Arctic childhoods - Establishing an evidence base for Northern Canada
Lil Tonmyr
Public Health Agency of Canada
Dr. Lil Tonmyr is a Senior Researcher with the Public Health Agency (PHAC) of Canada and Adjunct Research Professor at the Department of Anthropology and Sociology, with Carleton University. Dr. Tonmyr has worked extensively on issues related to family violence in a variety of domains including child welfare and women’s shelters. Within PHAC she has worked to develop and implement Canada’s national child maltreatment surveillance program. She co-chairs an international committee on the development of child welfare information systems. As a researcher at PHAC, she has published extensively in the areas of child maltreatment, substance abuse, and deliberate self-harm and other health issues.
Abstract
Objective: Child protection agencies are increasingly interested in developing their administrative data to better understand the scope of reported child maltreatment and to monitor progress. This interest overlaps... [ view full abstract ]
Objective: Child protection agencies are increasingly interested in developing their administrative data to better understand the scope of reported child maltreatment and to monitor progress. This interest overlaps productively with federal public health surveillance objectives. The three Canadian northern territories and the Public Health Agency of Canada are collaboratively developing pan northern administrative data to be used by researchers and policy makers. The objectives of this presentation are to describe the process, discuss some general issues in developing the data system, and to highlight a northern perspective.
Methods: A series of ongoing consultations, a review of child protection systems in Canada, action plans from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report and an evaluation of national child protection indicators in Australia and the United States were conducted to inform the development of the system. This development required the identification of indicators that were relevant to a Northern context as well as the resolution of technological, process-related, and other challenges.
Results: The presentation will identify indicators that were found to be relevant to northern communities, with a large indigenous population. It will describe how remoteness (very low population density) and technological challenges must be considered in the set-up and maintenance of this data system. It will focus on lessons learned regarding process, and on future steps. The north is a special environment but some considerations in data system development are the same as in the south.
Conclusion: Despite the special issues at play in data system development in remote regions of Canada, the federal government, in collaboration with university based researchers, can partner productively with northern territories to meet diverse needs for improved understanding of reported child maltreatment and the systems response.
Authors
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Lil Tonmyr
(Public Health Agency of Canada)
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John Fluke
(Kempe Center, University of Colorado School of Medicine)
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Adam Filleul
(Government of Nunavut)
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Bryany Denning
(Yellowknife Women's Society)
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Bryn King
(University of Toronto)
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Tonino Esposito
(Université de Montréal)
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Peter Dudding
(Child Welfare League of Canada)
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Tanya Lary
(Public Health Agency of Canada)
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Ketil Lenert Hansen
(UIT The Artic University of Norway)
Topic Area
Child Protection Systems and Strategies at local, national and international levels
Session
Symposia15 » Session 2- Child Protection Systems (14:15 - Tuesday, 3rd October, Central America Room)
Presentation Files
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