“Child welfare” is a term used to describe a set of government and private services designed to protect children and encourage family stability. The main aim of these services is to safeguard children from abuse and neglect. Child welfare agencies will typically investigate allegations of abuse and neglect (these activities are called “child protection services”), supervise foster care and arrange adoptions. They also offer services aimed to support families so that they can stay intact and raise children successfully.
Canada’s provinces and territories all have child welfare agencies that can be contacted by the public 24 hours a day. These agencies ensure the safety of children who, for a variety of reasons, may not be safe in their homes. These agencies, grouped together, cover the entire country and are called the Canadian child welfare system.
Although circumstances can vary greatly, most families first become involved with the child welfare system due to a report of suspected child abuse or neglect. Child welfare systems typically:
The word “child” has a very specific meaning to child welfare workers. Each province and territory has laws to ensure the safety of children. These laws set an age range for protective services, called the “age of protection.”
The age range for the age of protection differs from one province and territory to another, according to the laws of each.
It is important to understand that the definition of “child“ in the law covers not only young children but also teenagers (also called “youth”).
The following table illustrates the age range for the purposes of protection in each province and territory:
Province or Territory
Definition of child for purposes of protection
Newfoundland and Labrador
under 16 years old
Prince Edward Island
under 18 years old
under 19 years old
under 19 years old
under 18 years old
under 18 years old
under 18 years old
under 16 years old
under 18 years old
under 19 years old
under 19 years old
under 16 years old
under 16 years old
To learn more about the differences across child welfare systems in Canada, please review Provincial and Territorial Child Protection Legislation and Policy 2018
* Note: Children with disabilities are eligible for protective services until age 19.
Child abuse is the physical or psychological mistreatment of a child by an adult (biological or adoptive parents, step-parents, guardians, other adults). This includes physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional maltreatment, and exposure to domestic violence.
Neglect refers to situations in which a child’s caregiver fails to provide adequate clothing, food or shelter, deliberately or otherwise. The term “neglect” can also apply to the abandonment of a child or the omission of basic care such as medical or dental care.
Bruises, scratches, burns and other physical signs may indicate abuse and should be investigated. Other signs are much less obvious. For example, a child who appears withdrawn or emotionally unstable may be showing signs of abuse or neglect. The possibility of child abuse or neglect should be investigated in cases where:
* Please note that the term “caregiver” can refer to a birth parent, foster parent, or kin parent.
You can get more information on the signs of child maltreatment from the National Clearinghouse on Family Violence, operated by the Public Health Agency of Canada. The telephone number is 1-800-267-1291 or (613) 957-2938. You can also call Kid’s Help Phone at 1-800-668-6868. Your local child welfare agency is also a good information source. Click here to find the local child welfare agency in your province or territory.
Yes. Everyone has a duty to report child abuse and neglect under Canadian child welfare laws. Professionals who work with children and youth have an added responsibility to report.
You are obliged to report child maltreatment if you know or suspect it is occurring. This is called the 'duty to report'. Every person in Canada has the duty to report known or suspected child maltreatment by law.
Known or suspected abuse or neglect of a child must be reported to:
Click here to find your local child welfare agency and phone numbers to report suspected abuse.
The child welfare worker will assess the situation to see if the child has been harmed, or is at risk of being harmed, due to abuse or neglect. Most of the time, the child is not removed from the home during the investigation. If investigation shows that the child might not be safe at home, the child welfare worker will take steps to ensure that the child lives in a safe environment while the problems are being solved. If this means that the child has to be removed from home, the child welfare worker will work with the family to ensure that the child can go home as soon as it is safe to do so. In the vast majority of cases, investigations do not result in the child being removed from the family.
If the child cannot live safely in the family home, the child welfare workers will make arrangements to temporarily or permanently place the child in another home where he or she can be cared for. This is called placing the child “in care.” The first choice for a caregiver in this situation would usually be a kin connection or a foster family.
There were an estimated 299,217 child maltreatment-related investigations conducted in 2019. Fifty-nine percent of maltreatment investigations involving First Nations children were substantiated (an estimated 19,143 investigations) compared to 46 percent for non-Indigenous children. The actual rate of maltreatment is thought to be much higher due to underreporting.
Although there are some differences from one province and territory to another, the child welfare systems throughout Canada are similar in that their first interest is in ensuring that children are safe. The systems share many common features. They all make it clear that everyone has a duty to report child abuse and neglect. Here are some more common features:
Every local municipality in Canada has a child welfare agency that has the legal responsibility for investigating reports of child abuse and neglect and taking appropriate steps to protect children. These agencies can be contacted by the public around the clock every day of the year.
The following table shows the provincial/territorial laws and the government agencies that are responsible for child welfare*. Please click on any province/territory links below to find more information on legislation.
| Province/Territory | Child protection legislation | Government agency responsible for child welfare |
|---|---|---|
| British Columbia | Child, Family and Community Service Act | Ministry of Children and Family Development* |
| Alberta | Child, Youth and Family Enhancement Act | Ministry of Children's Services* |
| Saskatchewan | The Child and Family Services Act (CFSA) | Ministry of Social Services* |
| Manitoba | The Child and Family Services Act | Department of Family Services |
| Ontario | The Child, Youth and Family Services Act | Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services* |
| Quebec | Loi sur la protection de la jeunesse (Youth Protection Act). R.S.Q. c. P-34.1 | Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux |
| Nova Scotia | Children and Family Services Act (CFSA) 1990 | Department of Community Services |
| New Brunswick | Family Services Act, S.N.B. 1980, c. F-2.2 | Department of Social Development |
| Prince Edward Island | Child Protection Act, proclaimed April 2003, C-5.1 | Department of Social Development and Housing |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | Child, Youth and Family Services Act (CYFSA) | Department of Children, Seniors and Social Development* |
| Yukon | Child and Family Services Act | Yukon Health and Social Services* |
| Northwest Territories | Child and Family Services Act | Department of Health and Social Services |
| Nunavut | Child and Family Services Act | Department of Family Services* |
* Please note these names have been changed over the last few years so may be different in older source materials.
In 2019, there were an estimated 59,283 children in out-of-home care across Canada when reported informal kinship services were included in the final count (Saint-Girons et al., 2020). Because child welfare services fall under the jurisdiction of provincial and territorial authorities each province has different legislation pertaining to child protection interventions, making it difficult to compare rates of children in out-of-home care across provinces.
Ultimately, difficulty in reporting and interpreting estimates of children in care in Canada highlights the need for systematic and coordinated reporting methods that include more detailed information on the placement types included, as well as consistent reporting of the proportion of Indigenous children in care.
For information on the number of children in care by province or territory please see the statistics section for the specific province/territory of interest:
Although First Nation children represent less than 8% of the child population aged 0-14 in Canada, they comprise an estimated 52.2% of children in foster care (Statistics Canada). The FN/CIS-2019 shows that First Nations children are three to four times more likely to be reported for a child maltreatment-related concern. This initial disparity increases further as various investigation decisions are made, with investigations involving First Nations children being seventeen times more likely to lead to placement in formal out-of-home care.
Indigenous child welfare agencies work in one of four main approaches:
The federal government typically pays for child welfare services on reserves, while the provinces pay for child welfare service delivery in places that are not on reserves. Child welfare services provided to Indigenous children will include the Indigenous community as an important element in the lives of children. For example, they will often consult with Elders, band members, and extended family members when making decisions about the best interests of the child. Many child welfare issues in Indigenous communities are hampered by poverty, community isolation, lack of social services infrastructure and higher living costs.
Further information on child welfare for Indigenous children and youth can be found in a number of information sheets produced by the Canadian Child Welfare Research Portal. Please click here to view.
The UNICEF Report Card series has helped answer the following questions:
UNICEF's most recent report released in September 2020, Worlds of Influence: Understanding What Shapes Child Well-being in Rich Countries, Innocenti Report Card 16, compared a number of indicators of child well-being among the 41 countries that are part of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The countries that were compared are all relatively wealthy in comparison with other countries in the world, and they are all European or North American.
In the Canadian Companion to UNICEF Report Card 16, Canada ranked 30th among 38 rich countries in the well-being of children and youth under age 18. Canada is reportedly worlds apart from other rich countries in providing healthy, happy childhoods for every child. Canada ranks among the countries with the best economic, environmental and social conditions for growing up, but the poorest outcomes for children and youth.