Equality for Marginalized Communities in the Child Welfare System
Written by Mason Pinheiro, PBSC Student
Supervising Lawyer, Katherine Long
Posted on April 1, 2025 at 9:07 AM
The 2023 5-Year Review on the Child, Youth, and Family Services Act (“CYFSA”) highlights necessary steps to help lower the overrepresentation of equity-seeking groups within the child welfare system. These steps include recognizing systemic racism, increasing cultural competency training, and improving risk assessment tools to account for systemic and structural inequalities. Recognizing these issues and their underlying factors is essential. However, tangible changes are still needed to ensure effective service delivery for all children and youth in Ontario. Equality for marginalized young people in the child welfare system means safeguarding and respecting their rights, as opposed to simply stating that there is an issue.
a. Equality for Racialized Young People
Statistics show a clear picture of the inequality marginalized young people and their families face. In 2015, the Children’s Aid Society of Toronto reported that despite African Canadians making up 8.5% of the population in Toronto, they represent over 40% of the children and youth in their care. 10 years later, the over-representation of black children in the child welfare system persists across Ontario, as highlighted in the 2022 report “Understanding the Over-Representation of Black Children in Ontario Child Welfare Services”. These discrepancies reflect entrenched biases that are deep-rooted in Ontario institutions, including the child welfare system. The 5-Year Review discusses the importance of recognizing historical and modern-day systemic racism and addressing it in their services and actors. However, meaningful change means the province must do more than recognize these issues.
JFCY’s submissions on the 5-Year Review stress the importance of providing care to young people based on their needs and concerns, not compromising services to reduce overrepresentation in agency statistics. Failing to provide an equal level of services, including protective services, based on a young person’s identity as a person of colour raises concerns about equality and discrimination in the child welfare system. It is crucial that Ontario does not take a strict data-imposed view on service as that may lead to the further entrenchment of existing systemic disadvantages.
b. Equality for Young People Living with a Disability
Addressing overrepresentation in the child welfare system also means addressing supportsavailablefor children and youth with disabilities. Young people living with a disability experience ongoing overrepresentation within the youth justice and child welfare, and, in some cases, may face unique barriers in advocating for themselves that compound existing systemic barriers. The Child, Youth and Family Services Act must increase their support within and outside the child welfare system. To do so, requires a direct and substantial discussion of this overrepresentation and the disadvantage it occasions.
These submissions addressed a call from the Ministry in advance of the 5-Year Review, recognizing that “youth with disabilities are overrepresented in services, such as child welfare in youth justice” and inviting investigation into mechanisms to “help reduce this overrepresentation”. Despite this, the 5-Year Review does not highlight potential changes that could improve service delivery. Instead, youth with disabilities are included primarily as an example of an equity-seeking group that experiences continued discrimination, and accordingly, a greater risk of “inequitable experiences and outcomes”. Recognizing and substantively discussing barriers and challenges for young people living with a disability in the child welfare system is a necessary step towards meaningful and tangible change.
The JFCY’s submissions recommended multiple changes to the act and the child welfare system that would greatly improve the services received by youth with disabilities. Supportive services with the goal of building up a young person’s capacity and supporting their agency within the child welfare system is one example. However, increased support from services outside the child welfare system is also needed. In many instances, young people with disabilities are brought into the child welfare system due to a lack of more appropriate services that would allow the youth to remain with their family or community. Increasing support in other areas allows the child welfare system to better meet the needs of the young people and families receiving services.
c. Preventative and Needs Based Approach to Service
The recommendations from JFCY to help address systemic racism and structural inequalities call for a sea-change in child welfare services towards community-based and prevention-focused care. This is a needs-based, not a risk-based approach. An approach that highlights consent-based supports, such as voluntary youth services agreements, over other more intrusive interventions allows youth and families to seek the help they need. These changes promote agency in those receiving services and can lead to lasting results.
Needs based supports means prioritizing the needs of the individual young person across government and community based sectors, focussing on what services are provided, not who is providing them. Currently, child welfare is being used to fill gaps in other areas which increases strain on the system. Community-based services outside of the child protection system need more support. Ensuring children and youth have support in other areas such as education and healthcare is crucial to ensure proper service delivery. A needs-based approach to service goes towards respecting the rights of marginalized youth through anti-oppressive practices that ensure young people who ask for help are able to access and receive it.