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The Ontario Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (OIS) is the first Canadian study to provide detailed data on the incidence of reported child maltreatment and the characteristics of the children and families investigated by Canadian child welfare agencies. Unlike the United States [American Association for the Protection of Children 1988; Sedlack 1991; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 1992; Daro & McCurdy 1994], Canada has placed little emphasis on documenting child welfare services. The dearth of Canadian child welfare statistics was recently highlighted in a report from the Federal-Provincial Working Group on Child and Family Services Information [1994], which found that it was not possible to estimate the number of cases of child maltreatment reported to child welfare authorities in Canada. Although the diversity of social service systems across Canada limits the extent to which the OIS findings can be generalized to other provinces, the OIS study does provide a first glance at some of the unique characteristics of the Canadian child welfare system.
This article starts with a brief description of Ontario's child welfare system and legislation. The study methodology is then outlined; the incidence of maltreatment, forms of maltreatment, and nature and severity of injury are described; and the study findings are compared to profiles of reported maltreatment in other jurisdictions, especially the United States.
Ontario's Child Welfare System and Legislation
Canada's child welfare legislation and services are organized at the provincial level. Although services in most provinces are delivered by centralized government agencies, Ontario child welfare services are delivered by a provincially regulated system of independent Children's Aid Societies (CAS). These agencies are private nonprofit organizations funded primarily by the provincial government. The agencies operate under the same overall mandate, but their budgetary priorities and interpretation of child protection mandates vary considerably. This unique blend of government financing and an autonomous private service delivery system has allowed for the development of innovative programs and agencies with strong community links, but it has not supported the development of provincewide documentation of these services [Trocme 1991].
Currently, there are 54 CASs across the province. Each society provides services in one of 47 geographic areas, usually delimited on the basis of county boundaries. In most areas, a singe society serves the...
