Beyond "investigating" all survivors of intimate partner violence: When do agencies identify the need for ongoing protection services?

BACKGROUND

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a pervasive public health issue that can have significant and lasting effects on children exposed to it. Although exposure to IPV is not explicitly cited in Ontario's child welfare legislation, it remains a central focus within the province's child welfare system.

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to identify factors associated with the decision to provide ongoing child protection services in substantiated cases of children's exposure to IPV, enhancing understanding of how ongoing protection needs are assessed.

PARTICIPANTS AND

SETTING

The analysis uses a representative sample of 5176 maltreatment investigations from the Ontario Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect-2023 (OIS-2023), a cross-sectional study of child investigations conducted in Ontario.

METHODS

Two separate Chi-square Automatic Interaction Detector (CHAID) analyses were conducted, one for investigations involving only exposure to IPV and another for cases where IPV co-occurred with other maltreatment, to determine key characteristics associated with ongoing service provision.

RESULTS

Among substantiated investigations, 53% involved exposure to IPV, with 42% involving only exposure to IPV and 11% involving IPV co-occurring with another form of maltreatment. In cases of only IPV, economic hardship was the strongest predictor of ongoing service provision (χ2 = 40.31, p < .001), with prior substantiated maltreatment further increasing transfer likelihood. Economic hardship also emerged as the strongest predictor in the co-occurring IPV model.

CONCLUSIONS

Economic hardship, particularly when coupled with prior maltreatment, strongly predicts ongoing service decisions. Findings underscore the need for integrating economic supports into child welfare responses to IPV.