The Child Welfare TRUTH-Telling Collective

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The Child Welfare TRUTH-Telling Collective

We are committed to transforming systems of child welfare by speaking our truths! Informally, we began to talk, carefully at first.

The Child Welfare TRUTH-Telling Collective began as a core group of six White settlers with experiences of working in the child welfare system in Ontario, Canada. In 2019, we were teaching a child welfare course to undergraduate social work students. During discussions about how to best prepare students for the realities of child welfare work, we came to the realization that much of our own truth

about doing this work had not been spoken. We also became acutely aware of a deep yearning to speak truth about our experiences. Over time, we found our way to more honest, uninhibited and non-performative dialogues. In particular, we spoke openly about the aspects of our work which we found deeply troubling. For many of us, there have been no spaces inside child welfare systems, or elsewhere, for these conversations. In the spring of 2020, we founded the Child Welfare TRUTH-Telling Collective (CWTTC). We are unsettled by our work in systems of child welfare and the ways we have benefitted from this work, and, for some of us, our White and settler privileges. For those of us who identify as White settlers, our responsibilities are front of mind in light of the ‘Calls to Action’ which were issued by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada in 2015. We are seeking greater consciousness about how, in creating and upholding child welfare’s structures, we are complicit in colonization.

08/17/2026

Systems of child welfare preserve and perpetuate deeply colonial relations. This podcast introduces the work of The Child Welfare TRUTH-Telling Collective, a group of current and former child welfare workers based in Ontario who are searching for a way to reconciliation.

Take a listen at https://www.childwelfarecollective.org/podcast

08/10/2026

Allow us to re-introduce our CWTTC purpose and intentions.

To learn more about our vision and our work, as well as how to become involved, please visit us at https://www.childwelfarecollective.org/about-us

08/03/2026

"We believe that there is the will and courage amongst people who have child welfare experience to demand the changes that will lead to a system that is just and fair. We invite anyone whose everyday life, whether work, personal experiences or both, has been shaped, enriched, interrupted, altered, turned upside down, destroyed… etc. to enter into our dialogues."

Visit us at https://www.childwelfarecollective.org/get-involved to learn more about our storytelling project.

07/31/2026

Post #6 of our latest series, Confessions of a Disillusioned Child Welfare Worker, talks all about paperwork in child welfare: the time it takes away, the barriers it creates, and the harms it causes.

Check out the series at https://www.childwelfarecollective.org/blogs

07/27/2026

At CWTTC, we believe our language shapes the experiences of children, families, and workers in the child welfare system.

What do these words bring up for you?

07/24/2026

Another Friday, another Student Spotlight! ✨

Meet Emma, another student coming to the end of her placement with CWTTC. Keep an eye out for Emma's webinar in the fall capturing her reflections on practicing child welfare in the remote north.

07/20/2026

In child welfare investigations, 90% of the caregivers are mothers. That's not a coincidence.

The conditions underneath — poverty, violence against women — fall heavily on mothers, who too often get held responsible for surviving what they didn't create. And most are already doing everything they can to protect their children. Partnering with them — not blaming them — is one of the best ways to keep kids safe.

📚 Sources in the comments.

07/17/2026

Student Spotlight ✨

As Samantha wraps up her practicum with the CWTTC, we wanted to thank her for her work with us and wish her all the best in her career. Thank you for your presence, your passion, and your advocacy.

07/13/2026

Poverty, inflation, and the policy choices behind them don't just show up in spreadsheets — they show up in children's lives.

When the cost of living rises, so does the risk to children. The research is clear and consistent: economic hardship is one of the strongest predictors of child maltreatment we have. Job loss, foreclosure, food insecurity, gas prices, recessions — every form of economic stress shows up in the data on child safety.

But the inverse is also true. When families receive income supports, harm goes down. When supports are pulled away, risk climbs back up. Canada saw this in real time during the pandemic: child poverty hit a record low of 4.7% in 2020 with emergency benefits, then climbed to 10.7% by 2023 once those supports ended.

Child safety isn't a service you call in a crisis. It's a paycheque, a lease, a full fridge, a parental leave, a stable job. Build those, and you prevent the kind of harm that grows out of economic stress.

That's what prevention looks like.

↓ Sources below ↓

Sources:

Berger, et al. (2011). Abusive head trauma during a time of increased unemployment: A multicenter analysis.

Chapin Hall. (2023). Evidence to impact: State policy options to increase access to economic & concrete supports.

Government of Canada. (2025). Canada Child Benefit overview.

Grewal-Kök, McDaniel & Reliford. (2025). Family stability & economic mobility: Expanded Child Tax Credit as a key anti-poverty and child welfare prevention strategy.

Klevens, et al. (2016). Paid family leave's effect on hospital admissions for pediatric abusive head trauma.

Lefebvre, et al. (2017). Examining the relationship between economic hardship and child maltreatment in Ontario.

McLaughlin. (2017). Less money, more problems: How changes in disposable income affect child maltreatment.

Schenck-Fontaine & Gassman-Pines (2020). Income inequality and child maltreatment risk during economic recession.

Schneider, et al. (2017). The Great Recession and risk for child abuse and neglect.

Statistics Canada. (2025). Canadian Income Survey, 2023.

Wood, et al. (2012). Local macroeconomic trends and hospital admissions for child abuse, 2000–2009.

07/06/2026

Kids grow up healthier when families have support across housing, income, health, early learning, and family-friendly policies (CPS, 2025; Trocmé & Blackstock, 2025).

Child wellbeing isn’t just about child protection—it depends on the policies, programs, and supports families can access (Conrad-Hiebner & Byram, 2020; Cusick et al., 2024).

We can’t talk about child welfare reform without addressing poverty, income supports, housing, health care, and childcare. Evidence shows child safety and development are shaped by social conditions long before child protection involvement (Bullinger et al., 2019; Slack et al., 2011; Rostad et al., 2017; CPS, 2025; Sarangi, 2026).

Direct supports—like the Canada Child Benefit, rental subsidies, school nutrition programs, affordable childcare, and paid parental leave—reduce stress and help protect children.

Family‑friendly policies help reduce risks of neglect and maltreatment, but gaps persist (Bullinger et al., 2019; Cusick et al., 2024).

Housing is unaffordable for millions, food insecurity affects 1 in 3 children, and childcare deserts leave families juggling work and caregiving. Programs exist, but eligibility, access, and funding often fall short of real needs- and rarely match the real cost of living, leaving families at risk despite programs (Trocmé & Blackstock, 2025; PROOF, 2025).

Child welfare systems alone cannot protect children. Canada’s public systems share responsibility to uphold children’s rights, including their right to an adequate standard of living and care (CPS, 2025; Sarangi, 2026).

Families deserve systems that invest in them—because when society shares responsibility, children’s wellbeing improves.

References

Bullinger, et al. (2026) More than Snuggles: The Effect of Paid Family Leave on Infant Maltreatment

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (2022) Housing supply shortages in Canada: Restoring affordability by 2030

Conrad-Hiebner & Byram (2020) The temporal impact of economic insecurity on child maltreatment

Cusick et al. (2024) A Systematic Review and Concrete Support to Prevent Child Maltreatment

Trocmé & Blackstock (2025) Balancing Immediate Protection and Long‑Term Well‑Being

PROOF. (2025). New data on household food insecurity in 2024

Rostad, et al. (2017) The influence of concrete support on child welfare program engagement, progress, and recurrence

Sarangi (2026) 2025 Report Card on Child and Family Poverty in Canada

Slack et al. (2011. Risk and protective factors for child neglect during early childhood

Canadian Paediatric Society (2025) Policy Brief: Child & Family Poverty

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Toronto, ON

Website

http://childwelfarecollective.org/

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