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This study aims to compare, among a representative sample of substantiated child maltreatment cases, the characteristics of those with intellectual disability (ID) from those without ID. Using the 2008 Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect, 5,797 cases of substantiated maltreatment that involved children aged between 0 and 14 years were analyzed. One in 10 children (11.3%) was identified with ID. Results revealed functional problems to be higher among children with ID and their parents. Moreover, children with ID experienced more severe maltreatment, and were more often referred to ongoing child protection services. These findings suggest that maltreated children with ID are facing additional challenges that must be accounted for in service planning and delivery.

Blended Families and Multi-Parenthood: the Difficulty of Adapting the Law to Contemporary Families La recomposición familiar y la multiparentalidad: un ejemplo de conciliación difícil entre el derecho y la familia [...], Le portrait démographique et sociologique de la famille contemporaine met en lumière l&apos;écart grandissant entre le vécu de nombreuses familles et les normes légales qui encadrent les relations familiales. L&apos;augmentation des séparations et des recompositions familiales oblige à s&apos;interroger sur l&apos;opportunité de consacrer le principe de la <>. Cet exercice s&apos;inscrit dans le contexte d&apos;un système juridique qui est généralement fidèle au modèle traditionnel biparental et qui démontre une préférence nette à ne reconnaître le rôle parental d&apos;un tiers que clans un contexte de parentalité de substitution, plutôt qu&apos;à admettre l&apos;idée d&apos;une démultiplication des figures parentales autour cle l&apos;enfant et donc d&apos;une véritable parentalité d&apos;addition. Le statut du beauparent fait l&apos;objet d&apos;une attention accrue de la part des juristes depuis quelques années, et les auteurs de l&apos;article qui suit entendent contribuer à la réflexion en présentant une analyse et une réflexion autour de trois aspects de la recomposition familiale. Dans une première partie, les auteurs tracent un portrait juridique inédit de la <> en dehors du droit de la famille et proposent une classification des lois afin cle mieux circonscrire la manière dont le droit public et social prend en considération la réalité des familles recomposées. Ils revisitent ensuite la question délicate de l&apos;exercice de l&apos;autorité parentale au sein de la famille recomposée, à la lumière de la réforme de 2017 qui a instauré le mécanisme de la tutelle supplétive. Finalement, les auteurs plaident pour une remise en question de rapproche jurisprudentielle québécoise en matière de détermination du statut <> en droit du divorce et proposent une interprétation plus souple de l&apos;expression <>. A demographic and sociological portrait of the contemporary family reveals a growing gap between the actual experience of many families and the legal standards that govern family relations. The increased n umber of separations and reconstitu ted families poin ts to a possible need to consecrate the principle of multi-parenthood. The current legal framework generally follows the traditional two-parent model and shows a clear preference for not recogn izing the paren tal role of a third party except as a substitute parent, rather than admit the idea of multiple paren tal figures gravitating around a child and therefore true additional parenthood. The status of step-parent has received increased attention from legal experts in recent years, and this article intends to provide input for the debate by analyzing and reflecting on three aspects of family reconstitution. In the first part, the authors present a new legal portrait of step-parenthood outside the scope of family law, and propose a classification of legislation to better define how public and social law takes the reality of reconstituted families into accoun t. Next, it returns to the delicate question of how parental authority is exercised in reconstituted families, in light of the 2017 reform that instituted the mechan ism of suppletive tu torship. Last, the au thors plead for a revision of the jurisprudential approach used in Quebec to determine step-parenthood status in divorce law, and propose a more flexible interpretation of the phrase "in loco parentis". La perspectiva demográfica y sociológica de la familia contemporánea pone de manifiesto las crecientes brechas que existen entre las vivencias de numerosas familias y las normas legales que enmarcan las relaciones familiares. El aumento de las separaciones y de las recomposiciones familiares apremia a preguntarse sobre la oportunidad de consagrar el principio de parentalidad múltiple. Este trabajo se realiza en un marco de un sistema jurídico que generalmente se ajusta al modelo tradicional biparental, y el cual demuestra una neta preferencia para reconocer el rol parental de un tercero en un contexto parental de sustitución, en lugar de admitir la idea de una multiplicación de figuras parentales que rodean al hijo, tratándose entonces de una verdadera parentela adicional. El estatus de padrastro ha llamado mucho la atención de los juristas desde hace algunos años, y este artículo tiene como objetivo contribuir a la reflexión del tema, presentando un análisis y una reflexión en torno a tres aspectos de la recomposición familiar. En una primera parte, los autores esbozan una perspectiva jurídica inédita de la figura de los padrastros fuera del derecho familiar, y plantean una clasificación de las legislaciones con el fin de determinar cómo el derecho público y social consideran la realidad de las familias reconstituidas. Seguidamente, se revisa la delicada cuestión del ejercicio de la autoridad parental en el seno de la familia recompuesta en el contexto de la reforma del año 2017, en el cual se ha instaurado el mecanismo de tutela supletiva. Finalmente, los autores abogan por un cuestionamiento del enfoque jurisprudencial quebequense en materia de la determinación del estatus de los padrastros en derecho de divorcio, y proponen una interpretación más flexible de la expresión in loco parentis.

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, Metis, First Nations and Inuit communities. Results are not generalizable to Quebec because data from this province were excluded. (Contains 7 tables and 3 figures.)

Objective: This paper builds upon the analyses presented in two companion papers (Fluke et al., 2010 and 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. (Contains 6 tables and 5 figures.) [For Part A, see EJ995515.]

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 Quebec 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 Quebec, 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. (Contains 6 tables and 1 figure.)

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. (Contains 5 tables and 1 figure.)

Objective: This study examined the power of child, perpetrator, and socio-economic characteristics to predict injury in cases of reported child physical abuse. The study was designed to assess the validity of the assumption that physically injurious incidents of child physical abuse are qualitatively different from those that do not result in injury, that their generative factors are distinctive, and that the quality of caregiving in these two types of incidents is different. Method: A weighted, nationally representative sample of 8,164 substantiated punishment abuse cases in Canada was used. Various models were constructed and evaluated through logistic regression. Results: Of six potential predictors--child age, perpetrator sex, child functioning, parent functioning, economic stress, and social stress--none predicted injury to the child. Conclusions: The findings suggest that injurious and non-injurious physical abuse cannot be distinguished on the basis of the personal characteristics or circumstances of the child or perpetrator. Practice implications: A common criterion for child welfare intervention into cases of suspected physical abuse is injury or risk of injury. This criterion assumes that injurious and non-injurious assaults are qualitatively different phenomena, predicted by different risk factors. In the present study an attempt was made to differentiate between injurious and non-injurious cases of punitive physical abuse on the basis of characteristics of the child, perpetrator, family, and social context. None of these factors explained the likelihood of injury, suggesting that the prediction of injury as an intervention criterion may be questionable. (Contains 6 tables.)