Human Resources and Skills Development Canada
Symbol of the Government of Canada

Human Resources and Skills Development Canada

www.hrsdc.gc.ca

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

Newfoundland and Labrador

Introduction

The data presented in this section were provided by the Child and Youth Services Division of the Department of Health and Community Services. Data are provided for the following areas:

  1. Investigations - allegations of child abuse or neglect investigated.
  2. Child Welfare Cases - number of child welfare cases by region including child protective intervention, children in care, family services, youth services and adoption cases.
  3. Children Not in Care - cases where there is no transfer of custody or guardianship.
  4. Children in Care - cases where there has been a transfer of custody and/or guardianship to the Director of Child Welfare.
  5. Adoptions - children in care, relative and step-parent adoptions.
  6. Expenditures - expenditures for the Department of Health and Community Services.

Please be advised that in 2000-2001 the Child, Youth and Family Services Program was in a transition phase to a new computerized system.

Data includes Aboriginal children in care.

Newfoundland and Labrador data should not be compared with data from other jurisdictions due to the limitations outlined in the Preface.

Investigations

Table 1
Investigations1 by Type, in 2000-2001, 2001-2002, 2002-2003 and 2003-2004
Type 2000-2001 2001-20022 2002-20032 2003-20042&4
Physical Abuse 837 596 575 1,118
Sexual Abuse 346 191 205 236
Emotional Abuse 418 474 516 1,074
Subtotal 1,601 1,261 1,296 2,428
Other3 911 351 336 672
Total 2,512 1,612 1,632 3,100
1. Data represent the number of allegations of a child in need of protective intervention. The 2000-2001 data is reflective of referrals which initiated an investigation on new or reopened cases only. The 2001-2002, 2002-2003, 2003-2004 years also include referrals on active cases.
2. The number of allegations for Health Labrador is not included in this fiscal year.
3. Includes all investigations other than direct abuse treatment not provided, abandonment, violence, lack of supervision or a child under 12 years of age who causes harm to a person or property.
4. Due to the implementation of a new referral in the computer system some of the increase in the counts of allegations may be attributed to better tracking and reporting capability.

Child Welfare Cases

Table 2
Number of Child Welfare Cases1, by Region, in 2000-2001, 2001-2002, 2002-2003 and 2003-2004
Region 2000-2001 2001-2002 2002-2003 2003-2004
St. John’s 3,491 2,367 2,348 2,457
Eastern 1,226 885 977 1,154
Central 1,167 787 797 985
Western 1,440 930 987 1,078
Labrador 939 665 664 562
Grenfell 131 74 71 69
Total 8,394 5,708 5,844 6,305
1. Includes the following programs: Protective Intervention, In Care, Family Services including Child Welfare Allowances, Youth Services-Residential and Non-Residential and Adoptions.

Children Not in Care

Table 3
Children Not in Care in Placements (with relatives) Receiving Financial Support, as at March 31, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004
  2001 2002 2003 2004
Child Welfare Allowance1 592 538 508 493
1. This program provides financial support to relatives who are caring for children who would otherwise come into the care of a Director of Child, Youth and Family Services.

Children in Care

Table 4.1
Children in Care1, by Legal Status, as at March 31, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004
Legal Status March 31 2001 March 31 2002 March 31 2003 March 31 2004
Permanent Care        
Continuous Custody 254 242 278 201
Consent to Adoption 13 0 0 0
Subtotal 267 242 278 201
Temporary Care        
Temporary Custody 97 127 108 80
Voluntary Care Agreement 61 55 25 38
Interim Care 64 54 50 55
Subtotal 222 236 183 173
Unknown - - - 117
Total2 489 478 461 491
1. See Glossary for definition of child in care.
2. Totals reflect children who may have entered/left and re-entered care during the year and therefore may be counted more than once, but do not count children placed in care for purposes of adoption.

Table 4.2
Youth Receiving Services under Youth Services Agreements1, from April 1 to March 31, for 2000-2001, 2001-2002, 2002-2003 and 2003-2004
  2000-2001 2001-2002 2002-2003 2003-2004
Number of Youth 368 438 538 557
1. Youth aged 16-21 are under a voluntary Youth Services Agreement, living outside their family home but not in care of a Director of Child, Youth and Family Services.

Table 4.3
Children in Care1, by Age Group and Sex, as at March 31, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004
  March 31, 2001 March 31, 20022 March 31, 20032 March 31, 20042
Age Group        
0 to 4 years 62 60 51 69
5 to 11 years 161 136 139 133
12 to 15 years 193 178 177 169
Sex        
Male 231 208 201 217
Female 185 166 166 154
Total 416 374 367 371
1. See Glossary for definition of children in care. 2. This information is only available for 5 of the 6 Health and Community Services Boards.

Adoptions

Table 5.1
Adoptions during 2000-2001, 2001-2002, 2002-2003 and 2003-2004
  2000-2001 2001-2002 2002-2003 2003-2004
Applications Received 131 142 139 74
Applications Approved 76 76 78 55
Applications Rejected or Withdrawn 102 104 68 79
Placements Made or Recognized        
Regular 38 - - -
Relative/Step-Parent1 40 - - -
Adoptions Finalized 69 70 64 54
Adoption Subsidy 14 106 111 131
1. Effective April 1, 2003, under the new Adoption Act - all step-parent / relative adoptions are processed using Self Help Kits and are not included in totals.

Table 5.2
Children Adopted, by Sex and Age Group, during 2000-2001, 2001-2002, 2002-2003 and 2003-2004
  2000-2001 2001-2002 2002-2003 2003-2004
Sex        
Male 33 11 7 23
Female 38 18 18 14
Age Group        
0 to 3 years 14 18 16 12
3 years & over 57 11 9 25
Total 71 29 25 37

Expenditures

Table 6
Department of Health and Community Services Total Expenditures for 2000-2001, 2001-2002, 2002-2003 and 2003-2004
  2000-2001 ($000s) 2001-2002 ($000s) 2002-2003 ($000s) 2003-2004 ($000s)
Executive & Support Services1 n/a - - 19,832.4
Service Delivery2 n/a - - 31,243.8
Child Welfare3 41,067.1 41,684.4 50,229.8 54,130.4
Youth Corrections4 3,723.7 4,000.4 4,281.2 4,518.4
Day Care 4,140.8 4,658.0 5,335.1 6,198.4
Total 48,931.6 50,342.8 59,846.1 64,847.2
1. The number represents the human resource costs to deliver the Child, Youth and Family Services Programs.
2. The cost for purchased services provided to clients.
3. The Child Welfare budget entails all costs associated with delivering the Child, Youth and Family Services legislated programs not just the human resource and service delivery costs. Therefore, the first two lines do not add up to the Child Welfare total.
4. The Youth Corrections budget includes all costs associated with delivering the program including staffing and administration.

Glossary of Terms

Child: A person actually or apparently under the age of 16 years.
Children in Care: Children in need of protection under the Child, Youth and Family Services Act and in care under the following legal statuses: Voluntary Care Agreement, Interim Care (those who have been removed and are waiting for the Presentation Hearing and those waiting for a judge's decision), Consent to Adoption, Order of Temporary Custody, Order of Continuous Custody.
Order of Temporary Custody: Custody and guardianship of a child are transferred to a Director of Child, Youth and Family Services. The parents must consent to any medical treatment required by the child. Orders cannot exceed 3 months for a child under 5 years of age, to a maximum of 3 orders; 4 months for a child of 5 years of age and over but under 12 years of age, to a maximum of 3 orders; 6 months for a child 12 years of age and over to a maximum of 3 orders.
Continuous Custody: Once the court has utilized the maximums in Temporary Custody, and if the child is unable to return safely to his/her parents, the Court places the child in the sole custody of the Director of Child, Youth and Family Services on a permanent basis.
Interim Care: The period of time between removal of a child and the Court granting an order that places a child in the care and custody of a Director.
Voluntary Care Agreement: A written agreement between the parent/guardian of a child and a Director that transfers care of the child to the Director.
Youth: A person who is sixteen years of age or over but under 18 years of age.
Youth Services Agreement: The Youth Services Program assists young people aged 16 to 21 to achieve successful transition to adulthood. This is a new program legislated in the Child, Youth and Family Services Act to address the gap in services for 16 and 17 year-old youth who are unable to reside with their parents due to issues of maltreatment. These youth can voluntarily enter into a Youth Services Agreement with a Director of Child, Youth and Family Services to receive residential and other supportive services. A child who was in care or custody of the Director before reaching 16 years of age is entitled to services through Youth Services until 21 years of age, if still attending school.
Consent to Adoption: Under the Adoption of Children Act, a parent may voluntarily relinquish a child to a Director of Child Welfare for the purposes of adoption.

Footer

Date Modified:
2007-11-26