Author: Jason Azmier
This report examines social service programs, statistics, and issues relevant to children in Alberta. It is intended to provide an overview of some of the more timely and salient issues surrounding the delivery of services for children.
Specifically, this report considers:
Child poverty/children living in low income situations;
The impact of the introduction of the Child Tax Benefit and subsequent reform proposals;
Alberta’s ongoing regionalization of children’s services;
The increase in child welfare protection cases in Alberta; and
The cost of delivering services for children.
Findings indicate no substantial evidence of a significant increase in the incidence of child poverty in Canada over time. Social transfers and demographic patterns have reduced child poverty to stable cyclical phenomena.
On the other hand, the problem is one that is not going away. Transfers such as the Child Tax Benefit are successful at helping the working poor but do not appear to be reaching one of its target groups—the very poor.
This report highlights areas Alberta needs to focus on to ensure services for children are working effectively and can compete with potential future demands.