Story 1 of 3 - Barbara Kay: "Children's aid societies gone rogue."
Judge Harper wrote that that the father was lucky to “dig out from under the avalanche thrust upon him,” and that “the scars to the children” were permanent. In summary, “This was exacerbated by the actions of the Society, some police officers, some women’s groups and a school board.
The mother was, to put it mildly — confirmed by recordings, e-mails and text messages — unreliable and manipulative. The three boys repeatedly alerted the CAS to their mother’s violence, alcoholism and sexual indiscretions. Yet the CAS blithely ignored all evidence to the contrary of their own settled conviction that the mother deserved their support.
Finally the mother accused her oldest son of trying to kill her, which brought the family into a criminal court that doesn't just take society's word for everything .
Judge Harper assigned two-thirds of the court costs to the CAS — a record $1.4 million — and $604,500 to the mother. If the CAS wasn't on trial why did the judge order them to pay court costs? Well....
He had scathing words for the CAS, whom he charged with becoming “a lead advocate” for the mother and the driving force for the trial.
He said that the agency went to great lengths to smother any evidence that countered their theory.
It was revealed at trial in a criminal court that mandatory document-sharing (file disclosure) was running a year late in the family court, and that one CAS supervisor, tasked with providing information to lawyers, had removed 475 pages of notes, records, summaries and emails from the file to the criminal proceedings. (This, by the way, is a criminal offence, although to my knowledge the supervisor has not been charged.) Judge Harper also noted that meetings were held to discuss how to protect the mother and case workers from the demonized father.
http://nationalpost.com/opinion/barbara-kay-childrens-aid-societies-gone-rogue
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Story 2 of 3: "CAS vows to appeal ruling of ‘bad faith."
“We stand by our decision to seek a child protection application in this matter.”
“We don’t make these decisions lightly and we take into consideration the opinions of other professionals and in this case we did so,” said Fitzgerald, referring to consultations with police, women’s groups and school officials.
Last week, Superior Court Justice John Harper slapped the CAS with a $1.4-million court bill and had harsh words for the agency, saying it failed to properly investigate a mother’s version of events in a divorce and custody battle, even when three children tried to alert authorities of the woman’s violence, alcoholism and manipulation.
http://www.lfpress.com/2014/04/14/cas-vows-to-defend-ruling-of-bad-faith
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Story 3 of 3
THE BIG STORY LEFT OUT OF NEWSPAPER IN ONTARIO.
Children’s Aid Society of London and Middlesex v. C.B.D.: Interests of the Children Lead to Quashing of Appeal in Child Protection Context Mark Gelowitz. Oct 31, 2014.
Though the Ontario children's aid society has claimed for years family courts judges provide important oversight in child protection matters (which doesn't appear to be in their job description) the family court judge in this case did nothing at all to prevent this tragedy and if anything was a contributing factor.
But as it turns out some judges like outside the family courts Judge Harper do provide important oversight and insight into the many faces of Ontario children's aid society.
Quashing an appeal for lack of merit is an extreme remedy. But occasionally, when very little merit coincides with another social interest, an appeal can be quashed for a combination of reasons. Children’s Aid Society of London and Middlesex v. C.B.D., released October 9, 2014, is an example of this, as the Ontario Court of Appeal quashed the appeal of the Children’s Aid Society of London and Middlesex (the “Society”) from a decision refusing to impose a child protection order. The Court held that the appeal had very little merit, and the interests of the children mandated that the appeal be quashed.
https://www.osler.com/en/blogs/appeal/october-2014/children-s-aid-society-of-london-and-middlesex-v
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Above is an example of how calling Ontario's unregistered CAS workers can make problems that harm children much worse. This example happened to a father but remember this isn't a problem that just affects fathers by any means. Just as many mothers have been dragged through the mud by a combination of unqualified incompetent unregistered workers and a totally shitty spouse...
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COULD AN OUNCE OF COMMON SENSE BE WORTH A POUND OF INTERVENTION, CONSENT FORMS, SERVICE AGREEMENTS, WARRANT-LESS HOME SEARCHES/INVESTIGATIONS, RISK ASSESSMENTS, POLICE, APPREHENSIONS, PARENTAL CAPACITY ASSESSMENTS, LAWYERS, "EXPERTS", COURTROOMS, JUDGES THAT DON'T GIVE A SHIT AND YOUR CHILDREN IN CARE OF ONTARIO'S CHILD POACHING FUNDING PREDATORS?
MAYBE IT'S TIME WE GOT MEDIEVAL ABOUT IT...
Have you ever considered one of the reasons for old fashioned courtship rules and dating rituals was in best interest of any possible children in that it might prevent immature couples from having children that could be harmed by that immaturity?
If you can find someone that can put your needs before their own needs and ego they might do the same for a child, right?
IS PARENTAL ALIENATION PLAIN AND SIMPLY THE MOST LIKELY AND LOGICAL RESULT OF IMMATURITY ON ONE SIDE OR BOTH SIDES,,, WHAT DO YOU THINK?
15 Old Fashioned Dating Rituals We Should Consider Bringing Back.
By CAROLYN STEBER Jan 25 2017.
https://www.bustle.com/p/15-old-fashioned-dating-rituals-we-should-consider-bringing-back-31775
Courtship is the period of development towards an intimate relationship wherein a couple get to know each other and decide if there will be an engagement. A courtship may be an informal and private matter between two people or may be a public affair, or a formal arrangement with family approval. Traditionally, in the case of a formal engagement, it has been perceived that it is the role of a male to actively "court" or "woo" a female, thus encouraging her to understand him and her receptiveness to a proposal of marriage.
WHO considers adding 'parental alienation' to new diagnostic guide.
Last Updated Saturday, March 30, 2019.
An emerging mental health issue in which one parent turns a child against the other parent could be added to the international standard for diagnostics next month.
"Parental alienation" may be among an updated list of diseases and related health problems when the World Health Organization votes to accept the 11th revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) in May.
The issue is a kind of psychological manipulation of a child. It occurs when one parent systemically "badmouths" the other parent. In extreme cases of high-conflict divorce and separation or CAS involvement the child may align with one parent and reject the other. Mental health experts and law professionals are lining up to label it as a form of emotional abuse that can damage the mental health of children.
https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/who-considers-adding-parental-alienation-to-new-diagnostic-guide-1.4359286
2013: An internal memo from Peel Children’s Aid Society management asks staff not to close any ongoing cases during March, as part of a strategy to secure government funding due to what the society referred to as $67 million dollar funding shortfall.
According to the memo, when service volume is lower than projected, there is less money for the CAS.
Though the CAS claimed the purpose of the memo wasn't to inflate numbers, between 2011 and 2013 the 46 (at the time) separate societies opened a combined total of 42 000 files or about 14 000 files per year, in 2014 - after the Peel Memo Leak - and launching a new government funded advertising campaign and reopening 20 000 previously closed files the societies opened a combined total of more than 82 000 files to meet their funding goals for the year.
The Auditor General reported the various CAS's bill the ministry of pain and suffering between $9000 and $12000 dollar to violate the parents rights for up to 60 days before taking them to the secret family court if they fail to sign consent forms and service agreements.
https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2013/03/14/in_leaked_memo_peel_cas_staff_asked_to_keep_cases_open_to_retain_funding.html
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Unlicensed Daycare Operator successfully sued for making an unreasonable report to the CAS... 2013.
In a decision delivered last month, Superior Court judge Lewis Richardson ruled Tammy Larabie’s call to the CAS was “unreasonable” and there “was nothing to suggest that (the baby) was in any danger.”
It’s a ruling which children’s aid society advocates say ignores child care providers’ duty to report suspected child abuse or neglect to the CAS, and it could dissuade them from doing so for fear of a lawsuit.
In a court transcript obtained by the Star, Richardson found the parents “to be competent, caring and capable” who “properly looked after the interests of their son.”
“There was no basis whatsoever to report them to the Children’s Aid,” he said. “(Larabie) acted selfishly and to protect her own interest, not for the benefit of the child.”
“It’s hard enough to get people to report (to the CAS) and this will have a silencing effect,” said Mary Birdsell, executive director of Justice for Children and Youth. “The legislation is supposed to protect people from being sued if their report was reasonable.”
What needs to be realized is that when it comes to people’s lives the impact of CAS actions can be profound and wide-reaching and that’s far more important than the question of good intentions.
https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2015/03/27/daycare-operator-sued-for-calling-the-cas.html
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2016: Report shines light on poverty’s role on kids in CAS system.
The effect of provincial policies on struggling families was especially apparent in the late 1990s, when the conservative government slashed welfare payments and social service funding at the same time it introduced in child protection the notion of maltreatment by “omission,” including not having enough food in the home. The number of children taken into care spiked.
A new report cites poverty as a key factor in families who come into contact with the child protection system.
“We’re able to tell a story of maltreatment, but we have not done a very good job in telling a story about poverty,” Goodman said, referring to Ontario’s 47 privately run children’s aid societies.
Goodman suggests silence suited the provincial government more than it suited the society's funding goals, in particular the Ministry of Children and Youth Services, which regulates child protection and funds societies with $1.5 billion annually.
On average, 15,625 Ontario children were in foster or group-home care in 2014-15. The latest figures indicate if your still willing to blindly take the society's word for it that only 2 percent of children are removed from their home due to sexual abuse and 13 percent for physical abuse. The rest are removed because of neglect, emotional maltreatment and exposure to violence between their parents or caregivers.
“The ministry has been pretty clear with us that advocacy is not part of our mandate,” Goodman said. “It’s not like they’re asking for the (poverty) data. They’re not.”
The poverty removal rates were extracted from the government-funded Ontario Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect, compiled in 2013. A team of researchers examined a representative sample of 4,961 child protection investigations conducted by 17 children’s aid societies. The cases involved children up to 14.
Co-author Kofi Antwi-Boasiako, a PhD student at the University of Toronto’s faculty of social work, will be expanding the report into a full-fledged study.
Goodman credited the report with revealing “the glaringly huge elephant in the room.” Children’s aid societies have long witnessed the grinding effect of poverty on families but have rarely spoken out about it or pressured policy makers.
https://www.ourwindsor.ca/news-story/6810640-report-shines-light-on-poverty-s-role-on-kids-in-cas-system/
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Children’s aid societies should not discriminate against poor children: Star Editorial. Mon., Aug. 15, 2016.
Ontario needs to create social safety net policies that address the fact that some 550,000 children in this province live in poverty, and many of them are taken away from their parents.
It goes without saying that no one should lose their kids simply because they’re poor. But that some do is the distressing conclusion of a new study of Ontario children taken into care.
Indeed, the study of removal rates in 2013 found children whose families ran out of money for housing, food or utilities were twice as likely to be placed with foster parents or in group homes as their peers.
It’s got to stop. “These families struggle to put food on the table, they struggle to keep a roof over their heads. Some of them work two or three jobs,” said the co-author of the report, Deborah Goodman. But still their children are taken from them and put into care with foster families or in group homes.
Sadly, they may fare a lot worse there than they would have with their own families. In fact, one study indicated that just 46 per cent of Ontario children in foster care and group homes complete high school, compared with about 84 per cent of their peers with permanent families. As a result, they are more likely as adults to be poor and/or homeless, to suffer mental health problems and be involved in the criminal justice system.
So why are children being taken from their homes simply because their parents are poor? It’s a product of the former Ontario Conservative government’s actions in the 1990s, when it slashed welfare payments and social services while at the same time introducing the notion into children’s aid societies of maltreatment by “omission,” which included not having enough food in the home.
Not surprisingly, with those two factors occurring at the same time, the number of children taken into care spiked.
The solution is for the province to create social safety net policies that address the fact that some 550,000 children in this province live in poverty.
In the meantime, child-care workers shouldn’t have to remove kids from homes where parents are struggling to feed and house them. They should instead be able to access support programs to help parents provide for their children and get families back on their feet.
For far too long the province has ignored poverty as a factor in child removal rates. Goldman, a senior official with the Children’s Aid Society of Toronto, says officials have not even asked for data on poverty.
But now, thanks to Goldman and the co-author of the report, Kofi Antwi-Boasiako, they’ve got it. Now they must act to ensure that no parent loses a child simply because they are poor.
https://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorials/2016/08/15/childrens-aid-societies-should-not-discriminate-against-poor-children-editorial.html
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We all want to believe that nonprofit corporations like the children's aid society are full of hard-working people committed to improving society. But even the most well-meaning nonprofits can get into financial hot water.
Unfortunately the temptation to cover up financial problems can be particularly seductive for nonprofit CAS managers who have spent money like politicians with expense accounts and no spending oversight for decades.
Fraudsters are hard to spot. They generally look and act like any other typical corporate/government employee, often turning out to have been seen as dedicated hardworking individuals who have received high praise from their supervisors and colleagues.
According to one school of thought, only 20% of the population walks the moral high ground and is always [a big word] honest. Another 20%, the inherently dishonest, are always on the lookout for ways to beat the system, and the remaining 60% fall somewhere in between these two extremes.
White-collar criminals generally tend to emerge from the last group and are driven to step over the line by the right combination of motive and opportunity.
Although it's generally unsubstantiated, we probably hear or read about fraudulent activity, on average, at least weekly. The headlines confirm that fraud - lying, cheating and stealing for financial gain - does occur in NPOs and, in some instances, may have a significant impact on their continued viability, thanks not only to the monetary losses but also to the reduction in public support that generally results from any allegations of impropriety.
Volunteer boards. The board of directors of an NPO generally consists of volunteers that want to donate a portion of their personal time to a worthwhile organization. The directors often have full-time jobs, families and other personal commitments and are therefore only able to donate a certain amount of time to the NPO's activities.
Further, while they may bring a significant amount of valuable experience to the organization, they often have limited financial backgrounds. This results in reliance on the executive director, controller or accounting supervisor to make the board aware of any financial concerns.
"Those in possession of absolute power can not only prophesy and make their prophecies come true, but they can also lie and make their lies come true." 100% Eric Hoffer....
The GONE theory holds that Greed, Opportunity, Need and the Expectation of not being caught are what lay the groundwork for fraud. Greed and/or need provides the motive.
CAS managers charged more than $106,000 in 'unreasonable’ expenses By SANDRO CONTENTA News Thu., Nov. 10, 2016
The CEO of the York Region Children's Aid Society, Colette Prevost, has spent 30 years working in the social services and mental health sectors. She worked at the Sudbury society from 2008 to early 2015 and managed $36.2 million in provincial funding in the 2014-15 fiscal year. (TORONTO STAR)
The audit of senior manager expenses describes accounting and spending problems throughout the Sudbury society.
From April 1, 2013 to March 31, 2015, the society was not addressing, or complying with, 21 mandatory provincial government directives that govern how records are kept, expenses are approved and contracts awarded.
POOR RECORD KEEPING IS A SIGN OF FRAUD.
Record keeping was so bad that auditors couldn’t rule on an additional $290,000 worth of expenses on corporate cards, partly because they could not figure out which senior manager charged them.
That suggests the problems could go deeper than those found in the $203,400 worth of expenses they were able to review.
The audit also found more than $240,000 worth of contracts awarded in ways that violated minimum procurement policies, including failure to seek multiple quotes.
In a statement, the Children’s Aid Society of the Districts of Sudbury and Manitoulin said it has launched an internal forensic audit to “identify all the expenses that can be recovered” from Prévost.
In response to a request for comment from The Star, Prévost, who has not seen the report, said,“I do not take this lightly. I worked very diligently for Sudbury CAS. Sudbury CAS and I agreed late last year to reimbursement of expenses that were viewed as potentially outside agency policy.”
The York society’s chair, Barb Gray, said in an email that Prévost “is on a personal leave of absence.”
https://www.thestar.com/news/insight/2016/11/10/cas-managers-charged-more-than-106000-in-unreasonable-expenses.html
A review of spending at the London and Middlesex Children’s Aid Society, kept under wraps for months, revealed nearly two dozen executives made more than $100,000 and the agency shelled out thousands of dollars for taxis and iPads.
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London’s child welfare agency squandered money on costly office renovations and highly paid, bloated management ranks, a just-released report by the Ministry of Children and Youth Services states.
The ministry put the Children’s Aid Society of London and Middlesex under review in late 2013 because the agency that cares for vulnerable children was running a deficit.
https://lfpress.com/2015/03/16/child-welfare-agency-found-to-have-wasted-money-on-office-renovations-consultants-and-bloated-management/wcm/e32079bc-4395-7c5e-70ec-378d688f0b6a
Layoffs At Windsor-Essex Children’s Aid Society BY ADELLE LOISELLE SEPTEMBER 1, 2017
The Windsor-Essex Children’s Aid Society is laying off eight administrative support and preventative services workers.
Interim Executive Director Terry Johnson says the layoffs will not affect workers on the frontline and should not affect the quality of care received by children in their custody.
She says the problem is the budget. The province is reviewing the funding formula, so the agency does not know how much money it will get this year.
“We don’t know our budget for the year, and we’re five months into our year,” she says.
While the number of children in Children’s Aid custody has remained relatively consistent, Johnson says more kids require more complex care, and that is costly.
The most expensive babysitters on earth...
“On average that’s $310 a day, but when you bring some kids in it costs $500 to $1,000 a day,” says Johnson. “It has a huge impact on the budget.”
The average family of four on welfare might get a $1000 a month in Ontario.
The agency came up short $1.4-million, but thanks to surpluses in years past, it was able to whittle that down to $300,000 or $400,000. Children’s Aid is not allowed to carry over a deficit, so it has to find ways to mitigate the shortfall.
Once it hears back from the province, Johnson says it is possible those workers will be recalled.
Because of bumping rights in the workers’ collective agreement, the layoffs are not expected to take effect until mid-October at the earliest.
https://blackburnnews.com/windsor/windsor-news/2017/09/01/layoffs-windsor-essex-childrens-aid-society/ ---
Children's Aid gets $4.3 million cash boost from province
The local Children's Aid Society is out of the red after the province agreed to "mitigate" the agency's $4.3 million deficit in time for its April 1 fiscal year start.
BEATRICE FANTONI, WINDSOR STAR Updated: March 28, 2013.
The local Children’s Aid Society is out of the red after the province agreed to give the agency an extra $4.3 million to erase its deficit and balances its books in time for its April 1 fiscal year start.
But whether that extra money will help reverse a decision to layoff 18 casual employees is hard to say, said Bill Bevan, director of the Windsor-Essex Children’s Aid Society.
“There won’t be any quick decisions in the next few weeks,” Bevan said on Monday, adding that the cash boost will help balance the 2012-2013 budget, but he has yet to get a clear picture of what the province will provide for the 2013-2014 budget, since it has introduced a new funding model.
Last week, the CAS announced it would layoff 18 casual case workers due to budgetary deficits.
“There may be a need for those staff down the road, but not immediately,” Bevan said on Monday. It all depends on the volume of work in the coming months as well as how WECAS manages to reorganize itself, he said, adding that the layoffs are not child protection workers or full-time staff.
The cutbacks are forced by a $70-million provincial funding shortfall across Ontario. WECAS not only had a $4.3 million deficit, it is also juggling $1.6 million in historic debt.
https://windsorstar.com/news/childrens-aid-gets-4-3-million-cash-boost-from-province ---
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C.A.S. ATTITUDE: WIN CHILD WELFARE CASES AT ALL COSTS $$$.
By Gene C. Colman of Gene C. Colman Family Law Centre posted in Child Welfare on Thursday, January 1, 2015.
It should not be a matter of "win" or "lose" when it comes to Ontario child welfare law yet it isn't actually about the actual condition of the child or the child's welfare. It's about accusations, Cosmo quiz style parental risk assessments and fake experts and every time the society decides your a risk they get paid.
Ontario's Child and Family Services Act tells us that the paramount purpose is to "promote the best interests, protection and well being of children." One might note the glaring lack of any reference to family. In fact, there is a paucity of references to family throughout the entire CFSA even though many judges recognize the importance of maintaining family whenever possible.
I had a recent experience with CAS counsel at court when representing a family unjustly caught up in the system. Our office had prepared a very persuasive and comprehensive response to the Society's Application. We attended at the mandated five day hearing that follows apprehensions from parental care. The CAS certainly had not expected such forcefulness; normally parents are so overwhelmed at this early stage that they are unable to mount an effective defence. Generally, the court will rubber stamp the CAS requests. We did not agree to just stand idly by at the first appearance and CAS counsel was surprised by our aggressive (yet fair) approach.
Our written material seemed to have persuaded the judge. He instructed the lawyers to prepare a consent endorsement along the lines that we were seeking (which of course included an immediate return of the children to parental care). As we were returning to the courtroom after preparing the consent, the experienced and respected CAS counsel turned to me and my clients and remarked: "This is the third time your lawyer has beaten me."
The CAS counsel's comment was made innocently enough and indeed was intended to be complimentary. But still I was shocked (but probably should not have been). Why was I so shocked?
https://www.complexfamilylaw.com/blog/2015/01/cas-attitude-win-child-welfare-cases-at-all-costs.shtml
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The Motherisk Commission details years of rights infringements by courts. "If the same problems were identified in criminal court, there would be a huge public outcry." Tammy Law.
Tammy Law's delusional thoughts, excuses, rationalizations and justifications for using the Motherisk test to justify denying parents due process and circumventing the Constitution, the Charter of Rights and the principles of fundamental Justice behind the closed doors of Ontario's family courts.
I want to be clear about what I think some of the fundamental problems are and how I think we can start to change this system. Because I am first and foremost a lawyer, my thoughts naturally focus on the role of lawyers in this mess. My thoughts are summarized as follows:
As lawyers, we need to recognize that good intentions are not enough. It is really easy to hide behind “the best interests of the child” and agree or acquiesce to all types of infringements of our clients’ basic human and Charter rights. This needs to stop. Lawyers need to start seeing their role in the context of defending our clients’ very real rights to human dignity and security of the person.
The culture of cooperation has gone too far. While I agree that it is very very important to work with the Children’s Aid Society to address their concerns, a line must be drawn when they demand cooperation that crosses the line. As a state agent, the Society has an obligation to ensure that it works in the most minimally intrusive way possible – respecting the client’s right to individual freedom while trying to ensure that its clients are served. This is a difficult job. Lawyers and courts should be there to ensure that the fine line is respected.
Society counsel need to understand that they have a public interest role. They should be providing advice to their clients in the context of being a public interest litigant. They have a duty to the court to be fair. This means that if unreliable evidence is being tendered (and there were many signs of this with respect to the Motherisk testing), they should be advising their clients about the unfairness of relying on it. Lawyers are and should be gatekeepers of evidence as much as courts are.
We need to be more vigilant. As noted in the report, our role as advocates is to raise every defense possible for our clients.
HOW ABOUT PRESENTING EVIDENCE THAT COUNTERS SWORN AFFIDAVITS WHEN CLIENTS HAVE IT IN ABUNDANCE - JUST SAYIN'..
Our clients are often extremely vulnerable, having lived lives that were challenged by multiple obstacles.
SO LAWYERS FAILING TO REPRESENT THEIR CLIENTS ISN'T JUST ANOTHER ONE OF THOSE OBSTACLES???
Many have made admirable attempts to parent their children. We need to be fearless in our advocacy for them. As a lawyer, I have experienced and seen derisive, sarcastic, or rude comments directed at myself and other lawyers who attempt to defend their clients. This needs to stop. It’s our client’s right – their children’s right – that they have a full defence.
http://www.tammylaw.ca/…/report-of-the-motherisk-commission/
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A 14-year-old girl is a ‘sexually mature young woman,’ not a child, CAS lawyer argues in sex abuse suit.
NEWS Mar 24, 2019 by Jacques Gallant Toronto Star.
Kenora-Rainy River Districts Child and Family Services tells the Star it disagrees with what its lawyer argued in an ongoing sexual abuse court case, but refused to say whether it plans to rectify the statement in court.
Kenora-Rainy River Districts Child and Family Services. 820 Lakeview Drive Kenora Ontario P9N 3P7 Canada Phone: 807-467-5437 Fax: 807-467-5539. http://www.oacas.org/childrens-aid-child-protection/duty-to-report/
A 14- or 15-year-old girl is not a child, but rather a "sexually mature young woman," according to a lawyer for a Northern Ontario children's aid society.
The statement by Toronto lawyer Gary McCallum is contained in a July 2018 affidavit in an ongoing civil court case, in which a woman is suing Kenora-Rainy River Districts Child and Family Services, claiming she was sexually abused as a child by her foster father in the 1980s while under the care of the agency's predecessor organization.
Affidavit. ... In our Plain Language Legal Dictionary, we define affidavit as “A written statement of facts, sworn to and signed by a deponent before a notary public or some other authority having the power to witness an oath.”
It was again referenced in a January 2019 ruling from the lengthy case, which is playing out in a Toronto court.
The statement has been described to the Star by other lawyers and a professor of social work as "offensive," "shocking," and "appalling" — doubly so because it was made by the lawyer for the very agency charged with protecting the most vulnerable children.
"This is outrageous," said Melissa Redmond, assistant professor of social work at Carleton University. "You represent the organization that is responsible for protecting children in this community, protecting children from exactly the sorts of horrific circumstances that this child found herself in."
Read more:
Man from London, Ont., facing sexual exploitation, child porn charges
Police overwhelmed by rampant, 'hidden evil' of child exploitation online
Redmond, whose research interests include child protection policy, said she can't understand why there have not been consequences for the statement. "I don't understand how this is in the public record and (Kenora CFS) have not been seen to distance themselves as quickly as possible and to talk about how they value the children in the community and the children they have served in the past."
Read more:
https://www.thespec.com/news-story/9237081-a-14-year-old-girl-is-a-sexually-mature-young-woman-not-a-child-children-s-aid-society-lawyer-argues-in-sex-abuse-suit/
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2018: Children’s Aid executive facing 20 charges in child abuse case. By Alexandra Mazur and Mike Postovit Global News
OPP has charged William Sweet, a resident of Picton, Ont., after allegations of wrongdoing during his work as the executive director of the Prince Edward County Children’s Aid Society between 2002 and 2010.
After investigating cases of children placed with foster parents who themselves were convicted of child abuse, this led the OPP to look into Sweet’s involvement as executive director of the child care organization.
The 67-year-old Picton resident was charged with 10 counts each of criminal negligence causing bodily harm and failure to provide the necessities of life. The accused appeared at the Ontario Court of Justice in Picton on May 2.
Sgt. Carolle Dionne, provincial media relations coordinator, says that although Sweet never fostered any children of his own, he is being charged because as she said, “he ought to have known better” than to place children with the foster parents who have since been convicted in child abuse cases.
For a period of eight years, nine foster children were placed with six foster parents who have since been convicted of sexual abuse against those children.
According to Dionne, Sweet’s investigation encompassed a review of those previous abuse investigations and convictions between 2013 and 2016. Police then conducted additional interviews, executed search warrants and seized evidence to put before the court for Sweet’s charges.
OPP officers are not commenting on specific details of the allegations as the matter is now before the courts.
Children’s Aid Society moves on
Mark Kartusch is the current executive director of the Highland Shores Children’s Aid Society. In 2012, after the Ministry of Children and Youth Services reviewed the Prince Edward County Children Services, Sweet left his post, and his branch dissolved. What came from that was an amalgamation of several children’s aid offices, an organization which Kartusch now heads.
He says that Sweet’s charges are bringing up bad memories, but that he hopes people will have faith in the workers.
“We didn’t have a lot of people coming forward to become foster parents,” said Kartusch, although he said that things have changed in the last few years.
He also emphasized that events like those that happened to the children placed out of the Prince Edward County children’s aid are highly unusual.
“Kids are safe in foster homes,” Kartusch emphasized.
He finished by saying that although there are employees from the now defunct Prince Edward Country chapter working within the Highland Shores organization, they were not involved in any criminal activity.
“The charges are isolated with Bill,” said Kartusch about Sweet.
https://globalnews.ca/news/4182170/childrens-aid-executive-charged/
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Woman charged with sex assault of minors worked at male CAS group-home at time of alleged offences.
By Alexandra Mazur Online Reporter Global News.
https://globalnews.ca/news/4916584/woman-charged-with-sex-assault-of-minors-worked-at-male-cas-group-home-at-time-of-alleged-offences/
Woman charged with sexual exploitation worked at Children’s Aid at time of alleged offences.
Belleville police say two male victims came forward claiming incidents of sexual assault with the accused, 48-year-old Sandra Forcier.
https://globalnews.ca/video/4917374/woman-charged-with-sexual-exploitation-worked-at-childrens-aid-at-time-of-alleged-offences
Youth worker charged with historical sex assault.
Police in Belleville, Ont., have charged a 48-year-old woman with five counts of sexual assault dating back to 2012-2013, when she was employed as a youth worker.
The woman is charged with two counts of sexual assault, two counts of sexual exploitation of a youth under 18 and one count of sexual interference.
The woman was employed by the Highland Shores Children's Aid Society (CAS) when the alleged assaults took place. Police said a lengthy investigation resulted in two victims being identified.
Highland Shores CAS executive director Tami Callahan said the accused was a supervisor at a residence for youth run by the society before leaving in December 2013.
Callahan said Belleville police have not been in touch with the CAS, and she didn't know whether the complainants were in the society's care at the time of the alleged assaults.
The accused also worked at Belleville and Quinte West Community Health Centre as a counsellor. The centre's executive director, Sheila Braidek, said the accused has been on leave for an extended period of time.
The centre would not provide any further information, citing privacy concerns.
The woman is due back in court in February after being released from custody with numerous conditions.
Anyone with more information should contact Belleville police at 613-966-0882 ext. 2328
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/youth-worker-sex-assault-belleville-1.5001086
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2014: Three former County foster children have reached out-of-court settlements with the Highland Shores Children’s Aid Society for damages stemming from sexual abuse sustained while they were in the society’s care.
An order dismissing further action against the child welfare agency has been approved by a judge at the Prince Edward County superior court where the lawsuit was filed in April 2013. Court staff confirmed only three of the five cases have been settled to date, leaving two outstanding plaintiffs.
https://www.intelligencer.ca/2014/10/21/three-cas-cases-settled/wcm/3fd07287-3f2a-1755-7386-1c8c2353c943
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Ontario group-home owner faces sex assault charges.
MARGARET PHILP TORONTO PUBLISHED MARCH 26, 2003
The owner of a group-home agency with close to 40 of Ontario's most disturbed teenagers in its care has been charged with two counts of sexual assault, the latest sign of trouble in an industry looking after thousands of the province's children.
Stephen Mitchell, 40, the owner and executive director of Mitchell Group Homes, was charged by the Peterborough Lakefield Community Police Service this week, after two episodes of unwelcome sexual contact last fall with a female group-home worker who called police. The employee no longer works for the company.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/ontario-group-home-owner-faces-sex-assault-charges/article20448232/
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A few more who had special relationships.
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Maple Ridge youth worker charged with sex assault, child pornography: (March 14, 2019)
A youth care worker with the Maple Ridge School District has been charged with production and possession of child pornography as well as sexual assault and sexual interference.
RCMP say the 52 year-old Daniel Jon Olson appeared in provincial court in Port Coquitlam BC for offences that are alleged to have occurred between 2008 and 2019.
:One count of possessing child pornography.
:One count of making, printing, publishing or
possessing for the purpose of publication
child pornography.
:Eight counts of sexual interference.
:Two counts of sexual assault with a weapon.
According to Ridge Meadows RCMP, the detachment's Serious Crime Unit is continuing to investigate Olson, who has been released from custody with conditions.
The school district says Olson worked in a number of elementary and secondary schools over the course of his employment..
Sylvia Russell, Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows School District superintendent, sent a notice to parents in the district on Thursday. "The charges are very serious and deeply concerning, the notice reads."
The Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows school district says in a letter to parents that Olson is a child and youth care worker who has worked in a number of elementary and secondary schools over the years.
It says Olson has been on unpaid leave since the district was notified of his arrest.
Superintendent Sylvia Russell says in the letter that the safety and well-being of students is the district’s first priority.
“While we have no first-hand knowledge about the charges, we are informing all our families out of an abundance of caution so that parents/guardians can direct any information they may have about this matter directly to the Ridge Meadows RCMP,” said Russell.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/maple-ridge-youth-worker-facing-sex-related-charges-1.5057578
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https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/suit-settled-in-horrific-case-of-child-abuse/article4290587/
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https://edmontonjournal.com/news/crime/alberta-childrens-services-worker-charged-after-thousands-of-child-porn-photos-found
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https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-county-foster-care-abuse-negligence-charges-1.4723516
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https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/youth-worker-sex-assault-belleville-1.5001086
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https://globalnews.ca/news/4916584/woman-charged-with-sex-assault-of-minors-worked-at-male-cas-group-home-at-time-of-alleged-offences/
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Ottawa woman racked with guilt, anger after police returned boy to abusive parents.
'He wasn't lying. He was telling the truth and he was asking for help, and the help wasn't there'
Laurie Fagan · CBC News · Posted: Dec 05, 2016 1:44 PM ET
Five years after a gaunt, fearful, nine-year-old boy showed up on her doorstep, an Ottawa woman says she still struggles with feelings of guilt that she could have done more to protect him from his abusive parents, and anger with police for sending him back to them to endure months of gruesome torture and neglect.
The woman, a former neighbour who can't be identified to protect the boy's identity, testified at the trial of his father — a suspended RCMP officer — and his stepmother.
"It makes me sickened to my stomach that this could have been prevented, and I include myself in this," the woman told CBC News.
On Nov. 21, the 45-year-old Mountie was found guilty of aggravated assault, sexual assault causing bodily harm, forcible confinement and failing to provide the necessities of life. The boy's 38-year-old stepmother was found guilty of assault with a weapon and failing to provide the necessities of life.
Ottawa Mountie and wife found guilty of abusing son
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/mountie-trial-sexual-assault-ottawa-verdict-1.3860125
Video of restrained boy silences Ottawa Mountie's child abuse trial.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/video-of-restrained-boy-silences-ottawa-mountie-s-child-abuse-trial-1.3229591
"I will be haunted by this, and I am culpable as well. I didn't follow up and I trusted the police, I trusted the system, but he still had to endure all those horrors."
Signs of abuse, neglect.
Gut-wrenching evidence presented at the couple's trial showed the boy, who's now 14, was beaten, sexually assaulted with a BBQ lighter, shackled and starved.
His eyes — you could see the fear and sadness in his eyes, and as a mother it was terrifying to see that. You never want to see that in a child's face.
- Boy's former neighbour
The boy, who lived near the woman, showed up at her home on a cold day in November 2011 wearing just a T-shirt and jeans. Her daughter, who was a classmate of the boy's, answered the door and came sobbing to her mother in the kitchen, "Mommy we have to adopt him because his parents aren't nice to him," the woman recalled.
The woman, a mother of three, brought the boy inside and gave him two pieces of cake and a glass of milk. As he ate he explained that his father made him do hundreds of pushups as punishment for lying or not finishing his homework, and if he didn't complete them he didn't eat.
The boy lifted his shirt so the woman could see his stomach.
"I could see his ribcage. I could see his sunken stomach, and all the red on his stomach and forearms looked like carpet burns," said the woman. "There was also red ligature marks on his wrists."
She questioned the boy about the marks, but he wouldn't tell her how he got them.
"His eyes — you could see the fear and sadness in his eyes, and as a mother it was terrifying to see that. You never want to see that in a child's face," said the woman, tears welling in her eyes.
Police returned boy to abusive home
She and her husband decided to call 911, and when police arrived they told them the boy's parents had also called to report him missing.
The woman said the boy sat in her lap and held her hand tightly as he told the two police officers about the mistreatment he suffered at home. She recalled how tiny and frail he felt.
CBC Ottawa's Laurie Fagan interviews the woman, who can't be identified, in her home. (Jean Delisle/CBC)
She said she was shocked when the female officer barked at the boy, "Do you know if you are lying your father could go to jail?"
"You want maternal, you want kind, and the child hadn't eaten in two days, and you're defending the father?" the woman recalled thinking. "I said to her, 'He's not on trial here! He's the victim!'"
In her testimony during the couple's trial, the woman recalled the boy telling the officer, "I don't want my dad to go to jail."
The officers thanked the woman and said they were taking the boy home, about a block away.
She said she'll never forget the image of the boy walking with the police officers to their cruiser, pleading, "I don't want to go! I don't want to go!"
"I was heartbroken. I told the boy, 'Trust the police. They will take care of you.'"
Within an hour the male police officer returned and told her everything was fine, and said there was lots of food on the boy's family's kitchen table. The officer told her the boy and his father had a "little argument," but said the boy was in a "healthy, happy home."
Visit from stepmother
The next day the boy's stepmother showed up at the woman's house and told her the boy was bipolar and hadn't been taking his medication. The woman described the stepmother's behaviour as "odd" and lacking empathy for the boy.
The boy's father, a suspended RCMP officer, and stepmother were found guilty of a number of crimes on Nov. 21, 2016. (Courtroom sketches by Sarah Wallace)
A few days later, still feeling uneasy, the woman went to see the principal at her daughter's school to share her suspicions about the boy's mistreatment, but a short time later the boy switched schools.
In February 2013, 15 months after the boy's visit to the woman's home, she was in her car when she heard a radio newscast that described police finding a nude boy wandering down an Ottawa street.
"They said the street name and all of a sudden my heart sank and I said, no, it cannot be, and to my horror it was. I was shaking and crying. I said to myself, 'You should have made some calls.' What do you do? What do you do?"
The woman immediately called police and told them what had happened more than a year earlier when the boy came to her door.
'He was telling the truth'
"There were signs that no one followed up on. If there was followup, the horrors that he had to endure, he wouldn't have had to endure."
If there was followup , the horrors that he had to endure, he wouldn't have had to endure.
- Boy's former neighbour
The woman said the memory of the look in the boy's eyes when he came to her door will haunt her forever.
"He wasn't lying. He was telling the truth and he was asking for help, and the help wasn't there."
The woman said she was pleased with the verdicts in the boy's parents' trial, but she believes police haven't been held accountable for their role. She said she'd like to speak with the two officers who returned the boy to his home.
"I would love to have that conversation with them and say, 'I know what I should have done. Do you accept the responsibility of what you should have done?'"
Ottawa police did not provide anyone for an interview, but in an emailed statement Monday, Supt. Don Sweet told CBC News the 2013 investigation that led to the charges against the boy's parents "considered all information — including the 2011 event when police responded to a call for service related to a missing persons file. It is the opinion of the OPS that the information, as presented in 2011, was investigated appropriately."
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ottawa-woman-guilt-anger-abused-boy-rcmp-1.3881526
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Ottawa police failed boy in torture case, victims' advocate says
'Horrified' police board member plans to ask why officers returned boy to abusive parents.
Laurie Fagan · CBC News · Posted: Dec 07, 2016 5:00 AM ET
A community member of Ottawa's Police Services Board wants to know why officers returned a nine-year-old boy to his home after he accused his father, an RCMP officer, of starving and abusing him.
The incident in November 2011 occurred more than a year before his father and stepmother were charged with severe abuse that police described as "the worst they'd ever seen." They cannot be named to protect the boy's identity.
Ottawa Mountie and wife found guilty of abusing man's 11-year-old son
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/mountie-trial-sexual-assault-ottawa-verdict-1.3860125
Ottawa woman racked with guilt, anger after police returned boy to abusive parents
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ottawa-woman-guilt-anger-abused-boy-rcmp-1.3881526
Sandy Smallwood says after following the trial and verdict he can't believe what the boy, who was 11 when his parents were arrested in February 2013, endured.
"I was horrified," Smallwood said. "This is sickening and it's just a horrible thing to happen in this city."
In November, the boy's father was found guilty of aggravated assault, sexual assault causing bodily harm, forcible confinement and failing to provide the necessaries of life. The boy's stepmother was found guilty of assault with a weapon and failing to provide the necessaries of life.
But now some, like Smallwood, have questions about how the case was handled.
An Ottawa woman who said the boy came to her door on a cold day in November 2011 says she still struggles with feelings of guilt that she could have done more to protect him and remains angry with police for sending him back to them to endure months of gruesome torture and neglect.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ottawa-woman-guilt-anger-abused-boy-rcmp-1.3881526
She said the boy told her his father forced him to do hundreds of push-ups as punishment for not doing his homework and suspected lying. The boy said his father denied him food when he didn't complete the push-ups and added he often went hungry.
The woman, who can't be named in order to protect the boy's identity, says the boy was emaciated and his stomach and forearms were covered in what looked like red rug burns. She added he also had red ligature marks on his wrists.
She called police to her home but they returned the boy to his parents. An officer returned a short time later to tell her the boy and his father had a "little argument" but the child was living in a "happy, healthy home with lots of food."
"I will be haunted by this and I am culpable as well," she told CBC News. "I didn't follow up and I trusted the police, I trusted the system, but he still had to endure all those horrors."
Ottawa police defend November 2011 response
Ottawa police declined an interview but Supt. Don Sweet issued a statement in response to how officers handled the incident.
"It is the opinion of the Ottawa Police Service that the information, as presented in 2011, was investigated appropriately."
But for Smallwood, many questions remain about how the two officers who went to the woman's house dealt with the boys allegations.
"I would like as a member of the public, I would like a fuller explanation so that I can understand what seems to have gone wrong," Smallwood said.
He said he's not going to jump to conclusions about what the officers did or didn't do that day but he will be asking questions about the incident at the next Police Services Board meeting.
"For instance, why the Children's Aid wasn't called," he said. "I think we have to make sure we do everything possible to make sure this doesn't happen again."
'Accountability was missed in this case'
Smallwood isn't the only one looking for more answers about how police dealt with the boy's initial complaints that he was being abused.
Melissa Heimerl, executive director of Ottawa Victim Services, said police officers failed to properly protect the boy from what turned out to be abusive parents.
Heimerl, whose agency counsels and advocates for victims of violent crime, said she followed the trial and its outcome closely.
"That is just completely unacceptable — front-line officers need more training when it comes to domestic violence," Heirmerl said. "It sounds like a proper risk assessment of that boy's safety wasn't done — the accountability was missed in this case."
Heirmerl added that police officers are obliged to call Children's Aid if there is any suggestion a child might be abused.
The Crown attorney in the trial told CBC News the child protection agency was not called to investigate this incident.
CBC News requested an interview with Ottawa police Chief Charles Bordeleau, but was told he wasn't available Tuesday or Wednesday.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ottawa-police-board-member-answers-mountie-child-abuse-case-1.3884366
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Police returned abused boy to what looked like 'loving home,' superintendent says.
Officers who heard 9-year-old's abuse accusations say they witnessed tearful reunion between father and son
CBC News · Posted: Dec 08, 2016 5:00 AM ET
Ottawa police say there was no indication a nine-year-old boy was being abused when officers spoke to him 15 months before his father, a former RCMP officer, and stepmother were arrested.
"If hindsight was 20/20, could we have done anything differently? I don't think so," Ottawa police Supt. Don Sweet said Wednesday.
Sweet was responding to mounting questions about why officers returned the boy to his father and stepmother after he told police he was being mistreated.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ottawa-police-board-member-answers-mountie-child-abuse-case-1.3884366
Ottawa Mountie and wife found guilty of abusing man's 11-year-old son
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/mountie-trial-sexual-assault-ottawa-verdict-1.3860125
Ottawa woman racked with guilt, anger after police returned boy to abusive parents
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ottawa-woman-guilt-anger-abused-boy-rcmp-1.3881526
The boy first spoke to police in November 2011. His father had reported the boy missing, and within an hour the boy was located at a neighbour's house.
Sweet said he reviewed the report from the two officers who responded to the missing person's call "from beginning to end."
Home was immaculate, fridge full of food
After following up with the boy's father, Ottawa police did not have 'reasonable grounds' to suspect child abuse, said Supt. Don Sweet. (Roger Dubois/CBC News)
After police arrived at the neighbour's house, the boy and the neighbour presented information that the nine-year-old was not being properly fed and being forced to do hundreds of pushups, Sweet said.
But when police returned the boy to his father, they found a house in immaculate condition and a fridge full of food.
"Suffice to say, the officers, in conversation with the child, and more importantly, the father, witnessed what appeared to be returning [the boy] to a very loving home where the father embraced the child for upwards of 10 minutes and both were tearful," Sweet said.
"I'm confident that presented with what they were presented with at the time... clearly this was returning a child to a situation that got aggravated to where we saw it 15 months later."
The 45-year-old Mountie, who cannot be named to protect the boy's identity, was found guilty last month of aggravated assault, sexual assault causing bodily harm, forcible confinement and failing to provide the necessities of life.
The boy's stepmother was found guilty of assault with a weapon and failing to provide the necessaries of life.
A CBC reporter, left, interviews the woman who took care of the boy briefly when he escaped his home in 2011. The woman can't be identified to protect the boy's identity. (Jean Delisle/CBC)
Treatment called 'worst case of abuse' police had seen
Ottawa police sources have described the boy's treatment as the "worst case of abuse" they'd ever seen.
Since the conviction, a witness, a victim services group and a community member of Ottawa's Police Services Board have all asked why police never informed Children's Aid.
Officers are required to call Children's Aid if there is any suggestion a child might be abused, said Ottawa Victim Services executive director Melissa Himerl.
Ottawa police follow protocols laid out in legislation that they must call Children's Aid if there is any indication of abuse, Sweet said, but in this case the officers didn't find anything after following up with the father.
The father refuted the boy's claims, saying the boy was a picky eater and ran away because his father was angry with him for refusing to do his homework. The father also told police the boy had mental health issues that affected his behaviour.
They're not coming to an assumption. They're coming to what they believe is at the time, their reality.
- Supt. Don Sweet, Ottawa Police Service
"They're not coming to an assumption. They're coming to what they believe is at the time, their reality," Sweet said.
"They need to have reasonable grounds to notify Children's Aid."
When asked whether police asked the boy about the carpet burns on his arms and ligature marks on his wrists, Sweet said there's no indication in any of the reports that police were told about the injuries.
Sweet hasn't spoken to the officers involved, adding it wouldn't be appropriate in case a formal complaint that has to be followed up is made.
Sweet said he plans to speak with the inspector in charge of patrol officers to see if there is more training available for police when it comes to identifying signs of abuse.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ottawa-police-board-member-answers-mountie-child-abuse-case-1.3886024
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The Eligibility Spectrum.
The Ontario Child Welfare Eligibility Spectrum is a field-developed, eligibility tool for child welfare in Ontario. Promoting excellence in our provincial child protection services, the child welfare eligibility assessment instrument supports the Ontario network of Children’s Aid Societies, their associated communities and the children, youth and families they serve.
The Eligibility Spectrum is a tool designed to assist Children’s Aid Society child protection staff in making consistent and accurate decisions about a child or family’s eligibility for service at the time a society becomes involved.
Child protection workers investigate physical, sexual and emotional abuse and neglect and determine if a society needs to become involved to protect children and youth from domestic violence; help children find adoptive families; provide family care for children; and support families and youth in conflict.
The revised Spectrum (2016) contains additional scales and items to assist decision making in areas resulting from changes in legislation, current research, practice and inquest recommendations from the Office of the Chief Coroner. The 2016 version is the result of a group of dedicated Children’s Aid Society (CAS) professionals who completed research and consulted with frontline staff and stakeholders throughout the province to ensure the revisions made reflect the interests and needs of the sector.
http://www.threemountains.ca/oacas
http://www.oacas.org/publications-and-newsroom/oacas-annual-reports/
http://www.oacas.org/publications-and-newsroom/professional-resources/eligibility-spectrum/
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Ministry of Children and Youth Services
Ontario Child Protection Tools Manual (2016)
A Companion to the Ontario Child Protection Standards.
Table of Contents
Introduction to the Manual
Safety Assessment
Family Risk Assessment
Family and Child Strengths and Needs Assessment
Family Risk Reassessment
Reunification Assessment Tools
Introduction
Overview
The Ontario Child Protection Tools Manual (2016) provides a set of required instruments designed to assist Ontario child protection workers in their assessment and screening of situations in which a child is alleged to be in need of protection. The Ontario child protection tools are supports to decision making that help the child protection worker review each child protection decision point in an objective, systematic, strength-based, and comprehensive manner. Use of the instruments, combined with sound clinical judgment, including culturally sensitive practice where appropriate, strengthens child safety and assessment.
The Ontario Child Protection Tools provide support to the differential provision of child protection services based on the unique needs of children and their families in keeping with the Ontario Differential Response (DR) Model. The DR Model offers differential approaches to service delivery which are based on the type and severity of childmaltreatment, and are customized to provide what each child and family requires. It also promotes a strengths-based approach to service delivery and encourages engagement of the child, family and their support system in decision making and service planning.
Providing services differentially is dependent upon the ability to accurately determine the type and intensity of service that each child and family requires. The child welfare system needs to be able to identify children who are at greatest risk of future maltreatment, and also to accurately assess the strengths and needs of children and
families.
The Ontario Child Protection Tools Manual (2016) is a companion to the Ontario Child Protection Standards (2016). The standards guide the child protection professional in his/her practice at each phase of service delivery, starting from the receipt of a referral and eligibility determination, and through the investigative phase of service, case transfer, ongoing service case management, and finally termination/completion of child protection services. The application of the tools in this manual is subject to the Ontario Child Protection Standards (2016) and Policy Directive CW 002-16.
The Ontario Child Protection DecisionMaking Model
The Ontario Child Protection Decision-Making model is a systematic approach to decision-making within child protection that is based on the Structured ecisionMaking™ (SDM) model developed by the Children’s Research Centre in Wisconsin.
Like a computer a risk assessment "scheme" is only as good as the information entered into it...
READ MORE HERE:
www.children.gov.on.ca/htdocs/English/documents/childrensaid/Child-Protection-Tools-Manual-2016.pdf
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The inquest into Jeffrey Baldwin's death was supposed to shed light on the child welfare system and prevent more needless child deaths. Baldwin's inquest jury made 103 recommendations. Sep 06, 2013.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/inquest-into-boy-s-death-to-shed-light-on-child-welfare-system-1.1699846
Nearly six months after the inquest into the death of Katelynn Sampson began, jurors delivered another 173 recommendations. APRIL 29, 2016.
https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/news/toronto/inquest-into-death-of-7-year-old-girl-emphasizes-duty-to-report-abuse/article29798749/
276 OFFICIAL REASONS FOR CONCERN ABOUT THE WELFARE OF CHILDREN IN ONTARIO'S CARE - NOT INCLUDING THE 30 PLUS RECOMMENDATIONS IN THE MOTHERISK REPORT OR THE 2018 CORONER'S REPORT.
A CHILD IN CARE IS A CHILD AT RISK.
Between 2014\15 the Ontario children's aid society claim to have spent $467.9 million dollars providing protective services that doesn't seem to extent to the 90 to 120 children that die in Ontario's foster care and group homes that are overseen and funded by the CAS.
In a National Post feature article in June 2009, Kevin Libin portrayed an industry in which abuses are all too common. One source, a professor of social work, claims that a shocking 15%-20% of children under CAS oversight suffer injury or neglect.
Several CAS insiders whom Libin interviewed regard the situation as systemically hopeless.
A clinical psychologist with decades of experience advocating for children said, “I would love to just demolish the system and start from scratch again.”
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“There are lots of kids in group homes all over Ontario and they are not doing well — and everybody knows it,” says Kiaras Gharabaghi, a member of a government-appointed panel that examined the residential care system in 2016.
“It is stunning to me how these children... are rendered invisible while they are alive and invisible in their death,” said Irwin Elman, Ontario’s advocate for children and youth. Between 90 and 120 children and youth connected to children’s aid die every year. (rendered invisible by the PDRC)
Between 2008/2012 natural causes was listed as the least likely way for a child in care to die at 7% of the total deaths reviewed while "undetermined cause" was listed as the leading cause of death of children in Ontario's child protection system at only 43% of the total deaths reviewed.
92 children equals 43% of the deaths reviewed by the PDRC. 92 mystery deaths and like every other year no further action was taken to determine the cause...
http://www.mcscs.jus.gov.on.ca/english/DeathInvestigations/office_coroner/PublicationsandReports/PDRC/2013Report/PDRC_2013.html
http://www.mcscs.jus.gov.on.ca/sites/default/files/content/mcscs/images/195633-19.jpg
WHY CAN'T THESE DEATHS BE PREDICTED WHEN THEY HAPPEN EVERY YEAR?
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Under suspicion: Concerns about child welfare.
In 2015, the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) began a year-long consultation to learn more about the nature of racial profiling in Ontario. Our aim was to gather information to help us guide organizations, individuals and communities on how to identify, address and prevent racial profiling. We connected with people and organizations representing diverse perspectives. We conducted an online survey, analyzed cases (called applications) at the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario that alleged racial profiling, held a policy dialogue consultation, and reviewed academic research. We conducted focus groups with Indigenous peoples and received written submissions. Overall, almost 1,650 individuals and organizations told us about their experiences or understanding of racial profiling in Ontario.
Ways to address concerns about racial profiling in child welfare.
Preventing and addressing racial profiling is a shared responsibility. Government, child welfare organizations and other responsible organizations must take concrete action and decisive steps to prevent, identify and respond to racial profiling.
The OHRC has made many recommendations over several years to address racial profiling. These recommendations are included in our report, Under suspicion. Where applicable, they should be used to identify how racial profiling may be taking place in the child welfare system. They also identify specific approaches organizations should use to prevent and address racial profiling.
Overall, consultation participants agreed with the following broad strategies to prevent and address racial profiling:
Anti-bias training
Developing policies, procedures and guidelines
Effective accountability monitoring and accountability
mechanisms, including:
complaint procedures
disciplinary measures
collecting, analyzing and reporting on data
Holistic organizational change strategy
Leadership
Communication (external and internal)
Engagement with affected stakeholders.
The OHRC is also very concerned that the overrepresentation of Black and Indigenous children in the child welfare system is a possible indicator of systemic racism. We conducted a public interest inquiry to examine this issue. We requested that CASs across the province provide us with data on race and other information. In the preliminary analysis of the data, we found that for many CASs across the province, African Canadian and Indigenous children are overrepresented in care, compared to their census populations.
Concerns about risk assessment standards and tools.
Consultation participants raised concerns about bias in the tools and standards used to assess risk to children. Although they seem neutral, we heard that risk assessment standards and tools may lean towards more positive outcomes for White people.
Social work researchers argue that risk assessment tools in Ontario are biased and perpetuate racism because they do not account for structural inequalities, such as racial discrimination, that may affect a child’s well-being. Parents may be blamed for these external factors, even though they are largely out of their control. We heard that relying on these tools, coupled with worker bias – which may be conscious or unconscious – may contribute to assumptions about racialized children and families being “inherently wrong or deficient.” This can lead to incorrect assumptions about the level of risk children are exposed to.
We also heard concerns about risk assessment standards that relate to poverty – for example, the number of children allowed per bedroom. Poverty in racialized and Indigenous families may be seen as a sign of neglect, providing a basis for a child welfare agency to become involved. We heard that these standards can affect what is seen as acceptable in a home and contribute to CAS decisions to intervene.
It is unclear to what extent child welfare risk assessment standards and tools reflect real risk to children in all cases, or arise from White, Western, Christian middle-class norms. When standards and tools are not based on objective factors, but on the cultural norms of the dominant group, they may contribute to racial profiling.
Concerns about biased decision-making
Concerns were also raised both about the perceived bias of authorities or individuals that refer to CASs, and perceived bias in decision-making practices when child welfare workers and authorities become involved with families. Participants said that child welfare workers, many of whom are White, may be more likely to construe family situations or the actions of Indigenous or racialized people as “risky.”
The Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres (OFIFC) identified that Indigenous families experience “intense scrutiny of [their] ways of life” (for more information, see the full OHRC report, Under suspicion: Research and consultation report on racial profiling in Ontario). We repeatedly heard that non-Indigenous child
welfare workers often do not understand the nature or structure of Indigenous families and cultural differences in how families live. For example, they only see that children are not being raised by their parents or are living in what they think are over-crowded conditions. In another example, Indigenous youth told us that they are sometimes put into care because they miss a lot of school due to practicing their traditions and taking part in ceremonies.
Social work researchers talked about some of the factors that may contribute to the over-scrutiny of Black parents, and the tendency to view Black parents as risks to their children and in need of intervention by CASs. For example, researchers note that child welfare authorities commonly view Black parents as “aggressive” and “crazy” when they are externalizing resistance, grief, fear or shame. They also note that Black children are perceived as needing “rescuing” from their parents. As well, we heard how Black families may be reported to CAS because their children eat non-Western foods that are specific to their culture.
Next steps. The OHRC will:
Release the results of our public interest inquiry
Develop specific policy guidance to help individuals, community groups and organizations understand how racial profiling can be identified, prevented and addressed in the child welfare sector
Continue to call for the collection of race-based data and data on other Code grounds to better understand if racial disparities exist in this sector
Continue to work with community stakeholders to enhance public education on racial profiling.
For more information
To find out more about racial profiling in the child welfare and other sectors, the full Under suspicion report is available online at www.ohrc.on.ca.
To file a human rights claim (called an application), contact the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario at:
If you need legal help, contact the Human Rights Legal Support Centre at:
Toll Free: 1-866-625-5179
TTY Toll Free: 1-866-612-8627
Website: www.hrlsc.on.ca
http://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/under-suspicion-concerns-about-child-welfare
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Regulation of child protection workers by Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers: CUPE responds.
Please send or adapt any of the following letters to the Executive Director of your CAS.
http://cupe2190.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/SSWCC_CAS-letters-re-college-regulation_Nov.-2016.pdf
DRAFT Letter 2 – Professionalism
I understand that there are plans in the works to force anyone who works in child protection to register with the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers.
One of the reasons given for this change is that regulation will result in higher quality services and bring greater professionalism to the field and that this will improve the standard of child protection work in Ontario.
I would like to point out that a failure to meet standards of care in child protection work is very rarely the result of professional misconduct, incompetence or incapacity on the part of individual child protection workers.
(ACCORDING TO WHO? THE CHILDREN'S AID SOCIETY'S SECRET INTERNAL COMPLAINT PROCESS?)
The stated purpose of the College is to protect the public from unqualified, incompetent or unfit practitioners.
But children’s aid societies already set those standards and ensure their adherence: they determine the job qualifications. They deal with employees they deem to be unqualified or incompetent. And CASs decide whether child protection work in their area can be performed by someone who holds a Bachelor’s degree and has child welfare experience.
I may not hold a BSW or MSW degree, enjoy membership in the College or be subject to its regulation. But I am a professional practitioner in the child protection sector and, as such, I cannot countenance this move toward the regulation of the child protection workforce. I am resolved to fight it at every step of the way and instead campaign for the measures that will bring real benefits to at-risk youth, children and families.
Sincerely,
DRAFT Letter 6 – Privacy and discipline
The move toward a regulated child protection workforce in Ontario gives me cause for serious concern about my privacy as a child protection worker.
One of the rationalizations for registration and regulation with the College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers is the restoration of public confidence in Ontario’s child protection system.
But violating my rights to privacy and confidentiality will do nothing to achieve this goal.
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What right to privacy?
A person employed by or acting as an agent for another person, private agency or government is not on their own time and have no right to privacy PERSONAL OR OTHERWISE.
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"Child, Youth and Family Services Act, 2017 proclaimed in force."
THE COLLEGE RESPONDS...
The new regulation was updated to only require Local Directors of Children’s Aid Societies to be registered with the College.
Ontarians have a right to assume that, when they receive services that are provided by someone who is required to have a social work degree (or a social service work diploma) — whether those services are direct (such as those provided by a child protection worker or adoption worker) or indirect (such as those provided by a local director or supervisor) — that person is registered with, and accountable to, the OCSWSSW.
Since it began operations in 2000, the OCSWSSW has worked steadily and completely unseen to silently address the issue of child protection workers.
Unfortunately, many CASs have been circumventing professional regulation of their staff by requiring that staff have social work education yet discouraging those same staff from registering with the OCSWSSW.
The new regulation was updated to only require Local Directors of Children’s Aid Societies to be registered with the College.
The majority of local directors, supervisors, child protection workers and adoption workers have social work or social service work education, yet fewer than 10% are registered with the OCSWSSW.
The existing regulations made under the CFSA predated the regulation of social work and social service work in Ontario and therefore their focus on the credential was understandable.
However, today a credential focus is neither reasonable nor defensible. Social work and social service work are regulated professions in Ontario.
Updating the regulations under the new CYFSA provides an important opportunity for the Government to protect the Ontario public from incompetent, unqualified and unfit professionals and to prevent a serious risk of harm to children and youth, as well as their families.
As Minister Coteau said in second reading debate of Bill 89, "protecting and supporting children and youth is not just an obligation, it is our moral imperative, our duty and our privilege—each and every one of us in this Legislature, our privilege—in shaping the future of this province."
As a key stakeholder with respect to numerous issues covered in the CYFSA and the regulations, we were dismayed to learn just prior to the posting of the regulations that we had been left out of the consultation process. We have reached out on more than one occasion to request information about regulations to be made under the CYFSA regarding staff qualifications.
A commitment to public protection, especially when dealing with vulnerable populations such as the children, youth and families served by CASs, is of paramount importance. In short, it is irresponsible for government to propose regulations that would allow CAS staff to operate outside of the very system of public protection and oversight it has established through professional regulation.
Regulations under the CYFSA:
The College has worked with government to address its concerns about regulations under the new CYFSA which set out the qualifications of Children’s Aid Society (CAS) staff. Upon learning in late November that the proposed regulations would continue to allow CAS workers to avoid registration with the College, the College immediately engaged with MCYS and outlined its strong concerns in a letter to the Minister of Children and Youth Services and a submission to the Ministry of Children and Youth Services during the consultation period.
The new regulation was updated to require Local Directors of Children’s Aid Societies to be registered with the College.
We are pleased to note that, while the new regulation does not currently require CAS supervisors to be registered, we have received a "commitment" FROM THE OUTGOING WYNNE GOVERNMENT to work with the College and the Ontario Association of Children’s Aid Societies toward a goal of requiring registration of CAS supervisors beginning January 2019.
Key concerns:
The absence of a requirement for CAS child protection workers to be registered with the College: ignores the public protection mandate of the Social Work and Social Service Work Act, 1998 (SWSSWA); avoids the fact that social workers and social service workers are regulated professions in Ontario and ignores the College’s important role in protecting the Ontario public from harm caused by incompetent, unqualified or unfit practitioners; allows CAS staff to operate outside the system of public protection and oversight that the Government has established through professional regulation; and fails to provide the assurance to all Ontarians that they are receiving services from CAS staff who are registered with, and accountable to, the College.
A "social worker" or a "social service worker" is by law someone who is registered with the OCSWSSW. Furthermore, as noted previously, the Ontario public has a right to assume that when they receive services that are provided by someone who is required to have a social work degree (or a social service work diploma), that person is registered with the OCSWSSW.
The OCSWSSW also has processes for equivalency, permitting those with a combination of academic qualifications and experience performing the role of a social worker or social service worker to register with the College.
These processes address, among other things, the risk posed by "fake degrees" and other misrepresentations of qualifications, ensuring Ontarians know that a registered social worker or social service worker has the education and/or experience to do their job.
The review of academic credentials and knowledge regarding academic programs is an area of expertise of a professional regulatory body. An individual employer will not have the depth of experience with assessing the validity of academic credentials nor the knowledge of academic institutions to be able to uncover false credentials or misrepresentations of qualifications on a reliable basis.
Setting, maintaining and holding members accountable to the Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice. These minimum standards apply to all OCSWSSW members, regardless of the areas or context in which they practise. Especially relevant in the child welfare context are principles that address confidentiality and privacy, competence and integrity, record-keeping, and sexual misconduct.
Maintaining fair and rigorous complaints and discipline processes. These processes differ from government oversight systems and process-oriented mechanisms within child welfare, as well as those put in place by individual employers like a CAS. They focus on the conduct of individual professionals.
Furthermore, transparency regarding referrals of allegations of misconduct and discipline findings and sanctions ensures that a person cannot move from employer to employer when there is an allegation referred to a hearing or a finding after a discipline hearing that their practice does not meet minimum standards.
Submission-re-Proposed-Regulations-under-the-CYFSA-January-25-2018. OCSWSSW May 1, 2018
https://www.ocswssw.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/OCSWSSW-Submission-re-Proposed-Regulations-under-the-CYFSA-January-25-2018.pdf
If you have any practice questions or concerns related to the new CYFSA, please contact the Professional Practice Department at 416-972-9882 or 1-877-828-9380 or email practice@ocswssw.org.
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A Blast From The Past.
Ontario Ombudsman, Andre Marin speaking about Ontario's Children's Aid Societies in his Annual Report 2010-2011,
https://youtu.be/7qJaOHNWbWY
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You can hear former MPP Frank Klees say in a video linked below the very reason the social worker act was introduced and became law in 1998 was to regulate the "children's aid societies" and they ignored that..
FORMER ONTARIO MPP FRANK KLEES EXPLAINS "A DISTINCTION WITHOUT A DIFFERENCE." I'M NOT A SOCIAL WORKER, I'M A CHILD PROTECTION WORKER!
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