Research Update: The 2008 Ontario Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect
By Kate Schumaker and Carolyn Golden

Preparation for the 2008 Ontario Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (OIS-2008) is currently underway and data collection for the study will begin this fall.  Data for this current cycle of the study will be gathered from 23 child welfare agencies/offices across Ontario—19 “mainstream”, and four designated Aboriginal agencies— and will employ a similar methodology to the previous cycles of the study, the OIS-1993, OIS-1998 and OIS-2003, in order to allow for comparisons to be made.

The initial OIS was conducted in 1993, led by Dr. Nico Trocmé, and represented the first provincial study of the incidence of child abuse and neglect reported to, and investigated by, child welfare authorities; prior to this, there were no reliable provincial data on the reported incidence of child abuse and neglect in Ontario.  The OIS was repeated in 1998 and in 2003 as part of the larger national study, the Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (CIS), with the primary purpose of providing reliable estimates of the scope and characteristics of investigated child abuse and neglect in Ontario.  Data from the OIS-1993 study comprise the baseline against which all future cycles of the OIS are compared.  The OIS-2008 marks the fourth cycle of provincial data collection regarding reported child maltreatment for Ontario.

The OIS-2008 uses a multi-stage sampling design to select a representative sample of child welfare service areas across Canada and then sample cases within these child welfare service areas for a three-month period (October 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008). The main data collection instrument used for the OIS-2008 is a three-page standardized form, called the Maltreatment Assessment Form, which is completed by the primary investigating child welfare worker at the end of each child welfare investigation.  Data collected by this form include information routinely collected by workers during the course of an investigation.

While the core funding for the larger, national study (the CIS) is provided by the Public Health Agency of Canada’s Injury and Child Maltreatment Division, critical additional funding for the OIS is provided  by the Ontario Ministry of Children and Youth Services,  allowing for an enriched sample in Ontario, and permitting the research team to generate provincial estimates of reported child abuse and neglect specific to Ontario.

In addition to documenting overall changes in rates of reported and investigated physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, and emotional maltreatment, the OIS monitors short-term investigation outcomes, including: substantiated maltreatment rates, placement of children in care, use of child welfare court and criminal prosecution. A comparison of the OIS-1998 and OIS-2003 data showed that the rate of maltreatment investigations had almost doubled in Ontario, largely driven by a 149% increase in substantiated maltreatment.  The comparison also revealed important trends in the type of maltreatment reported including a 319% increase in substantiated exposure to domestic violence, and a 359% increase in substantiated emotional maltreatment. Data from the OIS has been used to guide research, child welfare service provision and policy. The recent introduction of a differential response model for Ontario was partly based on the findings from the OIS-2003, specifically the documented increases in exposure to domestic violence and emotional maltreatment rather than physical and sexual abuse, and the low rates of physical harm.

While the national study (CIS-2008) is directed by a team of researchers from the McGill University, University of Toronto and the University of Calgary, primary responsibility for the OIS portion of the study rests with the University of Toronto team, led by Dr. Barbara Fallon, and co-managed by Tara Black, Kate Schumaker and Caroline Felstiner. The study design, including enlistment strategies, instruments and report formats, was developed in consultation with a National Steering Committee, provincial and territorial Directors of Child Welfare, and the Public Health Agency of Canada staff.

The results of OIS-2008 are expected to be available in the fall of 2010 and the report will be widely disseminated, as well as made available on the Centre of Excellence for Child Welfare’s website.

About the Authors

Kate Schumaker is the Co-Manager of the Canadian Incidence Study (CIS), and a PhD student at the Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto.

Carolyn Golden is completing her MSW practicum with the CIS; she is a family services worker at the Catholic Children’s Aid Society of Toronto.

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