More children and teens with documented complex trauma exposure are seen by child welfare agencies than by any other system for the care of children.
According to the Adverse Childhood Experiences Study, traumatic experiences as a child—such as abuse, neglect, and dysfunction in the home—are associated with increased health risk behaviors and unfavorable health outcomes as adults. The detrimental effects of early adversity and toxic stress on the development of the brain and general health have been confirmed by further studies over the past two decades.
There are still insufficient resources available to meet the requirements of children and youth in the child welfare system, despite the knowledge and research on protective factors that mitigate the effects of early adversity, and teens continue to have poor health, which has an effect on future generations.
60 percent of children who enter child welfare systems before turning five have a developmental problem, according to American researchers. Between 30 and 80 percent of patients enter treatment with at least one medical issue, and up to 80 percent have serious mental health issues. Black, Indigenous, LGBTQ2S+, newcomer, low-income, and other racial and ethnic groups continue to be overrepresented in the child welfare system across Canada. Due to the fact that there are large imbalances for these groups in other government institutions as well, such as justice, education, and social assistance, putting these populations first from the perspective of health equity could be very helpful for these children and youth.Recent research related to “aging out” of child welfare services in Canada highlights the imminent need for change across the continuum of care for our children and youth. Adverse outcomes in British Columbia are estimated to cost between $222 and $268 million for the cohort of approximately 1,000 youth who age out of care each year.
Beyond adverse mental and physical health effects, this also adversely affects other areas of their lives, including education, housing and homelessness; criminalization; and unemployment, poverty and income support. What’s not included is the intangible costs, such as these young people’s trauma, hardship and suffering.
