In their 22nd annual report, Quebec’s Directors of Youth Protection (DPJ), who also serve as provincial directors (DPJ-DP), are issuing a clear and urgent call: child protection must extend beyond official reports and become a shared, societal mission.
Presented under the banner “Au-delà d’un signalement: protéger les enfants collectivement” (“Beyond a Report: Protecting Children Collectively”), this year’s report urges Quebecers to look past the act of filing reports of suspected abuse or neglect and focus instead on building a web of care around all children. The directors emphasized that the wellbeing of young people is not solely a matter for social workers or youth protection services—it is a collective responsibility requiring the active participation of families, communities, and institutions at every level.
The report echoes findings from the 2021 Special Commission on the Rights of Children and Youth Protection, which called for a more compassionate and proactive approach to children’s welfare. It highlights that parents, as primary caregivers, must be supported by extended family, friends, neighbors, schools, childcare professionals, and community organizations. Youth protection services, the report stresses, should be a last resort, stepping in only when the child’s safety or development can no longer be assured by these surrounding supports.
Escalating Reports, Declining Retentions
The data tells a nuanced story. Over the past 25 years, the number of child welfare reports filed in Quebec has risen dramatically—seen by the directors as a sign that society is more alert to children’s needs. However, fewer of these reports are resulting in formal interventions.
In 2024–2025, Quebec’s youth protection services received 141,622 reports, involving over 105,000 children—a 5% increase over the previous year. But fewer than a third of these reports (29.3%) were retained for further evaluation, representing just over 35,000 children.
This declining retention rate suggests that while many families face real and complex challenges, not all situations require the involvement of the DPJ. “This reinforces the idea that broader social networks—community services, schools, and informal support systems—must be activated before the situation reaches a crisis point,” the report implies.
In the Laurentides region, the report shows a similar trend. Youth protection services there handled 15,482 reports, up from 14,332 the previous year. Of those, 4,580 were retained—also an increase—though the retention rate fell slightly to 29.58%, compared to 30.6% a year earlier.
Focus on Family and Prevention
Even among children under DPJ protection, most remain within familiar settings. Provincially, 45.8% of children receiving services stayed with their families, while 19.7% were placed with significant third parties such as extended family or close family friends.
This focus on preserving a child’s connection to their community is echoed at the regional level. In the Laurentides, over 52% of youth protection cases continued to reside in the family home, reinforcing a guiding principle of the system: intervention should support, not replace, the child’s natural environment when safely possible.
Adolescent services under the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) also saw a notable increase. In the Laurentides, 920 teenagers received such services, up from 776 the previous year. Province-wide, that number reached 10,095, marking a 7.4% increase year over year.
A Call to Act Before the Crisis
Despite the growing number of reports, the directors insist that early intervention—and ideally, prevention—must be the future of youth protection in Quebec. This means creating a culture where teachers, neighbors, daycare workers, and even passersby see themselves as active participants in a child’s life and development.
“We all depend on each other when it comes to the wellbeing of children and families,” the directors write in the summary. They stress that protecting a child begins with paying attention: noticing signs of stress, listening without judgment, and offering help long before a DPJ file is opened.
As Quebec’s child welfare system grapples with rising demands and limited resources, the 2024–2025 annual report serves as a reminder that government agencies alone cannot carry the weight of childhood safety. The path forward, they argue, lies in rekindling communal responsibility—one conversation, one kind gesture, and one child at a time.
