Lessons from Canadian incidence studies: Connecting data to policy and practice to accelerate change: Using Data to Inform Practice and Policy: Front-end Child Intervention Services in Alberta

Objectives: This analyses examines how the characteristics child welfare investigations compare to the existing policy and practice for investigations of maltreatment in Alberta, Canada . Methods: The Alberta Incidence Study... [ view full abstract ]

Objectives: This analyses examines how the characteristics child welfare investigations compare to the existing policy and practice for investigations of maltreatment in Alberta, Canada .
Methods: The Alberta Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (AIS-2008) is the second province-wide study to examine the incidence of reported child maltreatment for Alberta. Secondary data analysis of the AIS-2008 dataset was conducted to examine characteristics associated with formal child welfare investigations.
Results: In 2008, the incidence rates of reported child maltreatment decreased in Alberta from 43.16 to 35.02 per 1,000 children 0-17 years of age. While fewer children were investigated and received ongoing services, there was a dramatic increase in the rates of children referred to child welfare court and for those placed in formal child welfare care between 2003 and 2008. This shift to a more intrusive level of intervention was not necessarily related to an increase in case severity however. The majority of children investigated in 2008 were identified as being at risk for endangered development and well-being (85%) as opposed to endangered safety (15%).
Conclusions: These data challenged some of the underlying principles of the existing investigative approach in Alberta, Canada and informed an evidence-informed review of child welfare investigation practice conducted by a provincial working group on front end services in 2013. The presentation will identify key changes in the child welfare investigatory process in Alberta that resulted from this work.