ABSTRACT
Over the past two decades in Canada, within the social and economic context of neo-liberalism, a programme of legislative and policy change has been undertaken, designed to reduce social spending and to dismantle programmes aimed to support children and families. This policy change has had a profound effect on the well-being of children. This chapter examines the impact of changing child and family policies in Canada in three major areas of concern to child and family social work: child protection, child custody and child care. I will argue, first, that the retrenchment of national welfare structures in each of these domains has contributed to a precipitous decline in direct parental involvement in children’s lives in Canada; second, that declining parental involvement levels are a significant contributing factor to compromised child well-being; and third, that new directions for social policy and direct practice are desperately needed to recognize state agencies’ duty of care and responsibility to support parents in the fulfilment of their parenting roles. The chapter concludes with a discussion of new directions for child welfare policy that place a primary emphasis on actively supporting responsible parental involvement in children’s lives. These include increased family support, preservation and reunification programmes for children at risk in the child protection arena, promotion of shared parental responsibility for children after divorce in the child custody realm and reestablishment of universal family allowance payments and other incentives to encourage parental involvement in the child care domain.
