trends in the gender of accused are examined as well as differences in maternal and paternal filicides by the gender and age of the victim, the age and marital status of the accused, type of parental relationship, cause of death, motive, history of family violence, and clearance status. Results show that there are significant differences in filicides by mothers and fathers. Five possible emerging trends were identified: an increasing gender gap in accused, increasing presence of relationship breakdown, growing number of cases involving stepfathers and a prior history of family violence, and declines in accused who committed suicide. Implications of these trends for interventions and prevention are discussed and future research priorities highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the efficacy of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Convention, UN General Assembly, 1989) through the lens of the over-representation of First Nations children placed in out-of-home care in Canada and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in Australia. A general overview of Indigenous worldviews frames a discussion on the coherence of international human rights law and instruments, including the Convention, account for Indigenous Peoples' ontologies. The authors argue that the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UN General Assembly, 2007) and a new theoretical framework published by the Pan American Health Organization (2019) on health equity and inequity are useful tools to augment the Convention's coherence with Indigenous ontologies. The paper discusses how the Convention can be applied to structural and systemic risks driving the over-representation of First Nations and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out of home care in Canada and Australia. These two countries are included as First Nations and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in these countries have both had significant impact in advocating for their children despite experiencing similar barriers including contemporary colonialism. The advocacy work of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society in Canada and the Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency in Victoria, Australia are discussed. The paper ends by outlining some of the challenges ahead that include the need to meaningfully recognize Indigenous self-determination and equitable funding and resources to enable the actualization of self-determination. Further research contrasting international human rights instruments with Indigenous ontologies could help inform possible amendments to international human rights treaties and general comments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – In spite of past and current efforts at implementing effective rehabilitative interventions in carceral settings, institutions of confinement are primarily concerned with the maintenance of order within their walls. The purpose of this paper is to better understand associations between inmates’ developmental background and the experience of institutional discipline, to collect information on childhood maltreatment and disciplinary measures for a sample of Canadian prisoners. Design/methodology/approach – Information relative to socio-economic background, childhood maltreatment and experience of discipline while in custody was obtained using face-to-face interviews and institutional file review for a sample of 416 male and 106 female offenders in Canadian provincial institutions. Findings – Results from logistic regression analyses provided support for the association between childhood maltreatment and the experience of discipline, specifically in the form of increased monitoring from correctional staff. Furthermore, this association was found to be more pronounced for female offenders. Research limitations/implications – The findings highlight the need to incorporate a developmental perspective to current understanding of the use of disciplinary interventions in a prison environment. Such an approach may allow for preventing the enactment of a cycle of coercion, with negative consequences for the inmates. Originality/value – This study is original in its use of latent variable analytic methods to uncover the structure underlying the construct of childhood maltreatment in adult offenders. In addition, it provides valuable data of interest to researchers, corrections personnel and policy makers on the possible links between earlier developmental experiences and adjustment to the prison environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper compares and contrasts child death review (CDR) structures and processes in six countries - Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Canada, England and Wales. It presents findings from a comparative study based on analysis of data from 18 case studies. Data were collected through a combination of documentary analysis, interviews and observations. The study found that CDR processes vary according to: where the function is located and whether review is undertaken at state, local or national level; whether review is rooted in legislation; the focus of review; whether dedicated funding is provided; whether families are involved in the process; and whether structures are supported by useful data systems. It was not possible to evaluate the effectiveness of different review systems but the findings suggest that structure makes little difference in terms of determining the extent to which CDR findings inform prevention effort and activity. While factors such as lack of funding, lack of national data, or lack of legislation may hinder the work of CDR teams, CDR findings have informed prevention initiatives despite such barriers. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Key Practitioner Messages Standardisation and aggregation of data at national or state level are crucial for effective CDR., A model of individual review, cross-case review and themed review can result in real learning and practice change., A public health model of CDR offers the most potential in terms of prevention., Families can contribute key information but participation must be managed sensitively and take account of cultural issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The overrepresentation of Aboriginal children in child welfare systems in the U.S., Canada, and Australia is well documented, but limited attention has been paid to investigation-stage disproportionality. This paper examines the overrepresentation of First Nations (the largest of three federally recognized Aboriginal groups in Canada) children, focusing on three questions: (1) What is the level/nature of First Nations overrepresentation at the investigation stage? (2) What is known about the source of referrals in child welfare investigations involving First Nations children? (3) What risk factors and child functioning concerns are identified for investigated First Nations children and families? Methods: The First Nations Component of the Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (FNCIS-2008) was designed to address limitations in existing Aboriginal child welfare data: it sampled one quarter of the Aboriginally governed child welfare agencies that conduct investigations in Canada, gathered data on over 3,000 investigations involving First Nations children, and incorporated weights designed for analysis of First Nations data. Bivariate analyses are used to compare investigations involving First Nations and non-Aboriginal children. Results: The rate of investigations for First Nations children living in the areas served by sampled agencies was 4.2 times that for non-Aboriginal children; investigation-stage overrepresentation was compounded by each short term case disposition examined. A higher proportion of First Nations than non-Aboriginal investigations involved non-professional referrals, a pattern consistent with disparities in access to alternative services. Workers expressed concerns about multiple caregiver risk factor concerns for more than ½ of investigated First Nations families and, with the exception of “health issues”, identified every caregiver/household risk factor examined in a greater percentage of First Nations than non-Aboriginal households. Conclusions: It would be extremely difficult to reduce First Nations overrepresentation at later decision points without addressing overrepresentation at the investigation-stage. Despite the serious needs of investigated First Nations families, alternatives to traditional child protection responses may be appropriate in many cases. If First Nations overrepresentation is to be reduced, child welfare agencies must be equipped to provide supports needed to help families address factors such as poverty, substance abuse, domestic violence, and lack of social supports. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: Objective: Fluke et al. (2010) analyzed Canadian Incidence Study on Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (CIS) data collected in 1998 to explore the influence of clinical and organizational characteristics on the decision to place Aboriginal children in an out-of-home placement at the conclusion of a child maltreatment investigation. This study explores this same question using CIS data collected in 2003 which included a larger sample of Aboriginal children and First Nations child and family service agencies. Methods: The decision to place a child in an out-of-home placement was examined using data from the Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect-2003 and a reanalysis of CIS-1998 data (Fluke et al., 2010). The CIS-2003 dataset includes information on nearly 12,000 child maltreatment investigations from the time of report to case disposition. The CIS-2003 also captures information on the characteristics of investigating workers and the child welfare organizations for which they work. Multi-level statistical models were developed to analyze the influence of clinical and organizational variables using MPlus software. MPlus allows the use of dichotomous outcome variables, which are more reflective of decision-making in child welfare and facilitates the specific case of the logistic link function for binary outcome variables under maximum likelihood estimation. Results: Final models revealed the proportion of investigations conducted by the child welfare agency involving Aboriginal children was a key single agency level predictor of the placement decision. Specifically, the higher the proportion of investigations of Aboriginal children, the more likely placement was to occur. Contrary to the findings in the first paper (Fluke et al., 2010), individual Aboriginal status also remained significant in the final model at the first level. Conclusions: Further analysis needs to be conducted to further understand individual and organizational level variables that may influence decisions regarding placement of Aboriginal children. There is also a need for research that is sensitive to differences among, and between, Métis, First Nations and Inuit communities. Results are not generalizable to Québec because data from this province were excluded. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The purpose of this paper is to both describe the major findings from the Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect, 2008 (CIS-2008), and to compare these findings to data reported by Gilbert et al. (2011), who derived their estimates from the US National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System. The CIS-2008 tracked 15,980 maltreatment-related investigations of children under the age of 16 conducted in a representative sample of 112 child welfare organizations across Canada in the fall of 2008. Bivariate analyses were used to explore the differences in service dispositions, age, and referral sources by primary maltreatment category and risk. The Canadian/US comparison reveals that rates of investigated maltreatment are nearly identical. Rates of substantiated maltreatment are also comparable, although slightly higher in Canada when substantiated risk of maltreatment is included in the substantiation category. The variation in substantiation and service response rates across types of investigated maltreatment requires closer analysis and highlights the need for a detailed understanding of each type of maltreatment. The rapid expansion of reports over the last decade in Canada invites discussion of the extent to which a response focused exclusively on child protection is appropriate for all cases and optimal for addressing a broad array of needs. The complexity of comparing rates between Canada and the United States requires an understanding of both substantiation rates and thresholds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study describes predictors of secondary traumatic stress and burnout in a national sample of helping professionals, with a specific focus on the unique responses of child welfare (CW) workers. Specific worker and exposure characteristics are examined as possible predictors of these forms of occupational distress in a sample of 669 professionals from across the country who responded to mailed (e-mail and post) invitations to participate in an online survey. Email and home mailing addresses were secured from licensure boards and professional membership organizations in six states from across the country that had high rates of child related deaths in 2009. Respondents completed the Professional Quality of Life IV (Stamm, 2005) to ascertain compassion fatigue (CF) and burnout symptoms. Being male, young, Hispanic, holding rural residence, and endorsing a lack of religious participation were significant predictors of secondary traumatic stress. Similarly, being male and young predicted high burnout rates, while actively participating in religious services predicted lower burnout. CW worker job status as a professional was significantly more likely to predict CF and burnout compared to all other types of behavioral healthcare professionals. Based on the findings from this study, this paper proposes strategies for enhancing self-care for CW workers, and describes the essential elements of a trauma-informed CW agency that addresses secondary traumatic stress and burnout. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Although there is growing evidence that the emotional dimensions of child maltreatment are particularly damaging, the feasibility and appropriateness of including emotional maltreatment (EM) in child welfare statutes continues to be questioned. Unlike physical and sexual abuse where investigations focus on discreet incidents of maltreatment, EM is not as easily defined and delimited. Through a review of legislation and child welfare investigation practices in Canada, this paper examines (1) whether Canadian child welfare services respond to EM with the same level of perseverance as with other forms of maltreatment and (2) the extent to which the introduction in 2008 of a more specific EM taxonomy distinguishes between EM and family problems that could lead to EM. Method: Following an analysis of the legislative framework for EM across Canada, investigations practices in Canada are examined using data from the 1998, 2003 and 2008 cycles of the Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (CIS). Using data from the 2008 cycle, EM investigations are compared to other maltreatment investigations for all of Canada (N =15,980). Changes in EM investigations over time are then compared using data from the three cycles of the study, excluding Québec because of limited data availability in 2003 (N =5,360 in 1998, 11,562 in 2003 and 14,050 in 2008). Results: EM is included as a form of reportable maltreatment in all provincial and territorial statutes in Canada. Over 11,000 cases of EM were substantiated in Canada in 2008, at a rate of 1.86 cases per 1,000 children. While EM investigations were substantiated at a lower rate as other forms of maltreatment, a higher proportion of EM cases were referred for specialized services, kept open for on-going child welfare services, lead to an out of home placement, and lead to an application to child welfare court. Using a broad definition of EM the number of investigations classified as EM in Canada, excluding Québec, nearly tripled from 1998 to 2003. In 2008, using more specific definitions focusing on caregiver definitions, the number of investigations classified as EM nearly returned to their 1998 level, with nearly twice as many cases being classified as risk of future maltreatment. Conclusion: EM is a well established category for child welfare intervention in Canada, however, more emphasis should be given to distinguishing between EM and family problems that place children at risk of EM. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

- Abstract: The child welfare system within Canada has an inordinate number of Aboriginal children being taken into care, which stems from a number of ongoing systemic and social is sues. These matters of contention include extreme levels of poverty, resulting in parental risk factors, high rates of suicide and sub stance abuse; a history of colonization and assimilative practices on part of the Canadian government and; on going jurisdictional conflicts, all which affect the fundamental rights of the child as out lined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). This paper will illustrate and re view literature and re search that has high lighted many of these is sues and explore where Canada is at in terms of self-governed Aboriginal child welfare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper explores different orientations to child-centered social work as conveyed in the training materials and guidelines of Looking After Children and Assessment Framework in Australia, Canada and Sweden. ‘Child centered’ is shaped by contextual factors and influences social work practices. We found differences in these approaches as needs based and/or rights based and in relation to how each emphasizes the three P''s — Provision, Protection and Participation. Substantial differences were identified both in how references to a child-centered approach appear in theoretical frameworks, values, motives and use of concepts in training materials and guidelines, and in the instructions given as to how to apply these approaches. It appears that Australia balances needs and rights, while Canada is more needs-oriented and Sweden more rights-oriented. Swedish materials show a more explicit emphasis on participation than Australian and Canadian materials. Differences between the three countries indicate the importance of structural, contextual factors shaping orientations to child-centered practice. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Objective: This paper examined the relative influence of clinical and organizational characteristics on the decision to place a child in out-of-home care at the conclusion of a child maltreatment investigation. It tested the hypothesis that extraneous factors, specifically, organizational characteristics, impact the decision to place a child in out-of-home care. A secondary aim was to identify possible decision making influences related to disparities in placement decisions tied to Aboriginal children. Research suggests that the Aboriginal status of the child and structural risk factors affecting the family, such as poverty and poor housing, substantially account for this overrepresentation. Methods: The decision to place a child in out-of-home care was examined using data from the Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect. This child welfare dataset collected information about the results of nearly 5,000 child maltreatment investigations as well as a description of the characteristics of the workers and organization responsible for conducting those investigations. Multi-level statistical models were developed using MPlus software, which can accommodate dichotomous outcome variables, which are more reflective of decision making in child welfare. Mplus allows the specific case of the logistic link function for binary outcome variables under maximum likelihood estimation. Results: Final models revealed the importance of the number of Aboriginal reports to an organization as a key second level predictor of the placement decision. It is the only second level factor that remains in the final model. This finding was very stable when tested over several different levels of proportionate caseload representation ranging from greater than 50% to 20% of the caseload. Conclusions: Disparities among Aboriginal children in child welfare decision making were identified at the agency level. Practice implications: The study provides additional evidence supporting the possibility that one source of overrepresentation of Aboriginal children in the Canadian foster care system is a lack of appropriate resources at the agency or community level. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this paper we examined discourses of mothers who use substances. Focus groups were conducted at two different treatment programmes with diverse women who identified as mothers challenged by substance use. Real scenarios were presented to the participants and feedback was sought about how the women within the scenarios managed their situations and the actions taken by legal, media, and health authorities. Through the use of three lenses - rights, risks, and evidence - we identified four major discourses in the participants' talk. The 'good mother', 'bad mother', 'thwarted mother' and 'addicted mother' discourses revealed the multiple and at times contradictory ways the women made sense of their lives. Within all of the discourses the mother-child bond and the importance of providing necessary supports to mothers with substance-use problems were central. The women's discourses highlighted the challenges of negotiating the prevailing attitudes, practices and stigmas of being a substance-using mother while trying to do the right thing for their children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the late 1990s, US, UK and Canadian policy have increasingly focused on improving permanency outcomes for looked-after children. Although the ideal permanency outcome of reunification is attained for about half of the children entering out-of-home care, an increasing number of children are adopted each year. The vast majority of adoptions are stable and secure, but concerns about adoption disruption haunt child welfare workers when making this important permanency decision. Despite a variety of definitions employed in the literature, adoption disruption is a general term used to describe the failure or breakdown of an adoptive child’s placement. Studies dating back to the 1970s have reported adoption disruption rates and the characteristics associated with those involved in such cases. This paper reviews available research, principally from the United States, and offers possible explanations for the wide range of reported disruption rates in the literature. After reviewing the research, practice implications for improving adoption outcomes and suggestions for future research are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focused on the effects of precarious status on the well-being of fifteen participants with particular attention to their attempts to claim services, their feelings of belonging and sense of social support, and the effects of parents' status on children. It investigates ways in which the status of one family member can affect the well-being of the entire family. Those who had children reported that the family's status disadvantaged their children, whether they were Canadian or foreign-born, as parents' status was used to justify denying children rights to which they are entitled by international, national, and provincial laws. The paper challenges approaches to citizenship and immigration status that fail to consider the implications of legal status for a person's primary social units and networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a brief review of child welfare issues identified by a Canadian Task Force convened for the 1979 Year of the Child. Project experience with the use of Looking After Children is linked to the issues identified in 1979. A fairly extensive discussion of legal considerations is presented to provide a context for the challenge of influencing policy. Finally, the possibility of influencing policy from a grass roots approach that can transcend jurisdictional boundaries is presented as offering hope for change in a child-centred direction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The National Judicial Institute recently asked if I would be interested in developing a workshop on Aboriginal child welfare issues for Alberta judges. I was initially reluctant as my research on multicultural issues in family law focuses on child custody rather than child welfare and on religion and culture rather than Aboriginal heritage. These differences are not insignificant. I agreed to co-design a workshop when paired with Carol Carifelle Brzezicki of the Métis Nation of Alberta, who has extensive experience as a social worker and policy analyst with Aboriginal communities. I learned a great deal as we designed the workshop and as I prepared a short paper on child placement decisions. I was immediately struck by how Marlee Kline's work on Aboriginal women, the ideology of motherhood, and child welfare in Canada remains the leading scholarly contribution in this area. While there have been provincial government studies and inquiries into the administration of child welfare and Aboriginal peoples, Marlee's work is the most deeply theorized and politically engaged. Indeed, I could find few scholarly articles on the legal dimensions of Aboriginal families and child placement decisions in Canada. As I proceeded, I felt as though I was in conversation with Marlee's work in this area. That said, I approach the topic with a different lens and from a different perspective. I pursue some questions about children's cultural identity that are not explored in her work and argue in favour of anti-essentialist understandings of cultural formation. I examine the importance given to cultural connection in the best interests test in child custody law as well as child welfare determinations. This article is the product of research into the importance of culture, community, and racism in child placement decisions in Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the effects on children of an antipoverty employment program for Canadian welfare recipients called the Self-Sufficiency Project (SSP). The SSP made work pay better than welfare by offering a temporary, but generous, earnings supplement to single parents who left welfare for full-time employment. The SSP was tested using a rigorous random assignment research design. While the SSP was found to increase employment and income for parents of children in every age group, the effects of the program on the children themselves differed with their age. For very young children, the SSP had no effect on children''s outcomes. For children in the middle childhood period at follow-up, the SSP increased children''s cognitive functioning and health outcomes, but had no benefits on their social behavior. For adolescents, the SSP increased minor delinquency and substance use. The results are discussed in terms of their contribution to research and policy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

ABSTRACT Although teen pregnancy is on the rise in Canada, and while adolescent mothering in general has received considerable recent attention from researchers, there is a paucity of information about the particular experiences of young women who become mothers while in government care. Emerging out of a study guided by a grounded theory methodology to address this knowledge gap, this paper examines the experiences and perspectives of government-based social workers who work with young mothers in/from care. Our findings indicated that social workers reflect prevailing middle class values, including norms about ‘good’ and ‘bad’ parenting, and centred around the belief that adolescent pregnancy is, in and of itself, bad. One of the most significant ramifications of workers’ values was their belief about the inevitability of ‘the cycle’: of children in care begetting children who ultimately came into care. Ironically, though workers and young mothers were both preoccupied by the concept of ‘the cycle’, and each were determined to break it, the two groups had very different ideas about what the cycle was all about and what perpetuated it. Unfortunately, this disjunction in perspectives, along with major recent shifts in the direction of child welfare policy and practice and related constraints in the resources at workers’ disposal, conjoined to create significant barriers to what workers and young women both recognized as supportive practice with youth in care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper documents an advocacy campaign for children, youth and families in the Capital Health Region of British Columbia using the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) framework while informing policy makers, practitioners, and the general public. The work also represents a practical, local model for implementing this globally recognized and implemented human rights document for children and youth by focusing on the development of stakeholder partnerships, public promotion and child and youth participation. The CRC is the most widely accepted human rights document in history, as of October 2000, 191 from the United Nations' 193 member states have signed and ratified. Data analysis showed that children and youth on the Capital Health Region Steering Committee, and in the larger community, actually engaged in important initiatives implementing CRC principles. These community-based actions are the first in Canada to interpret CRC principles and provisions from the standpoint of child health care providers interested in developing a local model for health promotion within civil society. These partnerships promoting the child rights perspective also provided for institutional advocacy for children and youth to be enhanced in times of fiscal restraint. These results are optimistic and significant, showing that children and youth can actually be engaged as free agents in the discourse on their human rights.

The state's responsibility for the care of children in need of protection has been acknowledged for some time now. Most jurisdictions have set out in law the obligations and procedures by which the state is to apprehend children who are abandoned, deserted, neglected or otherwise mistreated. In North America, for example, shortly before the turn of the century, U.S. and Canadian laws provided for the apprehension of children who require protection. Over the decades these laws have been mended continually in response to increasing evidence of mistreatment of children at the hands of their guardians. In more recent times, however, the reports of mistreatment by natural guardians have been joined by allegations of improper procedures and neglect of the apprehended children at the hands of the very authorities charged with their protection. The response to these reports of misconduct has taken many forms, including the establishment of citizen advocacy groups and ombudsmen, self-monitoring by state and private agencies and court appointed guardians. The province of Alberta in Canada has taken an innovative self-monitoring approach, through the appointment of a Children's Guardian. The Children's Guardian, established in law, assumes responsibility as the legal guardian of all children who are the wards of the state. The Children's Guardian must make decisions for, monitor the care and treatment of, and advocate on behalf of these children. The Alberta approach, which has been untried heretofore, is fraught with a number of legal and administrative problems. This paper seeks to describe the inchoate efforts of the province of Alberta, through the appointment of the Children's Guardian, to better ensure that children taken under care by the state are protected and given proper care and attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Exposure to intimate partner violence is the most investigated form of maltreatment in Ontario, CA. • Exposure to emotional violence is the most frequently noted subtype of intimate partner violence. • The main source of referral for investigations involving children's exposure to IPV is the police. Exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) is the most investigated form of maltreatment in Ontario, Canada. Given the potential for negative outcomes for children exposed to IPV, a better understanding of these cases is needed to provide the most optimal service response. The purpose of this paper is to examine the the increase in exposure investigations between 2008 and 2013. Three forms of exposure to IPV are considered in this study: (1) direct witness to physical violence, (2) indirect exposure to physical violence, and (3) exposure to emotional violence. Methods: The study used the Ontario Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (OIS) data from 2008 and 2013. The OIS is a cyclical, cross sectional provincial child welfare study conducted every five years. Changes in the characteristics of IPV were examined by exploring key variables including the incidence of the specific form of IPV, referral source, and decisions made by child protection workers. Results: There were an estimated 22,347 investigations for exposure to IPV in 2008 and an estimated 31,300 investigations 2013. The overall substantiation rate for this type of investigation also increased with some important variations between subtypes. The number of substantiated investigations for exposure to emotional violence increased significantly between 2008 and 2013, from a rate of 4.21 investigations per 1000 children to 7.16 investigations per 1000 children. There was also a slight increase in the rate of investigations for direct witness to physical violence, but this increase was not statistically significant. In 2013, cases for exposure to emotional violence were 1.6 times more likely to be opened for ongoing child protection services than in 2008, while the rate of transfer to ongoing child welfare services for other exposure subtypes remained unchanged. The main sources of referral for IPV exposure investigations were police (59%), custodial parents (12%), and schools (9%). The proportion of police referrals has remained relatively stable between 2008 and 2013, but referrals by schools and custodial parents have changed within subtypes. Referrals by custodial parents for exposure to emotional violence investigations have doubled. Referrals by schools for direct witness to physical violence investigations have grown by a factor of 2.2. Conclusions and Implications: The continued increase in investigations referred for children's exposure to IPV is concerning given that the service response remains unchanged. Custodial parents appear to be one of the primary sources of this increase. These results have important policy and practice implications and suggest that a true differential service response is needed for child protection cases referred for exposure to IPV, particularly exposure to emotional violence. These cases would benefit from a more comprehensive response by professionals, including police, shelter and support services, child protection, and schools. Better service coordination and inter-agency collaboration may also prevent families from being re-referred to child protection services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The strongest predictor of visible homelessness was child welfare involvement. • Being Indigenous was a significant predictor of visible and hidden homelessness. • University education not preventative against homelessness for Indigenous peoples. Existing evidence suggests that child welfare involvement has a deleterious impact on Indigenous peoples in Canada in terms of increasing their risk of becoming a visible or hidden homeless individual. Visible homelessness is generally understood as those individuals found sleeping in parks, cars, shelters, or on the streets and other locales such as in abandoned buildings or under bridges. Whereas the hidden homeless are those who find interim accommodations with friends, family members, and acquaintances. Although in saying this, many of the visible homelessness scenarios can also be considered hidden. Regardless, all situations of homelessness reflect uncertainty, lack of safety, and an increased vulnerability to abuse and exploitation. The pathways to homelessness are rooted in structural deficits in the society, which are multiplicative and intersectional in nature. They include housing affordability, oppression, conditions of physical and mental well-being, employment and employability, as well as family support and community connection. On the other hand, the greater the educational achievement experienced by Indigenous peoples the less the risk of being subjected to homelessness. The premise of this paper is that Indigenous peoples are multiplicatively oppressed and that these intersecting sites of oppression increase the risk of Indigenous peoples in Canada becoming homelessness. Hypotheses were tested using the 2014 panel of Canada's General Social Survey, including 1081 Indigenous peoples and 23,052 non-Indigenous white participants. Indigenous identity, involvement in the child welfare system, and level of educational achievement were all significantly associated with experiences of hidden and visible homelessness, p <.001. As hypothesized, the odds associated with being involved in the child welfare system (odds ratio [OR] = 4.15) were stronger than that associated with identifying as Indigenous (OR = 1.47). As predicted, achieving a university education served as a protection against becoming homelessness (OR = 0.27). The hypothesized relationship between ethnicity and child welfare system involvement interaction was not observed. However, Indigenous participants (7.1%) were nearly four times as likely to have been involved with the child welfare system than were non-Indigenous white people (1.9%). Thus, at the population level, Indigenous peoples are at far greater risk of having been involved in the child welfare system, and consequently experiencing homelessness than non-Indigenous peoples. Of note, the hypothesized ethnicity by educational attainment interaction was observed. Among white people in Canada, a university education likely prevents most (83%) of visible homelessness otherwise experienced by those who did not complete high school (OR = 0.17) and prevents a significant amount (18%) of hidden homelessness. Startlingly, no such prevention was associated with completion of university among Indigenous peoples in Canada. Implications and future research needs are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]