Service Referral Response: No Identified Needs
Of substantiated cases where no needs were identified (N = 87), the majority (71%) received no
referrals at the conclusion of the investigations; 8% received referrals to meet concrete needs only;
16% were provided with service referrals that were rehabilitative only; 1% received referrals to both
concrete and rehabilitative services; and for the remaining 3%, workers facilitated other referrals—
neither concrete nor rehabilitative (e.g., police, legal services, etc.).
Service Referral Response: Only Poverty-Related Needs
Of the 112 substantiated child investigations in which only poverty-related needs were identified,
almost three-quarters (73%) resulted in no referrals. Workers facilitated referrals to concrete
services only for 8% of these investigations and to rehabilitative services only for 11% of these cases.
A further 8% of cases presenting with only poverty-related needs received referrals to other services
only. None of these cases had a referral response characterized by a connection to services of both a
concrete and rehabilitative nature.
Service Referral Response: Only Clinical Needs
Of the 333 substantiated investigations for which only clinical needs were identified, 33% received
no referrals at the conclusion of the investigation. Five per cent of these cases received referrals to
concrete services only. In just under half (45%) of these investigations, workers referred to services
that were rehabilitative in nature and in 12% of these investigations, services were arranged that
consisted of both concrete and rehabilitative supports. In the remaining 5% of cases, only other
referrals were made.
Service Referral Response: Both Poverty and Clinical Needs
Of the 1,388 investigations in which both poverty-related and clinical needs were present, just over
one-quarter (28%) received no service referrals at the conclusion of the investigation. In 7% of these
An Exploration of the Relationship Between Poverty and Child Neglect in Canadian Child Welfare 174
cases, workers made referrals to only concrete services. Forty-two per cent of these cases resulted
in referrals to rehabilitative services only and a further 21% received services designed to meet
both concrete and rehabilitative needs. Finally, in 2% of cases, workers made referrals to services
characterized as other only.
Service Referral Response: Unsubstantiated Investigations
As reviewed in the Results section for Objective 1, workers identified no presenting needs in 12%
of unsubstantiated cases; 14% of unsubstantiated cases had only poverty-related needs identified;
23% of unsubstantiated investigations had only clinical needs noted; and in the majority of
unsubstantiated cases (51%), workers noted a combination of poverty-related and clinical needs.