In Québec and across Canada, people working in child welfare do remarkable work to protect children and youth from maltreatment and to support families facing complex challenges.

But when tragedies occur, such as the recent deaths of children and youth receiving child welfare services in Québec, public debate tends to turn to accountability, institutional practice and systemic failure.

We need to understand what happened and whether systems worked as they should have. Yet focusing on these questions alone can inadvertently narrow attention to risk, failure and responsibility. Too easily overshadowed is how well child welfare systems support the broader well-being of the young people in their care.

If child welfare systems are to keep young people safe over the long term, they must attend not only to risks of harm but also to the conditions that support mental health and well-being. Many young people involved with child welfare are living with trauma, grief and loss, family conflict and disruption, instability, discrimination, poverty and mental-health challenges.

Across our work on youth mental-health recovery and child welfare, a common theme has emerged. Young people benefit from services that foster hope, recognize their strengths, involve them actively in decisions that affect them and create meaningful opportunities for connection and participation.

These insights call for a broader understanding of protection.

Taking young people seriously

While child welfare........

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