Half (52%) of Canadians Believe Government Should Place “High Priority” on Helping Children Transitioning from Child Welfare System into School or Workforce

Toronto, ON, Sep 10, 2024 – One half (52%) of Canadians believe that the government should place a “high priority” on developing and implementing programs that specifically address the unique educational needs and challenges faced by youth transitioning out of the child welfare system and into education and/or the workforce. By comparison, the Ipsos poll conducted for the Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada has found that fewer would place a moderate (41%) or low priority (7%) on this issue.

Canadians (who ventured a guess) would estimate that only 51% of children in government care graduate from secondary school (high school). More specifically, 6% believe 80%+ of youth in government care graduate from high school, 14% believe between 60-79% graduate, 9% believe 40-59% graduate, 10% believe that 20-39% graduate, and 5% believe less than 20% graduate.

Almost all (93%) agree (49% strongly/44% somewhat) that youth in government care should receive equal access to educational opportunities, but only seven in ten (69%) agree (22% strongly/47% somewhat) that they do. Canadians acknowledge the benefits of a post-secondary education for Canada’s youth and society at large:

       •    86% agree (40% strongly/46% somewhat) that post-secondary education can break the cycle of poverty for youth who have experienced the child welfare system.
       •    91% agree (45% strongly/46% somewhat) that receiving a post-secondary education is beneficial for the future prospects of youth in Canada.
       •    90% agree (41% strongly/49% somewhat) that post-secondary education for youth from government care is beneficial to Canada’s future economic prosperity. 

There is also the acknowledgement among most that youth in government care face unique financial constraints in accessing post-secondary educational opportunities, with 86% agreeing (34% strongly/52% somewhat) that this is the case. As such, eight in ten (81%) support (35% strongly/46% somewhat) waiving tuition fees for young people from government care registered at a post-secondary institution – a policy which receives strong support among all demographic groups studied. 

In addition to tuition support, Canadians believe it is important for governments to provide a variety of support services for youth transitioning out of government care and into post-secondary education, including mental health support (92%), access to affordable housing (90%), guidance in choosing a post-secondary program and career path (89%), mentors to help them navigate available resources (88%) and access to childcare (85%).
 

About the Study

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted between April 26 to 29, on behalf of the Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada. For this survey, a sample of 1,000 Canadians aged 18+ was interviewed. Quotas and weighting were employed to ensure that the sample’s composition reflects that of the Canadian population according to census parameters. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll is accurate to within ± 3.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all Canadians aged 18+ been polled. The credibility interval will be wider among subsets of the population. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error.

For more information on this news release, please contact:

Sean Simpson
Senior Vice President
+1 416 324 2002
[email protected]

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