Is it abuse or neglect?

Deciding whether or not a child is being abused or neglected can be a difficult and complex decision that Children's Aid Society social workers face every day. There are many questions that must be addressed: Is this child at risk? Can this child be protected through support and counseling for the family? Should this child be removed from the home? Are there family members or friends who could care for the child other than a foster home?

In the early 1990's, Children's Aid Societies throughout Ontario developed the "Eligibility Spectrum" to help social workers make consistent and accurate decisions about child welfare intervention at the time of referral. This tool is now a part of the more comprehensive Ontario Risk Assessment Model that the Provincial Ministry of Community and Social Services has made mandatory for use by all of Ontario's Children's Aid Societies since April 2000. The goal of the Risk Assessment Model is to provide a consistent and dependable response pattern to child abuse and neglect throughout the province that is consistent with the Ontario Child and Family Services Act and its regulations.

• What kind of authority do CAS workers have?

• What is the Eligibility Spectrum?

• How does the Eligibility Spectrum work?

• Read an example of how the Eligibility Spectrum is used by the CAS in cases of suspected abuse

• Learn about the Ontario Risk Assessment Model

• Learn about the use of the Family Court in Court Intervention

• How long do children stay in the care of a Children's Aid Society?

• Read "Is it Spanking or is it Child Abuse?," an article by the Ontario Association of Children's Aid Societies

• Excerpts from "Spanking: should I or shouldn't I?," a pamphlet written by Dr. Linda Rose-Krasnor of Brock University and Dr. Joan E. Durrant of the University of Manitoba