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The article discusses the criticism of the Indigenous child welfare legislation tabled at Canadian House of Commons. Topics include the federal government's proposal for Indigenous legislation instead for First Nations laws, the financing of child and family service agencies in Canada, and the issue of self-determination in First Nations laws. The difference in child welfare laws of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit indigenous regions is also discussed.

In 1973, British Columbia (B.C.) became the first province in Canada to forbid corporal punishment in public schools (B.C. School Act), followed by the majority of the other provinces. Alberta and Manitoba however, still have no provincially enacted legal prohibition, although many school boards have updated their policies to state that corporal punishment should be prohibited. The spotlight on efforts to repeal Section 43 of the Criminal Code may have dimmed over time on the national stage, but the recent Canadian Truth and Reconciliation report has ignited this issue once again. My article explores the existing laws with a comparative approach (Reimann & Zimmermann, 2008; Orucu & Nelken, 2007), in terms of where Canada stands in relation to other nations' legislative standards and practices. It also addresses the severe behavioural and psychological implications on impacted children. As a developed nation, Canada needs to reconsider its current state of "progress" by inspecting and reviewing existing discourses and legislatives to ensure successful prevention of corporal punishment in schools. This paper intends not only to contribute to the advancement of Canadian legislative standards, but also to practices in local and international education.

For a number of years, studies of places focused on their economic efficiency, though more recently, attention has shifted to questions about social justice with an emphasis on the experienced actualities of place. The places of children's everyday lives have limited their opportunities for nurturance, growth, and learning. In this article, the author maintains that making questions about "the place of children's everyday lives" more central in research with children and youth can also contribute to improved social justice for children. Furthermore, classrooms and schools can be understood and researched as places intended to support young people's growth and well being. The paper is divided into four sections. The first section offers a sense of the lived meaning of place, drawing upon "place stories" from students in a graduate course on "Children and Place" to introduce some of cultural geography's ideas about place in a contextualized way. The second section reviews a theoretical framework for understanding everyday life as curriculum and for appreciating the significance of place in everyday life. It suggests that an awareness of children' needs/rights should serve an interpretive framework for evaluating the places of their everyday lives. The final section discusses some examples of practices in schools that are responsive to students' needs of place. The author maintains that school itself should be a good place in terms of students' needs for nurturance and growth. She also suggests that research on the places of students' lives outside of school should inform the curricula offered within schools. (Contains 2 notes.)

This article reports on research regarding interprofessional education (IPE) in child welfare conducted in 2009 and 2010. Pre service nursing, social worker and teacher education candidates participated in a workshop that "exposed" (Charles, Bainbridge & Gilbert, 2010) students to IPE in child welfare. This paper addresses a gap in literature in IPE in child welfare. Literature in IPE precedes a description of the workshop followed by an explanation of the integrated expert presentation, case study, modeling, reflection and small and large group processes. Results of the survey administered to workshop attendees are presented. Likert scaled questions indicate a high degree of satisfaction with the workshop organization, pedagogy and objectives. Responses to the open-ended questions align closely with the Thistlethwaite and Moran (2010) learning outcomes framework. It is clear that pre-service students learned with, from and about each other's discipline. 2 tables and an extensive reference list are included.

First Nations in Canada have developed tripartite arrangements with federal and provincial governments in a range of service areas. Some scholars classify the arrangements as "mere" devolution; others debate whether they mark an emerging, more collaborative Crown/ Indigenous relationship. There is also the pressing question of impact. Do tripartite service arrangements promote positive changes for affected First Nations and their members? This paper examines the character of these arrangements, as well as their impact on both services and relationships among the signatories. Analysing regional tripartite arrangements concluded over the past decade in First Nations policing, child welfare, and primary/secondary education, it then draws on evaluations, and scholarly and other "grey" literature to identify common challenges and successes. Throughout, the paper seeks to discern potential lessons from the past decade for negotiating and implementing tripartite service arrangements in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This critical reflection is based on my practice encounter as a white settler social worker within the context of Child Welfare, in rural Canada during the late 1990s. This paper is in line with Karen Healy's (2001) notion of critical social work, as a means to enhance systemic and related child welfare social worker practice. More specifically this paper addresses, through a specific case encounter with an Indigenous mother, how white settler social workers are systemically entangled in perpetuating acts of oppression. This critical reflection enables the reader to become aware of how mainstream social work practice, has the ability to unintentionally harm those service receivers that it actually intends to help. This paper critically addresses discourse around professional innocence, the risks of professional knowledge, representational violence and ethical practice dilemmas, within the context of a disguised practice encounter. The relevance of this critical reflection may be seen as a social justice initiative, catered predominantly towards white settler front line practitioners. These challenges are originating from within our own practices. Our practices are historically embedded in systemic colonial forms of discrimination and racism against First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities. I bring light to how white settler social workers should confront their own personal and professional pre-conceived notions, biases, and misconceptions and instead, implement anti-racist and anti-discriminatory practices within their work. This process begins with critical self-reflection. [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]

Copyright of Direito e Práxis is the property of Editora da Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (EdUERJ) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Comprehensive or multisector community change initiatives (CCIs) represent a promising approach to address the overrepresentation of Indigenous children and families in Canada's child welfare systems. However, such initiatives are difficult to establish and sustain - in part due to the difficulty of evaluating their impacts and outcomes using standardized Western evaluation methodologies. Consequently, over the past 20 years there have been extensive efforts to develop evaluation principles, methodologies, methods, and tools that are more able to illustrate the benefits of these kinds of initiatives. A systematic review of the CCI evaluation literature found that while many of these principles, methodologies, methods and tools show considerable promise, there has been limited attention to or incorporation of Indigenous ways of knowing or approaches to research with Indigenous peoples. This paper presents two examples of Indigenous led multisector community change initiatives to enhance Indigenous well-being and notes the importance of evaluating their impacts. It argues that collaborative research is needed with participants in Indigenous led multisector collaborations to advance knowledge of culturally relevant approaches to their evaluation. [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]

Copyright of Psychosocial Intervention is the property of Colegio Oficial de Psicologos de Madrid and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

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]

In Canada, there is increasing recognition that poor educational outcomes of children and adolescents involved with the child welfare system represent an emerging crisis for youth, their families, and the broader society. Interprofessional education and collaboration between educators and social workers may facilitate better outcomes for children in care. Although interprofessional education (IPE) and interprofessional collaboration (IPC) are well established in the allied health fields, there is not an equivalent acceptance within the applied social sciences, specifically in education and child welfare contexts. This may partially be attributed to the "siloed" nature of these professions, which limits both capacity and opportunities for professionals to understand each other's mandates, roles, and policies. The purpose of this paper is to describe the development, implementation, and evaluation of a graduate elective course for social workers and educators that was geared toward educational outcomes of children in care. Thirty-eight students from both disciplines participated in a summer institute. Although participants valued the content and process of the course, it is unclear whether these types of initiatives facilitate enhanced IPC. Findings do however suggest that IPE initiatives targeted toward a specific population may have more positive outcomes, compared to general IPC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Measuring utility for cost-utility analysis (CUA) is challenging in children. The objectives were to characterize pediatric CUAs, appraise their quality, and identify determinants of higher quality., Methods: Descriptive data were imported from the PEDE database for 305 pediatric CUAs published from 1997 to 2009, and quality was rated using the Pediatric Quality Appraisal Questionnaire (PQAQ) in 213 studies. The impact on quality of publication year, journal type, and whether utility was measured was analyzed using multiple regression., Results: CUAs increased over time and the largest proportion was from North America (38%). Children aged 1-12 years (39%) and preventative interventions (51%) were studied most frequently. Whereas a societal perspective was most common in papers published before 2007 (49%), a third-party payer perspective was subsequently most frequent (63%). Utility was measured prospectively in 8% of studies. Domains that demonstrated the poorest quality were Perspective, Costs and resource use, Outcomes, Analysis, Incremental analysis and Conflict of interest. Quality increased significantly over time for most domains and was greater in studies published in methods/health economic journals., Conclusions: The quality of pediatric CUAs is increasing. Few studies ascertain utility prospectively, suggesting the need for better instruments for pediatric health state valuation and measurement.

Purpose: Canadian new immigrant families (also known as newcomers) encounter challenges navigating systems when trying to access programmes critical for their children's healthy development. The purpose of this study is to understand how newcomer families find and use early childhood programmes and services from the perspective of families and early childhood educators (ECEs) working within a settlement organization. Methods: Using photovoice methodology, newcomer family members (n = 8) with young children and ECEs (n = 6) participated in a series of virtual workshops to share photos and reflect on their experiences. Results: Participants discussed the systemic barriers that obstructed newcomer families' access to services for young newcomer children. Financial challenges due to unemployment/ underemployment, language and cultural differences were emphasized. Despite these barriers and challenges, participants shared how culturally responsive programmes enhanced their connections to programmes and services. Both groups of participants discussed the critical role of social networks in supporting newcomers to use programmes by helping families become aware of available services and assistance with various processes such as registration. Conclusions: This research illustrates the lived experiences of newcomer families and identifies opportunities to address inequities, improve early childhood programmes, and enhance families' access to programmes and services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Central to the involvement of children in health research is the notion of risk. In this paper we present one of the factors, a matter of trust, that shaped Canadian parents' and children's perceptions and assessments of risk in child health research., Participants and Methods: Part of a larger qualitative research study, 82 parents took part an in-depth qualitative interview, with 51 parents having children who had participated in health research and 31 having children with no research history. 51 children ranging from 6 to 19 years of age were also interviewed, with 28 having a history of participation in child health research and 23 having no history. Children also took part in 3 focus groups interviews. Themes emerged through a grounded theory analysis of coded interview transcripts., Findings: The presence or absence of trust was not only perceived by parents and children as a contributing factor to involving children in health research, but also shaped their perceptions and assessments of risk. Three interrelated subthemes identified were: (1) relationships of trust; (2) placing trust in symbols of authority; and (3) the continuum of trust., Conclusions: Our study reinforces that trust is an important factor when parents assess risk in child health research and shows that children use the language of trust in relation to risk. More discussion regarding trust in training researchers is warranted given the trust in researchers and institutions evident in this study. We also recommend further study of the continuum of trust in child health research.

This study explores the concept of resilience as it is applied in child welfare practice from the perspective of front line child protection workers (CPWs). Specifically it examines how CPWs understand the concept of resilience and how they see themselves nurturing resilience in children and families. The paper also explores how working with resilient clients helps foster resilience in CPWs through a process of vicarious or shared resilience. This study is part of a larger three-site study conducted in Canada, Ireland, and Argentina examining the concept of resilience within specific socio-cultural contexts of child protection practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Secure attachment has been consistently associated with positive outcomes for children. The complex and intergenerational trauma resulting from colonialism that Aboriginal people in Canada have suffered may threaten the development of secure attachment. Using a case example drawn from social work practice, this paper proposes that Aboriginal children who are insecurely attached and traumatized present particular treatment needs. There is little prior research addressing the treatment needs of insecurely attached Aboriginal children in out-of-home care. Further, in provincial and territorial child welfare agencies Aboriginal children are overwhelmingly in the substitute care of non-Aboriginal caregivers. This paper looks to attachment theory for a treatment approach within these cross-cultural relationships. Attachment theory has shown that the attachment styles of children can be reliably predicted at a rate of 75 percent by looking to those of their caregivers. Additionally, children have been shown to be capable of developing multiple attachment styles in response to the attachment styles of the adults with whom they are in caregiving relationships. Thus, given the strong influence of caregiver attachment on the attachment styles of children, it is compelling to look at the potential impact of the attachment styles of substitute caregivers on the children in their care. This paper proposes that in provincial or territorial child welfare it may be necessary to promote substitute caregivers who are securely attached and to acknowledge the context of trauma within which these children and caregivers are striving for well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper focuses on a recent qualitative study of the 1998 Indian Child Welfare Tribal State Agreement in Minnesota. The purpose of this study was to document the history of how American Indian women initiated legislative changes at the state level to strengthen the Indian Child Welfare law. This paper will identify the process used by these women and an American Indian workgroup and document the workgroup's recommendations for other states and tribes interested in creating similar agreements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to report on a study evaluating the extent to which a social report (entitled "Hamilton-Wentworth Profile on Children and Youth") was read and used by recipients. Subjects were divided into two groups: an Active Group which had worked on producing the Profile and/or requested copies of it once it had been released, and a Passive Group which had received copies of the Profile through a general mailing list used for other research reports. Approximately one year later, 90% of the Active Group recalled the Profile compared to 21% of the Passive Group. Similarly, 83% of Active Group respondents had read the Profile compared to 8% of Passive Group subjects. 80% of Active Group respondents and 5% of Passive Group respondents used the Profile. The results suggest that if social reports are read by local community agencies and individuals, they will be used to help improve conditions for children and youth. Social reports at the local level are more likely to be read if potential users are engaged in the process of report production and if the reports are disseminated to the appropriate target audience.

This paper describes the structure and content of rationales given by social work professionals for risk assessments and recommendations they make with regard to cases of children at risk. We compare professionals in Canada and in Israel. We used convenience samples of 52 social workers from Israel and 67 from Canada. The participants reviewed a case vignette, indicated their assessment of risk and their recommended intervention. They provided rationales for their risk assessment and recommendation. We analysed the structure and content of these rationales. We used Toulmin's (Toulmin et al., 1984) framework to analyse the structure of arguments, and Rosen's (1994) categories were used to classify the content of their rationales. We found that most workers provided basic level arguments but did not supply complementary level arguments (missing in particular were qualifying and rebuttals). Workers said that they relied mostly on theory, general knowledge, and experience. They rarely mentioned values or policy as the foundations of their claims, and never cited empirical knowledge in the backing up of their arguments. Canadian and Israeli workers shared similar patterns. The most striking differences were that Canadian workers tended to mention theory and experience more than the Israelis who tended to mention general knowledge to back up their arguments. Canadian workers also used fewer warrants, backing responses, and qualifiers to support their claims. The limitations of the study and its implications for training and education are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To prevent fluorosis caused by excessive fluoride ingestion by revising recommendations for fluoride intake by children., Options: Limiting fluoride ingestion from fluoridated water, fluoride supplements and fluoride dentifrices., Outcomes: Reduction in the prevalence of dental fluorosis and continued prevention of dental caries., Evidence: Before the workshop, experts prepared comprehensive literature reviews of fluoride therapies, fluoride ingestion and the prevalence and causes of dental fluorosis. The papers, which were peer-reviewed, revised and circulated to the workshop participants, formed the basis of the workshop discussions., Values: Recommendations to limit fluoride intake were vigorously debated before being adopted as the consensus opinion of the workshop group., Benefits, Harms and Costs: Decrease in the prevalence of dental fluorosis with continuing preventive effects of fluoride use. The only significant cost would be in preparing new, low-concentration fluoride products for distribution., Recommendations: Fluoride supplementation should be limited to children 3 years of age and older in areas where there is less than 0.3 ppm of fluoride in the water supply. Children in all areas should use only a "pea-sized" amount of fluoride dentifrice no more than twice daily under the supervision of an adult., Validation: These recommendations are almost identical to changes to recommendations for the use of fluoride supplements recently proposed by a group of European countries., Sponsors: The workshop was organized by Dr. D. Christopher Clark, of the University of British Columbia, and Drs. Hardy Limeback and Ralph C. Burgess, of the University of Toronto, and funded by Proctor and Gamble Inc., Toronto, the Medical Research Council of Canada and Health Canada (formerly the Department of National Health and Welfare). The recommendations were formally adopted by the Canadian Dental Association in April 1993.

This study focuses on the evolution of a philanthropic movement in the second half of 19th Century Canada that gave particular attention to a population of children and youth in Toronto known as newsboys and newsgirls. The plight of these children, who were largely living on the streets although in many instances still connected in varying degrees to their families, attracted growing attention in Toronto as the city emerged as a major commercial and industrial hub in Canada in the closing decades of the century. Mounting public concern about these wayward young people was fueled by alarmist (though sometimes sympathetic) newspaper accounts of an expanding population of children and youth who were plying their trade from a very young age on the streets selling newspapers, shoelaces, pencils and later working as what were called bootblacks. In establishment circles, these children and youth came to be viewed as a threat to public order whose rough apprenticeship on the streets, so it was speculated, left them vulnerable to a life of crime and prostitution later in life. However, in time, the attention that this population garnered did help usher in a new era that began giving recognition to some fundamental rights of all children. From this, we witness the begrudging acceptance in those early days of a more activist role that government might play in the development of policies that allowed for greater state intervention in protecting vulnerable and marginalised children and youth. [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]

Introduction: The accurate identification and appropriate investigation of child maltreatment is a key priority for promoting the optimal health and development of children. Healthcare providers are often well-positioned professionals to report suspected child abuse and neglect, and, therefore, interact regularly with child welfare workers. Little research has examined the relationship between these two groups of professionals. Methods: We interviewed healthcare providers and child welfare workers in order to examine the referral and child welfare investigation processes to understand strengths and identify areas of improvement for future collaboration. Thirteen child welfare workers from child welfare agencies and eight healthcare providers from a pediatric tertiary care hospital in Ontario, Canada were interviewed to meet the study's objectives. Results: Healthcare providers spoke about positive experiences making reports, factors impacting reporting decisions, areas for improvement (e.g., difficulties communicating, lack of collaboration, and disruption of therapeutic alliance), training, and professional roles. For interviews with child welfare workers, identified themes included healthcare professionals' perceived expertise and understanding the role of child welfare. Both groups brought up the need for increased collaboration as well as systemic barriers and legacies of harm. Discussion: Our core finding was a reported lack of communication between the groups of professionals. Other identified barriers in collaboration included a lack of understanding of each other's roles, hesitation for healthcare providers making reports, as well as legacies of harm and systemic inequities in both institutions. Future research should build on this examination by including the voices of healthcare providers and child welfare workers to identify sustainable solutions for increased collaboration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Canada, a Four-Part Model of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) Prevention has been developed that describes a continuum of multi-sectoral efforts, including broad awareness campaigns, safe and respectful conversations around pregnancy and alcohol use, and holistic and wraparound support services for pregnant and postpartum women with alcohol, and other health and social concerns. Supportive alcohol policy is at the centre of the four mutually reinforcing levels of prevention. The purpose of this narrative review is to describe alcohol policies related to specific levels of FASD prevention, and to consider the implications of alcohol policies on FASD prevention and women's and fetal health. The majority of the evidence focused on alcohol in pregnancy guidelines, alcohol warning labels, and knowledge and uptake of national or regional alcohol and pregnancy guidelines. Several US studies described shifts in alcohol and pregnancy policy over the 7-year period, including moves to punitive approaches that criminalize women's substance use or prompt child apprehension. This review indicates that more attention could be paid to the role of alcohol policy in FASD prevention and in promoting women's and fetal health, and that policy actions and advocacy could be important catalysts for both FASD prevention and women's health promotion. Moving forward, it is essential that alcohol policies are rooted in evidence; attend to and promote women's health including health during pregnancy; and are collaborative in order to prompt a higher standard of care, and more holistically respond to the factors that contribute to women's alcohol use during pregnancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines two problems faced by the Canadian population: the current conditions of Aboriginal children and the lack of concrete course of action established to improve the dire conditions and lack of access to basic resources. This article proposes that a human rights framework can be utilized to address the disparities between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children in Canada. An integrated human rights framework acknowledges the complexity of the relationship between universal, natural and legal rights and provides a system of accountability to track the quality and success of the improvements made by the government of Canada. Due to the complex and systematic nature of the problem, a human rights framework provides a way to supplement the treaties and agreements that the government of Canada has often used as reasons for not taking responsibility. This paper concludes that an integrated human rights framework is an effective way to address the significant gaps between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children in terms of access and funding for social, health and educational services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The literature on gang activity in Canada indicates a proliferation of Aboriginal youth gangs, and the research tells us that child welfare involvement is a significant risk factor for gang participation. This article examines the child welfare and youth gang literature, and analyzes the complex interaction of structural factors facing Aboriginal youth in Canada in order to contextualize youth gang involvement within the larger system of social distress facing Aboriginal people. This paper scrutinizes the veracity of youth gang statistics and interrogates the Aboriginal youth gang discourse to discover that, although a problem clearly exists, the scope and substance of the situation in Canada needs to be more thoroughly researched in order to be accurately portrayed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a student assessment model based on the medicine wheel concept for a Child Welfare course at the Native Education College, a private Aboriginal post-secondary institution in Vancouver, British Columbia. The paper explains the process used to create the student assessment model, based on the authors' own diverse cultural heritages, to support Indigenous learners who are studying to be social workers.

This article engages the reader in comparing the Métis List of Rights, originally authored by Louis Riel, with the current state of Indigenous child welfare in British Columbia and Canada. The relationship between children's resiliency and cultural resiliency is explored. Using a critical lens, a framework defining the progression of social regulation is presented. This paper begins by setting out the framework with its accompanying nine aspects: profit, competition, self-interest, justice, rights, duties, love, compassion and devotion. The discussion acknowledges children as sacred which allows us to move beyond conservative and socialist ideals. Then there is a discussion on the aspects of the Métis List of Rights with comments respecting the symbolic and literal application of the aspects to reclaiming Indigenous child welfare. Finally the article ends with recommendations for an holistic pathway for reform. [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 article reviews all items in the Canadian Social Work journal over its almost 90-year history that relate to child welfare practice in an Indigenous context. We review the journal contents as a way of understanding the profession's voice, noting that a journal's discursive practice reflects disciplinary discourse and that this journal positioned itself as a platform for social work debates. Our analysis contributes also to the truth-telling and accountability of social workers. While around 10% of the 1500 journal articles focused on child welfare practice, only 9 of these 152 articles addressed child welfare practice with Indigenous children and families. Our discourse analysis highlights that there was contemporaneous silence regarding social work complicity in the residential schools movement, the Sixties Scoop, and the current Millennium Scoop. In the 1980s, sustained critique around the role of social work in perpetuating colonization began to emerge. The journal, though, left child protection discourse unexamined and thus overlooked its role in maintaining dominant Canadian child welfare practice. We suggest that White supremacy and settler colonial discourses support the dominance of the child protection discourse, and that part of decolonizing child welfare practice relates to revealing and resisting these discourses and generating alternative decolonized discourses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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]

Indigenous children are overrepresented in child protection systems in the United States and to an even greater degree in Canada. Canada has recently passed federal child welfare legislation, Bill C-92, with the goal of affirming the rights of Indigenous Peoples and establishing guidelines with respect to child and family services for Indigenous children. The aim of this article is to contribute to ongoing discussions about the recently passed Canadian legislation, drawing on lessons learned in the United States context. The Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), passed in the United States in 1978, has created a legislative paradigm, which in some cases has been bolstered by statelevel provisions. The ICWA can provide helpful lessons to consider in Canada as the new legislation is implemented and amended over time. Specifically, we examine elements of the ICWA related to accessibility and compliance with the law, along with deeper analysis of state-level statutes related to adoption provisions in light of the phenomenon of transracial adoption of Indigenous children. As reactions to the Canadian federal law have been mixed, this policy analysis may be supportive of conversations regarding its further development, particularly related to funding and enforcement. On a broader level, considerations of Indigenous community jurisdiction over child and family policies within our discussion are relevant to various settler-colonial contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author discusses the disparities in social determinants of health in Canada and its impact on the rural and indigenous patients and communities. Topics include the request of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal for the government to compensate indigenous children who were taken into care unnecessarily, disparities in funding for indigenous children, and a formal human rights complaint by the Assembly of First Nations and the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada.

This study focuses on the evolution of a philanthropic movement in the second half of 19th Century Canada that gave particular attention to a population of children and youth in Toronto known as newsboys and newsgirls. The plight of these children, who were largely living on the streets although in many instances still connected in varying degrees to their families, attracted growing attention in Toronto as the city emerged as a major commercial and industrial hub in Canada in the closing decades of the century. Mounting public concern about these wayward young people was fueled by alarmist (though sometimes sympathetic) newspaper accounts of an expanding population of children and youth who were plying their trade from a very young age on the streets selling newspapers, shoelaces, pencils and later working as what were called bootblacks. In establishment circles, these children and youth came to be viewed as a threat to public order whose rough apprenticeship on the streets, so it was speculated, left them vulnerable to a life of crime and prostitution later in life. However, in time, the attention that this population garnered did help usher in a new era that began giving recognition to some fundamental rights of all children. From this, we witness the begrudging acceptance in those early days of a more activist role that government might play in the development of policies that allowed for greater state intervention in protecting vulnerable and marginalized children and youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Young mothers' families are at increased risk of child maltreatment and other poor health and social outcomes. Methods: Chi-square analyses of pooled child welfare services data from the Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (CIS--2003; CIS--2008) were used to compare 284 teen mothers (18 years or younger) and 800 young mothers (19-21 years) and their families with 5752 families where the mother was 22 years or older. Results: Twenty-six percent of young mothers were 18 years or younger. Most (68% of teen-mother families and 57% of families with a young adult mother) received social assistance as their main source of income compared with 36% of families with a mother aged 22 years or older. Teen and young adult mothers were more likely than those aged 22 or older to have childhood histories of out-of-home care (31% and 23% vs. 10%) and were more likely to have risk factors such as alcohol abuse (25% and 23% vs. 18%) and few social supports (46% and 41% vs. 37%). Secondary caregivers in families with young mothers also had more risk factors. Teen and young adult mother families were more likely to have their child placed out-of-home during the investigation (29% and 27% vs. 17%). All were equally likely to be victims of domestic violence and to have mental health issues. Conclusion: Within this sample of high-risk families, young mothers' families were more at risk than comparison families. Mothers' youth may be a useful criterion to identify families for targeted interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The objective of this analysis is to identify, assess the quality and summarize the findings of peer-reviewed articles that used data from the Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (CIS) published since November 2011 and data from provincial oversamples of the CIS as well as to illustrate evolving uses of these datasets. Methods: Articles were identified from the Public Health Agency of Canada's data request records tracking access to CIS data and publications produced from that data. At least two raters independently reviewed and appraised the quality of each article. Results: A total of 32 articles were included. Common strengths of articles included clearly stated research aims, appropriate control variables and analyses, sufficient sample sizes, appropriate conclusions and relevance to practice or policy. Common problem areas of articles included unclear definitions for variables and inclusion criteria of cases. Articles frequently measured the associations between maltreatment, child, caregiver, household and agency/referral characteristics and investigative outcomes such as opening cases for ongoing services and placement. Conclusion: Articles using CIS data were rated positively on most quality indicators. Researchers have recently focussed on inadequately studied categories of maltreatment (exposure to intimate partner violence [IPV]), neglect and emotional maltreatment) and examined factors specific to First Nations children. Data from the CIS oversamples have been underutilized. The use of multivariate analysis techniques has increased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Aboriginal children are currently overrepresented in out-of-home care in Canada; this extends a historical pattern of child removal that began with the residential school system. The overrepresentation of Aboriginal children persists despite legislative and structural changes intended to reduce the number of Aboriginal children in care. Several recent developments suggest potential for improvement in services for Aboriginal children and families in the near future. However, greater information about the structure of Aboriginal child welfare in Canada is needed to support program and policy development. We present a broad overview of the variation in Aboriginal child welfare legislation and standards, service delivery models, and funding formulas across Canadian provinces and territories. We draw on this review to suggest specific priorities for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The 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 wellbeing 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. Methods: A 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. Results: The 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. Conclusions: Multivariate 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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to analyze how child maltreatment surveillance data from the Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (CIS) is used by senior child welfare decision makers. Methods: This triangulation mixed-methods study included quantitative and qualitative methods to facilitate an in-depth exploration from multiple perspectives. We interviewed Ontario child welfare decision makers to measure utilization of the CIS in policy development. Results: The majority of respondents were aware of the CIS data. Decision makers reported using these data to determine resource allocation, understand reported maltreatment trends and validate findings at their own agencies. Urban agencies used the data more than did rural agencies. Conclusion: This study is the first to triangulate data to understand and improve utilization of child maltreatment surveillance data. The study participants indicated considerable appreciation of the data and also provided ideas for improvements across the surveillance cycle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]