Child maltreatment is a public health issue of great importance. It is also a complex issue to define, identify and respond to. Views differ regarding families' rights to self-determination versus children's rights to protection from harm. Conflicting value systems and perceptions give rise to spirited public and legal debate. Child welfare agencies, mandated to protect children from harm, are criticized for inappropriately interfering in some situations and not intervening quickly enough in others.

Although child welfare agencies have the primary task of protecting children from harm in Canada, roles and responsibilities often involve social welfare, health, education, justice and law enforcement personnel. Child welfare legislation is a matter of provincial and territorial jurisdiction, and services are delivered through municipal and/or regional organizations. Child welfare services to First Nations children living on reserve are funded by Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada, either through First Nations child and family agencies or provincial and territorial governments' services where no First Nations agencies exist.

Although there have been advances in understanding child maltreatment, this field is relatively new: although the effects of physical abuse on children came to widespread attention in the 1960s, it was not until the next decade that their association with mental health problems was recognized. To date, little research has been conducted on possible long-term physical consequences of child maltreatment, such as chronic conditions and diseases. Studies based on Canadian data are particularly rare, especially in the area of intervention research.