Racial Disparities in Investigations in Ontario

Background/Purpose: Despite a substantial body of research on racial disparities in child welfare from the United States, there is a minimal, but evolving body of research emerging from Canada. Evidence from research utilizing data from previous incidence studies in Canada show that First Nations children are overrepresented at investigation and at other points in the investigative decision-making continuum. Black and Latin American children are more likely than White children to be investigated by the child welfare system in Ontario. Racial differences in child welfare investigative decision making have also been noted for Black and Latin American children. We will present key trends and findings from the most recent cycle of the Ontario Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (OIS-2018) that reveal ethno-racial differences and disparities at investigation and at various stages of investigative decision-making.

Methods: The Ontario Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (OIS) is the only source of comprehensive, aggregated provincial data on children and families investigated because of suspected child abuse and neglect. The OIS is the longest-running incidence study in Canada and has been conducted every five years since 1993. The OIS-2018 is the sixth study to examine the incidence of reported child maltreatment and the characteristics of the children and families investigated by child protection services in Ontario. The OIS‑2018 tracked a total of 7590 child maltreatment-related investigations conducted in a representative sample of 18 Child Welfare agencies across Ontario in the fall of 2018. Data were collected from investigating workers using an online instrument upon the completion of their initial investigations and included a variety of case, household, caregiver, and child characteristics. The data collected were weighted to derive provincial, annual incidence estimates. The estimated number of maltreatment-related investigations conducted in 2018 was 158,476 representing a rate of 59.09 investigations per 1000 children. Incidence rates and various dispartiy indices were examined by ethno-racial category (e.g., First Nations, Black, Latin American). A logistic regression model predicting out-of-home placement for Black children was conducted.

Results: First Nations, Black, and Latin American children and families in Ontario experience disparate child welfare involvement over time and at various points in investigative decision-making. In 2018, child welfare investigations were approximately three times more likely to involve First Nations children than non-Indigenous children, and investigations were approximately twice as likely to involve Black or Latin American children than white children. Investigations involving Black children were almost 2 times more likely to be transferred to ongoing services; 2.5 times more likely to be substantiated; and 2.5 times more likely to result in a placement. When adjusting for caregiver functioning (e.g., mental health issues), poverty, and the characteristics of alleged maltreatment, Black children were still more likely to be placed.

Conclusions/Implications: Even after adjusting for covariates that have explained racial disparities in other contexts, racial disparities persist and can be attributed to the impacts of systemic racism and bias in the child welfare system. Implications of these findings for practice, policy and research are discussed.