Urgent Protection versus Chronic Need

Barbara Fallon

University of Toronto

Dr. Barbara Fallon is an Associate Professor and the Associate Dean of Research at the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work at the University of Toronto. She is also the Factor-Inwentash Chair in Child Welfare and the Director of Knowledge Mobilization for the Fraser Mustard Institute for Human Development. Dr. Fallon’s research interests include international comparisons of child protection systems and the contribution of worker and organizational characteristics to child welfare decision-making. Dr. Fallon is currently the Principal Investigator of the Ontario Child Abuse and Neglect Data System and was the Principal Investigator for the 2008 and 2013 cycles of the Ontario Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (OIS). She was the Director of the Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect 2008 (CIS-2008) and managed two previous cycles of the study. Dr. Fallon has contributed to key policy implementations through her research. In particular, Dr. Fallon’s findings have led to the introduction of differential response models and specialized intimate partner violence teams as well as informed front-line child welfare workers and policymakers in understanding the use of risk assessments in child protection investigations and opportunities for early intervention and prevention for children at risk of maltreatment.

Abstract

Objectives: Reforming both the objectives and structure of the child welfare system is a subject of increasingly impassioned debate. Various solutions have been viewed as the ultimate resolution to the poor outcomes experienced by children and families served by the child welfare system and to capping the spiraling costs of service provision. Trocmé et al (2014) have identified a taxonomy that divides child welfare cases into those requiring urgent protection versus those with chronic needs in order to assist with the development of a more tailored service response.

Methods: This taxonomy was used in three different studies. The first study used data from five cycles of a representative provincial cross-sectional study, conducted every five years in Canada’s largest province. Investigations from 1993-2013 were classified into those requiring urgent protection (neglect and physical abuse of children under 4, all sexual abuse cases and severe injury) and those with chronic needs (intimate partner violence, emotional maltreatment, neglect and physical abuse of older children). The second paper uses data from the US National Study on Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW) to identify whether there are similar case classifications patterns evident in the United States. The final paper applies this classification to a large urban child welfare agency and describes how it has been used to better understand service recurrence.

Results: Distinct patterns of investigations involving urgent protection and chronic need occur both in the United States and Canadian data. Recurrence patterns are different for urgent protection cases than for those with chronic need.

Conclusion: The intention of any child welfare service response to a child and family is to identify situations that require further intervention and to ameliorate the effects of child abuse and neglect. Identifying distinct child welfare service responses is a promising taxonomy with application at a systems and agency level.

Authors

Barbara Fallon (University of Toronto)
Nico Trocmé (McGill University)
John Fluke (Kempe Center, University of Colorado School of Medicine)
Kate Schumaker (Catholic Childrens Aid Society of Toronto)

Topic Area

Child Protection Systems and Strategies at local, national and international levels

Session

Symposia 3 » Session 1-Child Protection Systems (11:00 - Monday, 2nd October, Oceania Room)

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