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Permanency
In cases where a child or youth cannot remain safely in their home due to protection concerns, the child or youth may be placed in the care of a children’s aid society. If a child cannot return to their family, the society works to find a permanent, safe home for the child, ideally in a family setting.
Societies are reporting on two permanency performance indicators:
- The days of care, by placement type
- The time to permanency
The days of care, by placement type
This performance indicator measures the number of days of care provided to children in the care of a society in a fiscal year by placement type. It compares care in a family-based setting with care in a group care setting.
Placements included in the “family-based” category include placement with a foster family, placement with kin and placement with a prospective adoptive family before the adoption is finalized. Group care is when a child or youth is cared for in a children’s residence, also known as a group home. The “other” category includes youth who are in care but living independently. It also includes children and youth cared for in settings such as hospitals, children’s mental health centres or youth justice facilities.
| The Percentage of Days of Care, by Placement Type | |||
| Year | Family-based | Group care | Other |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010-11 | 77% | 15% | 8% |
| 2011-12 | 77% | 15% | 8% |
| 2012-13 | 78% | 14% | 8% |
| 2013-14 | 79% | 13% | 8% |
| 2014-15 | 80% | 12% | 8% |
| 2015-16 | 79% | 13% | 8% |
The data shows that the majority of days of care provided are in a family-based setting.
The time to permanency
This performance indicator measures the time it takes for children and youth in care to leave care. A child leaves care when a permanency plan is in place or they turn 18 years of age. Permanent living arrangements include reunification with a parent or guardian, kinship service, legal custody and adoption.
| The Percentage of Children Who Leave Care From the Time of Admission | |||
| Year | By 12 Months | By 24 Months | By 36 Months |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010-11 | 62% | 76% | 85% |
| 2011-12 | 63% | 77% | 86% |
| 2012-13 | 64% | 78% | 86% |
| 2013-14 | 63% | 78% | 85% |
| 2014-15 | 64% | 76% | |
| 2015-16 | 61% | ||
The data shows that the majority of children who come into the care of a society leave care within 12 months and move on to a permanent arrangement.
Importance of these indicators
Research shows that the outcomes for children in care are improved when they grow up in stable, healthy family-based settings.
Permanency promotes healthy development, encourages continuity in relationships and a sense of community and identity.
About the data
- Children and youth in customary care arrangements supervised by a society are not included in this data. Customary care is the care of a First Nations child by a person who is not the child’s parent, according to the custom of the child’s band or native community. A society pays a subsidy to the person caring for the child. Work is underway to reflect customary care in this data set in future years.
- This information is based on data from up to 44 societies (for the days of care) and 37 societies (for the time to permanency).
