Open AccessExamining How the Mental Health Needs of Children Who Have Experienced Maltreatment are Addressed within Ontario Children’s Aid Societies
Author(s) -
Jennifer Czincz,
Elisa Romano
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
canadian journal of family and youth
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1718-9748
DOI - 10.29173/cjfy7466
Subject(s) - mental health , referral , psychiatry , welfare , population , psychology , occupational safety and health , tracking (education) , identification (biology) , suicide prevention , medicine , poison control , clinical psychology , family medicine , environmental health , political science , pedagogy , botany , pathology , law , biology
American data suggest that there is often a lack of mental health service provision to children in the child welfare system that have experienced maltreatment and are exhibiting psychological difficulties. These data are concerning given that the existing literature unanimously concludes that children who have experienced maltreatment present with significantly higher rates of mental health difficulties than general samples of children in the community. Given that little Canadian research has been conducted in this area, this study examined the need identification and referral process made to mental health services by Ontario Children’s Aid Societies (CAS) for children who have experienced maltreatment. Findings indicate a high prevalence of mental health difficulties in this population and a limited standardized approach to the identification and assessment of these issues. It was found that the majority of children who do receive referrals to mental health services are referred to community-based psychologists. Findings regarding the tracking of community referrals and interagency collaboration were encouraging as compared to American data.