Child & Family Services Statistical Report - 2000-2001 to 2003-2004

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Preface

This is the fifth edition of the Child and Family Services (C&FS) Statistical Report of the F/P/T Directors of Child Welfare Committee, presenting statistical data on child welfare services in Canada. The format of the report is based on statistical tables previously found in the Compendium on Child and Family Services Information and the report entitled Child Welfare in Canada: the Role of Provincial and Territorial Authorities in Cases of Child Abuse.

The C&FS Statistical Report presents data on a range of services to children and families, including protection services and adoption, with the main focus being on children in care. Each jurisdictional section provides statistics on services to children and families and, in some cases, expenditure data for departments responsible for child welfare. Data are provided for 2000-2001, 2001-2002, 2002-2003, 2003-2004 and may be presented for the fiscal year, calendar year, for the month of March, or as at the end of March, depending on the reporting system for each jurisdiction. Provinces and territories have submitted statistics extracted from data systems developed to meet the administrative and case management needs of their respective jurisdictions. As such, there are extensive variations in the types of data collected and the manner in which they are reported. For instance, some data may refer to all allegations of child abuse and others to investigations only. Actual client data may represent the number of families or children. Therefore, data for a given province or territory cannot and should not be compared across jurisdictions.

Each jurisdiction has its own legislation providing for the protection of children. Services may be provided to a child in need of protection through several means. Preventive services may be provided by child welfare authorities with the agreement and co-operation of the family to help resolve difficulties. Formalized voluntary agreements may be negotiated between child welfare authorities and the child's family outlining each party's responsibilities towards the care and custody of the child; these are usually temporary in nature and may involve placement of the child outside the family home. Where a child is considered to be in imminent danger, child welfare authorities may apprehend the child. Where a child has been apprehended, or a voluntary agreement is not feasible or appropriate, a child protection hearing is scheduled. The court determines whether the child is in need of protection, and may issue an order concerning the care, custody and/or guardianship of the child.

Throughout the report, where provinces and territories were unable to provide data, the symbol "n/a" has been used. Following the statistical tables in each section, there appears a glossary of terminology defining such terms as child and children in care, and describing various legal statuses.

Table A provides the most recent post-censal estimates from Statistics Canada on the overall child population in Canada, by province and territory for children in various age groupings.

For further information regarding the Child and Family Services Statistical Report or the F/P/T Directors of Child Welfare Committee in general, please send an email to: SPA-publications-APS@hrsdc-rhdsc.gc.ca

October 2007

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