Child Custody _ Access Disputes in Child Maltreatment-Related Investigations in Ontario in 2018 v3.p

Child Custody / Access Disputes in Child Maltreatment-Related Investigations in Ontario in 2018 Tara Black, Barbara Fallon, Nikki Joh-Carnella, and Kate Allan May 2023 Introduction The Ontario Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect, 2018 (OIS-2018)1 is the sixth provincial study to examine the incidence of reported child maltreatment and the characteristics of children and families in. [...] Child custody disputes within the context of child protection investigations can pose unique challenges for child protection workers due to repeated allegations made by the parents, the heightened risk of violence, and an increased risk to the safety of the children caught between their parents’ disputes. [...] The worker did not know whether the report was fabricated in 9% of maltreatment investigations involving a child custody/access dispute compared to only 4% of maltreatment investigations that did not involve a child custody/access dispute. [...] The worker could decide that the child was at risk of future maltreatment (confirmed risk), that the child was not at risk of future maltreatment (unfounded risk), or that the future risk of maltreatment was unknown. [...] Workers were asked to provide information on various other aspects of their investigation, including the characteristics of the household, caregivers, and child subject of the investigation, the history of previous child welfare case openings, and the short-term child welfare service dispositions.