Through the Child Protection Register, the provincial Department of Social Development aims to provide a long-term picture of a family situation so as to best protect children who may be in danger.

A new incident of child abuse in a family that is already on the Child Protection Register may, for example, guide the Children's Court's decision to temporarily remove the child in question to a place of safety rather than allow the child to stay with the fammily for the duration of the investigation.

The Child Protection Register is primarily used to:

• Link the child/family to a social work network as soon as possible.
• Register each suspicion of ill treatment.
• Track the family across provincial boundaries, monitor each referral and ensure that the child receives the best service according to his or her development needs.

• Gather information about a family over a long period of time to facilitate decision-making if facts can not be proven but a Children's Court case needs to be opened.
• Interact with the family as a preventative tool, to ensure that the child does not enter deeper into the statutory process.
• Conduct research that will be used to inform policies, welfare planning, and allocation of human resources and budget.
• Determine patterns and trends of the prevalence of child abuse.
• Share information between social workers with the main purpose of protecting the child.
• Monitor those cases that frequently appear on the register and to ensure that the child receives the necessary services.