Lessons from Canadian incidence studies: Connecting data to policy and practice to accelerate change. Moving towards a full-scale First Nations incidence study: Comparisons of investigations in Aboriginal and provincial/territorial agencies

Objectives: To describe the adaptations required to move from the pilot, First Nations component of the Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect 2008 (FNCIS-2008), to a full-scale study of the child... [ view full abstract ]

Objectives:
To describe the adaptations required to move from the pilot, First Nations component of the Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect 2008 (FNCIS-2008), to a full-scale study of the child maltreatment-related investigations conducted by Aboriginal child welfare agencies.

Method:
Analyses of FNCIS-2008 data describe the profiles and investigation-stage trajectories of 963 child maltreatment related investigations of First Nations children, which were conducted by 18 Aboriginal agencies. These investigations are compared to 2,143 investigations involving First Nations children, which were conducted by 89 provincial/territorial child welfare agencies, and to an additional 12,240 investigations involving non-Aboriginal children conducted by these agencies.

Results:
For First Nations children, the rate of ‘risk investigations’ –in which the primary concern was a risk of future maltreatment - conducted by sampled aboriginal agencies was two times greater than the rate in sampled provincial/territorial agencies (72 investigations/1000 First Nations children vs. 36/1000 First Nations children, respectively). The proportions of cases that involved foster care placement or child welfare court application during the investigation period were lower in Aboriginal agencies than in provincial/territorial agencies. Interpretation of these differences was complicated by the fact that workers in both types of agencies reported a high level of ‘unknown’ caregiver risk factors in cases involving First Nations children.

Conclusions:
Findings suggest the possibility that Aboriginal and provincial/territorial agencies may differ in terms of timing of and approach to engagement with First Nations families. However, much more detailed and reliable ecological (family, agency, community level) information is required in order to specify these differences. Integrating analysis of these findings with reflections on the current Aboriginal child welfare landscape, the national advisory committee and research team involved in the FNCIS-2008 have developed a plan for a 2018 First Nations Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect.