Child Welfare in Canada

Abstract

This chapter looks into the child welfare system in Canada, which is focused on the child’s safety instead of the welfare of the family and child. Child protection systems have characteristics of mandatory reporting of suspected cases, service eligibility depending on maltreatment investigations, the option of using court orders, and out-of-home care settings. Indigenous children are significantly overrepresented in the child welfare system and children being placed in out-of-home care. The chapter also notes the rise of child welfare services in response to industrialism, capitalism, and urbanization as it sparked social issues like child labor, poverty, and the destitution of families.