Ask almost any teacher, psychologist, social worker, counsellor, healthcare provider, or child and youth worker in Canada about their professional responsibilities, and one obligation immediately comes to mind: The duty to report.
Across Canada, professionals are legally required to report to child protection authorities when they have reasonable grounds to suspect that a child is in need of protection due to abuse, neglect, or another situation that places the child's safety at risk (Government of Ontario, 2017). While child protection legislation varies by province and territory, the principle is the same: Protecting children from harm is a legal and ethical responsibility (Government of Canada, 2019; Government of Ontario, 2017). This duty is essential and important. It saves lives. This can’t be debated. What happens though if our first instinct to report causes us to overlook an equally important responsibility: The duty to assess?
Millions of children and youth across Canada quietly help care for a parent, grandparent, or sibling living with a disability, chronic illness, mental illness, substance use, or age-related needs. These young caregivers, often called young carers, help prepare meals, administer medications, provide emotional support, translate, supervise siblings, and manage household responsibilities or contribute financially to the household’s income (Charles et al., 2008; Joseph et al., 2020).
My research, alongside others, consistently reveals that young caregivers experience greater risks for mental health difficulties, interrupted education, financial strain, and poorer health than their peers (Joseph et al., 2020; Stamatopolous, 2018; Lakman et al., 2017; Lakman & Chalmers, 2019). Yet the story is more complicated than simply viewing caregiving as a problem. Many young caregivers describe their role as meaningful, noting they feel proud to support their loved ones (Kavanaugh et al., 2025) and not feeling that it is more overwhelming than the responsibilities of non-carers (Remtulla et al., 2012). In fact, my current research team is examining young caregivers’ needs and supports, revealing just how meaningful caregiving is for them. Our focus groups showed that young people wanted more services to ease their role as caregivers, such as more recognition, better understanding, flexibility at school, and access to supports that reduce the negative outcomes they sometimes feel, while allowing them to continue caring safely.
Unfortunately, many families remain invisible. Why? Because they fear for a potential child welfare investigation to ensue, rather than an opening for an avenue of support.
In our own research, young caregivers told us they often kept their caregiving responsibilities secret, particularly from adults they did not know or trust. The pressures to keep their role hidden from unwanted intervention was rooted in real fear. In a previous study with my colleagues, we even heard a few teachers and principals expressing uncertainty in supporting young carers, with one indicating that they have a duty to report, if they felt that something was wrong (Mansell et al., 2021). Therefore, this fear is valid, and young carers did not hesitate to tell us about it; it even exists in families that are not abusive or neglectful.
The duty to assessment should come before Intervention
No one is suggesting that Canada weakens its duty to report. When a child is unsafe, immediate action is necessary and intervention is the best outcome for the children. But not every young caregiver is living in an unsafe home. Sometimes a family is doing the best it can under extraordinarily difficult circumstances such as long waiting lists and dreadful referral times, lack of services or experts in the area, or even worse, inadequate, poor-quality services. These are just some of the things we heard from our caregivers, during our focus groups. In these gaps, families rely on their loved ones to keep the household afloat! In my current research, we heard young caregivers who told us they need more, and better services such as respite services, school accommodations, mental health supports, or community programs that meet their needs as a caregiver. Often what they need is not an investigation but rather careful assessment.
Imagine if professionals were expected to ask:
Imagine if schools were expected to help identify young caregivers by:
Assessment is a prevention; reporting is an intervention. Both have an important place, but prevention should come first when child safety is not immediately at risk.
The United Kingdom Has It Covered
Canada would not be starting from scratch. The United Kingdom passed legislation that recognizes young carers, namely the Children and Families Act 2014 and the Care Act 2014, for local authorities to legally identify and assess young carers' needs before caregiving becomes inappropriate or harmful (Gowen et al., 2021). This Young Carer's Assessment examines how caregiving affects children, without painting a picture of penalties and hardships that further pushes young caregivers to hide behind closed doors. Rather, the purpose is to provide practical supports that allow families to function while protecting children’s development. This shift toward assessment has helped move young carers from being hidden to being recognized, validated, and supported within schools, healthcare, and social services (Becker, 2007; Leu & Becker, 2017).
What About This Duty for Canada?
Canada has made protecting children from harm a priority although protecting children should also mean preventing avoidable harm before crises develop. Perhaps it is time to ask whether Canada's professional response should begin with a simple but powerful question: Before we report, have we fully assessed?
A national conversation about a ‘duty to assess’ would not replace the ‘duty to report’. Rather, it would complement it by ensuring that children who are caring, not because of abuse, but because of family illness, disability, or other challenges, receive the recognition and supports they deserve. Because even though we know that interventions are often necessary, prevention should never be an afterthought, rather something that comes before it is too late!
References
Becker, S. (2007). Global perspectives on children's unpaid caregiving in the family. Global Social Policy, 7(1), 23–50. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468018107073892
Charles, G., Stainton, T., & Marshall, S. (2008). Young carers in Canada: An invisible population. Relational Child and Youth Care Practice, 21(4), 5-12.
Government of Ontario. (2017). Child, Youth and Family Services Act, 2017, S.O. 2017, c. 14, Sched. 1. e-Laws. https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/17c14
Government of Canada (2019). Provincial and territorial child protection legislation and policy – 2018. https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/publications/health-risks-safety/provincial-territorial-child-protection-legislation-policy-2018.html
Gowen, S. M., Hart, C. S., Sehmar, P., & Wigfield, A. (2021). ‘..It takes a lot of brain space’: Understanding young carers’ lives in England and the implications for policy and practice to reduce inappropriate and excessive care work. Children & Society, 36(1), 118-136. https://doi.org/10.1111/chso.12488
Joseph, S., Sempik, J., Leu, A. & Becker, S. (2020). Young carers research, practice and policy: An overview and critical perspective on possible future directions. Adolescent Research Review, 5, 77–89. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40894-019-00119-9
Kavanaugh, M. S., Zawadzki, M. J, Johnson, K. T., & Boville, M. R. (2025). Moments of care: Perceptions of young carers and day-to-day well-being. Healthcare, 13(292), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare13030292.
Lakman, Y. & Chalmers, H. (2019). Psychosocial comparison of carers and non-carers. Journal Of Child and Youth Services, 40(2), 200-219. https://doi.org/10.1080/0145935x.2018.1553614
Lakman, Y., Chalmers, H., & Sexton, C. (2017). Young carers’ educational experiences and support: A road map for the development of school policies to foster academic success. Alberta Journal of Educational Research, 63(1), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.55016/ojs/ajer.v63i1.56226
Leu, A., & Becker, S. (2017). A Cross-national and comparative classification of in-country awareness and policy responses to "Young Carers". Journal of Youth Studies, 20(6), 750-762. https://doi.org/10.1080/13676261.2016.1260698
Mansell, N., Berardini, Y., & Chalmers, H. (2020). Educational professionals’ awareness, identification, and support of young carers: Implications for policy. International Journal of Social Policy and Education, 2(7), 51-58.
Remtulla, Y., Charles, G., & Marshall, S. (2012). An analysis of responsibility, attachment security, and relationship efficacy among young carers. Relational Child & Youth Care Practice, 25(2), 49-57.
Stamatopoulos, V. (2018). The young carer penalty: Exploring the costs of caregiving among a sample of Canadian youth. Child & Youth Services, 39(2–3), 180-205. https://doi.org/10.1080/0145935X.2018.1491303
