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On 21st September 2023, the Governments of Canada and Zambia, in partnership with UNFPA-UNICEF Global Programme to End Child Marriage and the Child Marriage Monitoring Mechanism, hosted a High-Level Side Event during the Seventy-Eighth Session of the United Nations General Assembly. The event was titled 'Charting Brighter Futures: Utilizing Data for Accelerated Action to End Child Marriage and Achieve SDG 5.3'. The event brought together key stakeholders from around the world, all committed to one common goal: ending child marriage. It provided a unique opportunity to dive into the power of…
This study investigated the prevalence of and factors associated with complete mental health (CMH) among a nationally representative sample of Canadians who had contact with child welfare services before age 16. CMH was defined as (1) the absence of suicidality, mental illness, and substance abuse or dependence in the preceding year; (2) happiness or life satisfaction almost every day in the preceding month, and; (3) social and psychological well-being almost every day in the preceding month.
Data came from the 2012 Canadian Community Health Survey – Mental Health. A subsample of 732…
Abstract
Background:
A review of the scientific literature showed few valid tools for assessing reactive attachment disorder (RAD) and disinhibited social engagement disorder (DSED), two diagnostic entities traditionally grouped under “attachment disorders.” The Early TRAuma-related Disorders Questionnaire (ETRADQ), a caregiver report, was developed to assess attachment disorders in school-age children based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders–Fifth edition criteria. This study sought to validate this instrument.…
ABSTRACT
Background: The overrepresentation of Black families in child welfare systems across the various geographical locations (e.g. America, Canada, United Kingdom) is a growing concern. There are competing explanations for the causes of overrepresentation and recommendations for eliminating racial disproportionalities and disparities in child welfare system. This systemic scoping review will provide a succinct synthesis of the current literature on Black disproportionality and disparity in child welfare.
Methods/Design: This systemic scoping review will employ Arksey and O’Malley’s…
Abstract
Background
Pandemics have a wide range of economic, health and social consequences related to both the spread of a disease and efforts made by government leaders to contain it which may be particularly detrimental for the child welfare-involved population. This is because child welfare agencies serve some of the highest needs children and families. A significant proportion of these families face economic hardship, and as a result of containment measures for COVID-19, more families inevitably will.
Objective
Given the range of negative consequences related to the pandemic…
Abstract
Kinship foster care placements have become significantly more prevalent in both Canada and the United States. However, there are limited resources for child protection services (CPS) workers to assess the quality of the kinship caregiver placements. Although several measures exist to screen caregivers for general foster care, there are no instruments available for the assessment of quality in kinship foster care. Thus, the current study reexamined a kinship caregiver assessment using data from a study conducted at the Children and Family Research Center (CFRC). Inter-item and item…
Abstract
Child maltreatment is a major public health issue, affecting over 200,000 children in Canada every year. Yet child welfare services are being offered to families with limited evidence of service effectiveness. The transition to evidence-based decision making requires a significant investment of resources and time to better understand the service trajectories and outcomes for the children, youth and families served by child welfare agencies. However, due to the ever-increasing demands for child welfare services, agencies do not have the capacity to develop and implement evidence-…
Background: The social-emotional development of young children is foundational to well-being and has long term effects including greater mental health, lessened likelihood of drug or alcohol abuse, and fewer relationship problems (Jones et al., 2017). Children in out-of-home care are at risk for social and emotional difficulties due to prior trauma, discontinuity of care, and the accumulation of health and emotional problems (Jee et al., 2010). As a result, monitoring their development in the child welfare system is crucial to ensuring they receive services to address developmental…
Background: Child development is complex and definitions and categorizations are not universal. This can make a cohesive approach difficult for the many parties who have a responsibility to support and encourage development in young children in out-of-home care. In order to align policy priorities and simplify decision-making, it is perhaps more appropriate to take a holistic approach to child development, to recognize the interconnectedness of domains, and to promote development as inclusive and continuous. Objective: This presentation explores the developmental assessment of young children…