Latent profiles of identified support needs and First Nations inequities in the Canadian child welfare system

First Nations children remain disproportionately involved in Canada's child welfare system. Child welfare investigations often involve co-occurring support needs.

To identify latent profiles of support needs among families investigated by Canadian child welfare services, examine variation in investigation outcomes across profiles, and assess differences in profile prevalence by First Nations identity.

The study used data from 13,736 investigations in the First Nations/Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect-2019.

Latent class analysis identified distinct profiles of need. Class enumeration was guided by fit indices, parsimony, and interpretability. Investigation outcomes were examined using the Bolck-Croon-Hagenaars approach. First Nations identity was included to compare class prevalences.

Six profiles of support needs were identified, spanning minimal or single-domain concerns to complex configurations involving child, caregiver, relational and structural needs. Transfers to ongoing services and placement were most likely in the highest-complexity profiles. Investigations involving First Nations children were overrepresented in higher-complexity profiles and less frequently represented within the minimal needs profile.

The concentration of investigations involving First Nations children within profiles characterized by complex, co-occurring support needs underscores that system-level reforms must extend beyond jurisdictional authority and funding parity to include substantively equal, complexity-adjusted resources and coordinated supports.