Recurrent child protection post-investigation services for First Nations children in the province of Quebec

• Published in: Child abuse & neglect Vol. 148; p. 106243
• Main Authors: De La Sablonnière-Griffin, Mireille, Collin-Vézina, Delphine, Esposito, Tonino, Dion, Jacinthe
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01.02.2024
• Subjects: American Indian or Alaska Native; Child; Child protection; Child Protective Services; Children; Family; First Nations; Humans; Indigenous Canadians; Post-investigation services; Quebec - epidemiology; Recurrence; Risk Factors; Quebec; Post-investigation services; Child protection; Recurrence; First Nations; Children
• ISSN: 0145-2134; 1873-7757
• DOI: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2023.106243

The longitudinal trajectory of Indigenous children within child protection (CP) services, including their recurrent involvement, has yet to be documented. 1) To document whether First Nations children were at increased risk of a first recurrence of post-investigation CP services compared to children from the majority group. 2) To identify the characteristics associated with recurrence for First Nations children, and to compare these results to those for children from the majority group. Anonymized CP administrative data (2002–2014; n = 1150) of a region in the province of Quebec were used to conduct Cox proportional hazards modeling, in partnership with an advisory committee. The risk of recurrence of First Nations children did not significantly differ from the risk for children from the majority group (HR: 0.980, n.s.) while controlling for covariates. Among First Nations children (n = 459), being under two at the case closure (HR: 2.718, p < .05), having received short-term intervention (HR: 5.027, p < .001) and coming from a family already known to the CP agency (HR: 2.023, p < .001) were associated with an increased risk of recurrence. The findings highlight the importance of studying First Nations children's trajectories within CP services as a group deserving full attention and for First Nations to be able to design or demand appropriate services responding to their population's needs. A family-based research perspective is recommended to understand better the full family history leading to and in relation to CP services, which could provide more sound practice recommendations.