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Methods: There were an estimated 125,879 child maltreatment-related investigations conducted in Ontario in 2023, a rate of 46.15 per 1,000 children 0-17 years of age. Workers completed a file review at the end of the investigation and were asked whether or not the investigation also involved a custody dispute that was before family courts. Investigations involving custody disputes were compared to those investigations without an ongoing child custody dispute in court to determine their unique clinical profile.
Results: An estimated 13,580 investigations involved custody disputes in Ontario in 2023 (11% of investigations Custody disputes were most often noted in investigations where the primary maltreatment concern was children’s exposure to IPV (28%; an estimated 3,808 investigations), followed by physical abuse (19%), neglect (17%), risk of maltreatment (17%), emotional maltreatment (14%), and sexual abuse (5%). Almost half (49%) of investigations assessing an allegation of maltreatment were substantiated, 4% suspected, and 47% unfounded. If unfounded, the worker was asked if the report was fabricated; 6% of investigations with a chid custody dispute. The logistic regression predicting whether the investigation was kept open for ongoing child welfare involvement found that child custody disputes were not a significant predictor of this decision.
Conclusions and Implications: The findings of this study suggest that investigations with noted custody disputes did not involve fabricated reports. This finding may be helpful as some research has found that reports about custody may be ignored during the intake process (Rød et al., 2013). The largest proportion of investigations that involve custody disputes pertained to investigated children’s exposure to emotional violence. These findings underscore the need for a better understanding of the similarities, differences and nuances between custody disputes and its relationship with IPV.