Child welfare engagement with families during a pandemic: A clinical tool initiative across Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick

In their analysis of the current COVID-19 pandemic, UNICEF has identified three main potential secondary impacts on children and their caregivers in terms of child protection: neglect and lack of parental care; mental health and psychosocial distress; and increased exposure to violence, including sexual violence, and physical and emotional abuse. Clear and easy checklists can aid in critical decision-making and lower the possibility of making mistakes by providing a road map for systematic thinking particularly during this stressful and unprecedented situation. This presentation will feature an initiative that brought together researchers, practitioners and policy-makers from Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick to develop a series of checklists to facilitate worker conversations with child welfare-involved families during the COVID-19 pandemic. The checklists are quick and easy to complete. They supplement existing knowledge and expertise and are field tested and based on actual experience. Each checklist is accompanied by up-to-date resources and tools to assist in their use with quick references to current agency practices and protocols. The presentation will focus on the development and initial implementation of the tools by highlighting lessons learned and promising avenues for broader dissemination across child-serving sectors.