Protection of Children

Effective: December 1, 2003

For the purposes of the Child, Family and Community Service Act, a child is a person under 19 years of age.

Effective: March 22, 2021

Under the Child, Family and Community Service Act, Section 13, a child needs protection in the following circumstances:

• the child has been, or is likely to be, physically harmed, sexually abused or sexually exploited by the child’s parent, or by another person where the parent is unwilling or unable to protect the child from the harm, abuse, or exploitation
• the child has been, or is likely to be, physically harmed because of neglect by the child’s parent
• the child is deprived of necessary health care
• the child is emotionally harmed by the parent’s conduct, or by living in a situation where there is domestic violence by or towards a person with whom the child resides
• inadequate provision has been made for the child’s care
• the child is deprived of necessary health care
• the child’s development is likely to be seriously impaired by a treatable condition and the parent has not provided or consented to treatment
• the child is or has been absent from home in circumstances that endanger the child’s safety or well-being
• if the child is in the care of a director or another person by agreement and the child's parent is unwilling or unable to resume care when the agreement is no longer in force.

Effective: December 1, 2003

When ministry staff members have reason to believe that a child has been, or is likely to be, abused or neglected they have a legal duty to report the matter promptly to a Ministry of Children and Family Development child protection social worker by calling the Ministry of Children and Family Development Centralized Screening [see Contacts]. The report must be:

• made by the staff member who has reason to believe the abuse or neglect has occurred, or is likely to occur
• noted on the system if the report regards a ministry client or a dependent child of a client 

Effective: December 18, 2024

With the exception of After Hours staff, Ministry of Children and Family Development staff do not have access to income assistance or disability assistance cases, or to any other Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction electronic file types. After Hours Ministry of Children and Family Development staff have access to all file types.

As Ministry of Children and Family Development requests may be of vital importance in an investigation, requests should be treated as high priority.  [For more information on policies for sharing information with the Ministry of Children and Family Development, see Related Links – Information Privacy and Security (FOIPPA).]

• The Ministry of Children and Family Development determines what information is necessary to carry out the duties and functions authorized under the Child, Family and Community Services Act.
• Section 96 of the Child, Family and Community Service Act and FOIPPA mandates that all information that is requested is shared when a request is made by the Ministry of Children and Family Development.
• The ministry has an information sharing agreement with the Ministry of Children and Family Development under section 70 of the Adoption Act.  Specific requests for information under section 70 must be referred to Information Access Operations [see Contacts].

Section 96 of the Child, Family and Community Service Act also:

• specifies the requirements for disclosure of information between both ministries,
• specifies that requests for personal health information are limited to the personal health information that is reasonably required to determine if a child needs protection or is no longer in need of protection and,
• Obligates ministry staff to disclose to Ministry of Children and Family Development any information needed to perform the duties or functions authorized by the Child, Family and Community Service Act. Section 14 of the Child, Family and Community Service Act further obligates staff to report child protection concerns to Ministry of Children and Family Development. 

All requests for disclosure must specify section 96 and must be in writing. 

Effective: March 1, 2023

For information on assistance rates when a child is temporarily in the care of the Ministry of Children and Family Development, see Related Links – Housing Stability Supplement.

Effective: December 18, 2024

All requests from the Ministry of Children and Family Development must be routed to the designated Provincial access point determined by the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction (SDPR).

Processing a Ministry of Children and Family Development Request for Information

To process a Ministry of Children and Family Development request for information, follow these steps: