Perth, ON. Canada Court Watch public info session on dealing with a Chil...

2020: TORONTO -- Ontario's child welfare system will be redesigned to focus on prevention and early intervention, the provincial government said Wednesday.

"Child welfare should not be the system that is feared," Dunlop said in a news conference. "No one should be scared to lose their children for speaking to a children's aid society."

Associate Minister of Children and Women's Issues Jill Dunlop said the new strategy will also work to address the over-representation of Black and Indigenous families in the children's aid system.

She said children and youth in care experience worse outcomes than those in a family setting, including lower graduation rates, a higher risk of homelessness and more involvement with the justice system.

https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/ontario-plans-to-redesign-child-welfare-system-to-focus-on-prevention-1.5044299

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2018: An independent commission tasked with examining the Motherisk hair-testing program said Monday the child welfare system's reliance on the analysis was "manifestly unfair and harmful" even when it did not substantially affect the outcome of cases.

Beaman raised similar concerns about urine tests she said are currently being used to screen for alcohol and drug use in child protection cases.

The commission led by retired provincial court judge Judith Beaman said the tests were used to determine parents' credibility and investigate suspicions of substance use. The results were given excessive weight by the organizations and the courts, Beaman said.

"The testing was imposed on parents and other caregivers who were among the poorest and most vulnerable members of our society. There was scant regard for due process or their rights to privacy and bodily integrity," she said in a news conference.

"Most of the parents who were tested were powerless to resist. They told us they submitted to the testing under duress, in fear of losing custody of or access to their children. In some of the cases we reviewed, parents were told explicitly that this would be the consequence if they did not submit to testing."

Children's aid societies and courts often drew negative inferences about parents who didn't submit to testing or who disputed the results, she said. The tests were often used as a proxy for assessing parenting and the results were regularly admitted into evidence without the usual checks and balances, she said.

The commissioner issued 32 recommendations, including changes to legislation on the use of expert evidence, more education for judges and a whole lot more.. Read the recommendations to learn just how manifestly unfairly the workers and CAS lawyers have treated families behind the closed doors of Ontario's family courts for decades..

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/discredited-motherisk-hair-testing-program-harmed-vulnerable-families-report/article38111582/

https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/motherrisk-commission-1.4552160

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2018: The commission led by provincial court judge Judith Beaman says the tests were imposed by children’s aid societies on poor and otherwise vulnerable families.

A two year long study (quick review of a 25 year period) of more than 1200 cases out of the 35 000 tests involved found that the testing was faulty in 56 cases, resulting in four instances of children being returned to their families so far..

https://nationalpost.com/pmn/news-pmn/canada-news-pmn/discredited-hair-testing-program-harmed-vulnerable-families-across-ontario-report

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2018: Parents lose second bid to launch class-action suit against Motherisk over flawed hair tests.

(why aren't the victims suing the CAS to. It wasn't the Motherisk lab techs without any judicial oversight or regulating body forcing parents to take a test they knew was fraudulent.. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/motherisk-colorado-court-case-1.4364862)

Despite the “knee-jerk denials” of Motherisk experts and the Hospital for Sick Children, it wouldn’t be hard to prove in court that the lab’s drug and alcohol hair tests were broadly unreliable.

However, establishing this fact wouldn't advance individual cases enough to make a national class-action lawsuit the right approach for thousands of families seeking compensation.

That is the finding of a Toronto Divisional Court, which has upheld the decision of a Superior Court judge not to certify the class-action lawsuit because of the highly individualistic nature of the claims by those who say they lost their children or were wrongly convicted due to the flawed testing.

“In this case, the class members were not harmed by the tests being systemically unreliable. Rather, only class members who can show that they received a false test result and that the false test result caused them to suffer an adverse outcome in legal proceedings will have compensable claims,” Justice Fred Myers wrote in a unanimous decision, which makes clear that Motherisk victims face a “very difficult” road.

But the battle is not over for the plaintiff, a Toronto mother who claims access to her son was limited for several years because of Motherisk’s faulty testing. The testing was deemed “inadequate and unreliable” for use in court from 2005 to 2015 in a government-commissioned review by retired judge Susan Lang, following a Star investigation.

“The people who were harmed by the Motherisk laboratory deserved better than this,” said the plaintiff’s lawyer, Kirk Baert. “This isn’t the last word by any means. We will be seeking leave to appeal to the Ontario Court of Appeal and I am confident we will obtain it.”

Sick Kids made millions from Motherisk’s hair tests, which were used for decades in a handful of criminal cases and thousands of child protection cases, primarily by child welfare agencies as proof of parental substance abuse. In many of these cases, satisfying the criteria for compensation the Divisional Court has outlined will be challenging, because Motherisk did not follow proper chain-of-custody procedures and did not have a records retention policy from 2005 to 2010.

Read More:

https://nationalpost.com/pmn/news-pmn/canada-news-pmn/discredited-hair-testing-program-harmed-vulnerable-families-across-ontario-report

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5 REASONS WHY THE MOTHERISK SCANDAL SHOULDN’T HAPPEN AGAIN

The picture that emerges, very clearly, is a case of flawed process, not flawed science.

1 The tests were preliminary. ...

2 Motherisk had no written standard operating procedures. ...

3 No transparency. ...

4 Inadequate training and oversight. ...

5 A compromised chain of custody.

https://blog.cansfordlabs.co.uk/5-reasons-why-the-motherisk-scandal-shouldnt-happen-again

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2016: Regulation of child protection workers by Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers: CUPE/FRONTLINE WORKERS respond.

From 2002 to 2014, 41 child welfare employees who did not hold a BSW or MSW submitted equivalency applications to register as social workers; only 16 were successful and 25 were refused.

https://www.waterloochronicle.ca/news-story/6437856-children-s-aid-societies-launch-major-training-reforms/

I wanted to share some facts and figures that I have learned along the way; I think they point to significant problems for low income families in particular: (see Motherisk Report)

• There are over 5,000 child protection workers in Ontario

• The College regulates about 17,000 social workers and social service workers

• Only 30% and 50% of Ontario’s child welfare workers do NOT hold a BSW
• Only 63% of direct service staff in CASs have a BSW or MSW (in 2012, it was 57%)
• Only 78% of direct service supervisors have a BSW or MSW (in 2012, it was 75.5%)

• The 2013 OACAS Human Resources survey estimates that 70% of relevant CAS job classifications would qualify for registration with the College.

https://www.facebook.com/FamiliesUnitedOntario/videos/712354072307693

DRAFT Letter 1 – Oversight

I have worked as a child protection worker with [CAS] for [xx] years. I love my job and I do it to the best of my ability because I care deeply about keeping children and families safe.

I am aware that OACAS, the organization that represents my employer, is planning to make it mandatory for me to register with the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service
Workers in order for me to do my job.

Currently, workplace disciplines, complaints and other personnel matters at [CAS] are treated confidentially and are not published and until recently couldn't be accessed with a FOI request either.

But violating my rights to privacy and confidentiality will do nothing to achieve this goal.

(does any person employed by another person or agency for financial remuneration have the right to privacy anymore than a police officer does or Walmart cashier?)

But if child protection workers become subject to regulation by the College, previously confidential workplace matters will become matters of public record just like every other regulated professional.

My membership in the College would mean that anyone can see information about my status or complaints made against me – and under the College’s rules, there is no time limit in which to make a complaint. Disciplinary hearings are open to the public and once a complaint is made, it is on file forever. There is no process for appeal. (yes there is)

Employers must also file a written report with the College if one of its registered members is terminated. This requirement conflicts with an employee’s right to grieve a termination under the collective agreement or appeal it through arbitration, where a termination may be overturned.

(should complaints about workers be a matter for the regulating body or a matter for union arbitration?)

I also have concerns for my personal safety and that of my family, since college registration is open to public scrutiny and provides no protection from potentially violent involuntary clients.

(see motherisk final report)

None of the ways that the College deals with personal information, complaints, and discipline allow for a fair or safe process for child protection workers.

I am not a social worker; I don’t want to be a social worker. Had I wanted to be a social worker, I would have trained as one. If regulation through the College of Social Work is introduced, what will happen to us child protection workers who don’t have degrees in social work (a BSW or MSW) or a social service worker diploma? After all, we make up to 50% of the child protection workforce.

None of the options currently available to us is appealing: we can try to upgrade to the qualifications that will allow up to keep our jobs. We can move to a different job class. We can
accept termination or layoff.

What doesn’t seem to be an option is “grandfathering,” something that would allow child protection workers already in post to keep doing their current jobs. The College is quite specific that grandfathering is not on the table.

There are any number of measures that can be and ought to be taken to restore public confidence in child protection and keep at-risk children and youth safer. Regulation by the college is not one of them.

The Special Investigations Unit is the civilian oversight agency responsible for investigating circumstances involving police that have resulted in a death, serious injury, or allegations of sexual assault of a civilian in Ontario. https://www.siu.on.ca/en/index.php

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. 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.

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.

Professional registration is a red herring that ignores the real issues in the child protection sector. In order to improve the consistency and quality of child protection, the OACAS and Ministry of Children’s and Youth Services should focus on funding restraints, workload, violence in the workplace and the current insufficient investment in workers’ training.

I’m calling OACAS out on this spurious attempt to bring more oversight to our sector. Regulation will not make children safer; instead, it is distracting attention from what’s really needed to improve safety for children and youth and I hope that [CAS] will back me up on that.

http://cupe2190.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/SSWCC_CAS-letters-re-college-regulation_Nov.-2016.pdf

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What’s the difference between psychologist, psychological associate, registered psychotherapist, social worker, psychiatrist, therapist, counsellor and a child protection worker?

Some child protection workers have qualifications or minimal qualifications in social work but refuse to register or be accountable to anyone other than the ministry that holds the purse strings..

Should unregistered child protection workers with social worker qualifications have the same privilege registered social workers have?

Social Workers are registered with the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers. They have a Bachelor degree in Social Work. Social Workers provide assessment and psychotherapy to clients. They have knowledge of diagnostic criteria, and evidence-based treatments for mental health conditions.

Social Workers often play an integral role in assessment and diagnosis under supervision of Psychologists and/or Psychiatrists. Often, Social Workers have a special interest in how individuals are impacted upon by society and factors such as discrimination.

http://www.hamiltonpsych.ca/faq.html#:~:text=Social%20Workers%20are%20registered%20with,Workers%20and%20Social%20Service%20Workers.&text=Social%20Workers%20often%20play%20an,of%20Psychologists%20and%2For%20Psychiatrists.

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2017: Under suspicion: Concerns about child welfare (OHRC)
Racial profiling is an insidious and particularly damaging type of racial discrimination that relates to notions of safety and security. Racial profiling violates people’s rights under the Ontario Human Rights Code (Code).

People from many different communities experience racial profiling. However, it is often directed at First Nations, Métis, Inuit and other Indigenous peoples, Muslims, Arabs, West Asians and Black people, and is often influenced by the negative stereotypes that people in these communities face.

http://www.ohrc.on.ca/sites/default/files/Under%20suspicion_research%20and%20consultation%20report%20on%20racial%20profiling%20in%20Ontario_2017.pdf

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.

We heard concerns about racial profiling in the child welfare sector, particularly affecting Black and Indigenous families. We heard that systemic racism was perceived to be embedded in this system, and that racial profiling that may take place in this sector targets mothers for over-scrutiny most often.

We heard concerns that racialized and Indigenous parents are disproportionately subjected to surveillance and scrutiny, which contributes to families being reported to children’s aid societies (CASs). We also heard that once a referral to child welfare authorities takes place, families are more likely to have prolonged child welfare involvement, and be more at risk of having their children apprehended. Consultation participants suggested these experiences arise in part from referrers’ and child welfare authorities’ incorrect assumptions about risk based on race and related grounds, and intersections between these grounds and poverty.

http://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/under-suspicion-concerns-about-child-welfare

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2019: There’s no rule on who can write assessments that ‘effectively decide’ if an Ontario parent loses their child. Experts say that must change.

https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2019/08/02/theres-no-rule-on-who-can-write-assessments-that-effectively-decide-if-an-ontario-parent-loses-their-child-experts-say-that-must-change.html

https://www.thespec.com/news-story/9552213-ontario-psychologist-used-obsolete-tests-in-expert-opinion-calling-for-parents-to-lose-their-kids-judge-says/

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2019: Executive director Elaina Groves does say it's important for the public to know that child protection workers investigate differently than police.

Decisions are made on a "balance of probabilities" which often means there's not enough evidence for criminal charges let alone a conviction which is probably why child protection social workers in Ontario refused to comply with the social worker registration act claiming there are no practical benefits for them agreeing to register with a college of social work that also uses a "balance of probabilities" to determine the "facts.."

The College of Social Work takes reports about concerns from the public and applies their own standard for investigating complaints as does the society and the same "balance of probabilities" making a ruling.

Groves says some may think that sounds "subjective" but she says rulings on abuse are based on the "impressions" of the unqualified unregistered social worker, the opinions of questionable medical professionals, as well as other evidence like the fraudulent Motherisk Test.

Balance of Probabilities Definition: Burden of proof in civil trials.
The common distinction is made with the burden of truth in a criminal trial, which is beyond a reasonable doubt. In a civil trial, one party's case need only be more probable than the other.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/cas-daycare-operator-dowling-sudbury-child-abuse-1.4826325

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/home-daycare-lawsuit-cas-police-investigation-1.4537023

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2010: Psychologist got degree from U.S. 'diploma mill'

A psychologist with the Durham Children’s Aid Society has pleaded guilty to professional misconduct for misrepresenting himself and for making multiple unqualified diagnoses of mental illness.
Gregory Carter, 63, appeared before the College of Psychologists of Ontario’s disciplinary committee on Tuesday. He and the college agreed on the terms of the penalty, which includes a three-month suspension, a recorded reprimand and one year of supervised practice under an approved practitioner.

In his practice with the Children’s Aid Society, Mr. Carter’s expertise was used to determine child custody cases.

https://nationalpost.com/posted-toronto/psychologist-got-degree-from-u-s-diploma-mill

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2016: Nov 24, 2016 - Although the Ontario Risk Assessment was a “state of the art” clinical tool at the...

The purpose of the Child Protection Standards in Ontario (dated February 2007) is to promote consistently high quality service delivery to children, youth and their families receiving child protection services from Children’s Aid Societies across the province. The new standards are the mandatory framework within which these services will be delivered. They establish a minimum level of performance for child protection workers, supervisors and Children’s Aid Societies, and create a norm that reflects a desired level of achievement. The standards will provide the baseline for demonstrating the level of performance within the ministry’s overall accountability framework for child welfare.

http://www.children.gov.on.ca/htdocs/English/professionals/childwelfare/protection-standards-2007/childprotectionstandards.aspx

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2019: Expert who gave more than 100 assessments in Ontario child protection cases lied about credentials for years, judge finds.

https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2019/07/31/expert-who-gave-more-than-100-assessments-in-ontario-child-protection-cases-lied-about-credentials-for-years-judge-finds.html

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2019: Province orders children’s aid societies to review credentials of experts used in child welfare cases

https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2019/08/23/province-orders-childrens-aid-societies-to-review-credentials-of-experts-used-in-child-welfare-cases.html

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2016: Frontline worker Nancy Simone, president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees local representing 275 workers at the Catholic Children’s Aid Society of Toronto, argues child protection workers already have levels of oversight that include workplace supervisors, family courts, coroners’ inquests and annual case audits by the ministry.

“Our work is already regulated to death.”

https://www.waterloochronicle.ca/news-story/6437856-children-s-aid-societies-launch-major-training-reforms/

http://thecaribbeancamera.com/training-for-childrens-aid-societies/

https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2016/04/03/childrens-aid-societies-launch-major-training-reforms.html

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2020: TORONTO -- Ontario's child welfare system will be redesigned to focus on prevention and early intervention, the provincial government said Wednesday.

"Child welfare should not be the system that is feared," Dunlop said in a news conference. "No one should be scared to lose their children for speaking to a children's aid society."

Associate Minister of Children and Women's Issues Jill Dunlop said the new strategy will also work to address the over-representation of Black and Indigenous families in the children's aid system.

She said children and youth in care experience worse outcomes than those in a family setting, including lower graduation rates, a higher risk of homelessness and more involvement with the justice system.

https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/ontario-plans-to-redesign-child-welfare-system-to-focus-on-prevention-1.5044299

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The new regulation was updated to only require Local Directors of Children’s Aid Societies to be registered with the College.

http://www.ocswssw.org/resources/legislation-submissions/

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.

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 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.

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.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2234353/

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.

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.

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."

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.

ACCORDING TO OACAS'S NEW CEO IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE QUALIFICATIONS OF A WORKER AT YOUR DOOR YOU SHOULD ASK TO SEE THEIR LANYARD AND THEN JUST ASK THEM WHAT QUALIFICATIONS THEY HAVE BEFORE TAKING THEM AT THEIR WORD AND ALLOWING THEM TO COME IN AND SEARCH YOUR HOME WITHOUT A WARRANT UNDER THE PRETENSE OF ONLY WANTING TO ASK A FEW QUESTIONS - AND DON'T WORRY ABOUT ANY COMPLAINTS THAT MAY HAVE BEEN MADE AGAINST THEM - IN CHILD WELFARE CIRCLES THAT'S COVERED BY THE UNREGISTERED WORKER'S RIGHT TO PRIVACY...

Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice.

The Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice Handbook sets out minimum standards of professional practice and conduct for members of the OCSWSSW. This is in accordance with one of the objects of the College as stated in the Social Work and Social Service Work Act, 1998 “to establish and enforce professional standards and ethical standards applicable to members of the College.” For the purposes of the Act (Section 26), and the Professional Misconduct Regulation (Ontario Regulation 384/00), these standards have been approved in a bylaw of the College as standards of practice for its members. The Standards of Practice are meant to be applied to members’ practice in conjunction with any applicable legislation and with their professional judgment.

http://www.ocswssw.org/professional-practice/code-of-ethics/

http://www.ocswssw.org/members/online-register/

http://www.ocswssw.org/

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."

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.

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@ocswss

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2020: NDP call on ombudsman to launch ‘emergency’ investigation into child welfare deaths.

https://www.aptnnews.ca/national-news/ndp-call-on-ombudsman-to-launch-emergency-investigation-into-child-welfare-deaths/

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2019-2020 ANNUAL REPORT: DEATH AND SERIOUS BODILY HARM..

Children’s aid societies and licensed residential service providers are legally required to inform the Ombudsman’s Office within 48 hours of any death or serious bodily harm of any child who has sought or received services from a children’s aid society within the past 12 months. Because they must be filed within 2 days of the incident, these reports may involve preliminary information and not findings of investigations by the police, child protection authorities or the coroner.

From May 1, 2019 to March 31, 2020, we received 1,663 reports about 1,433 incidents (some reports were duplicates, from multiple agencies reporting the same incident). These reports related to 122 deaths and 1,473 cases of serious bodily harm (defined as any situation where a young person requires treatment beyond basic first aid, including for physical, sexual or emotional harm). The Ombudsman will report in more detail on our analysis of these statistics in future reports.

TOP CASE TOPICS

1,458 Children’s aid societies
240 Youth justice centres
139 Residential licensees
26 Secure treatment

https://www.ombudsman.on.ca/resources/reports-and-case-summaries/annual-reports/2019-2020-annual-report

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2019: Ontario coroner getting data for massive analysis of child and youth deaths.

TORONTO – An Ontario youth court judge has granted the coroner’s office access to justice records that will be reviewed as part of a pilot project looking into thousands of deaths of children and young adults in the province.

Chief Coroner Dirk Huyer told Justice Sheilagh O’Connell on Tuesday that more than 7,000 people aged 10 to 24 years old have died in Ontario between 2007 and 2018. He said the project was an effort to better understand the factors at play.

“It’s very important research, so I commend you for this,” O’Connell said as she granted the coroner’s office access to the records.

READ MORE: More needs to be done to protect kids in Ontario’s child welfare system, coroner says

Huyer said outside court that one area of focus for researchers will be the more than 3,000 children and young people who died due to suicide or gun violence.

STORY CONTINUES BELOW:

https://globalnews.ca/news/6249678/ontario-coroner-child-youth-deaths-data/

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IS BEING A COMBATANT IN A WAR ZONE SAFER THAN BEING A CHILD IN ONTARIO'S CARE?

“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...

A TOTAL OF 158 CANADIANS SOLDIERS DIED IN AFGHANISTAN BETWEEN 2002 AND 2011.

Canada in Afghanistan - Fallen Canadian Armed Forces Members.

One hundred and fifty-eight (158) Canadian Armed Forces members lost their lives in service while participating in our country’s military efforts in Afghanistan. You can click on the names to explore their entries in the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.

https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/history/canadian-armed-forces/afghanistan-remembered/fallen?filterYr=2009

“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.

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2015: Teen’s death raises questions about secrecy surrounding kids in care.

“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 former and last advocate for children and youth. Between 90 and 120 children and youth connected to children’s aid die every year.

CHILDREN ARE DYING IN ONTARIO'S CARE AND THE FRONTLINE WORKERS ARE THE ONES BEING REGULATED TO DEATH?

https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2015/12/10/teens-death-raises-questions-about-secrecy-surrounding-kids-in-care.html

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2015: Shedding light on the troubles facing kids in group homes.

The Star obtained the reports in a freedom of information request and compiled them according to the type of serious event that occurred — something the ministry does not do.

They note everything from medication errors to emotional meltdowns to deaths.

Restraints were used in more than one-third of 1,200 serious occurrence reports filed in 2013 by group homes and residential treatment centres in the city, according to a Star analysis.

At one treatment facility, 43 of the 119 serious occurrence reports filed to the Ministry of Children and Youth Services include a youth being physically restrained and injected by a registered nurse with a drug, presumably a sedative.

How is a society that's against spanking isn't against tying children to their beds and drugging them?

The language used by some group homes evokes an institutional setting rather than a nurturing environment. When children go missing, they are “AWOL.” In one instance in which a child acted out in front of peers, he was described as a “negative contagion.” Often, the reasons for behaviour are not noted. Children are in a “poor space” and are counselled not to make “poor choices.”

Blame is always placed on the child.

Their stories are briefly told in 1,200 Toronto reports describing “serious occurrences” filed to the Ministry of Children and Youth Services in 2013. Most involve children and youth in publicly funded, privately operated group homes.

https://www.thestar.com/news/insight/2015/07/03/kids-in-toronto-group-homes-can-be-arrested-for-being-kids.html

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2016: The ministry doesn’t know how many children are being cared for in Ontario’s 389 licensed group homes. It’s working on a system that will eventually allow it to collect the information.

At the end of September 2017, the group homes had 2,914 beds, almost one-third of them operated by private, for-profit companies. The rest are run by non-profit agencies such as children’s aid societies.

Another 2,005 beds were in foster homes run by companies, where the limit is four kids to a home. A growing number of kids are also being placed in unlicensed homes with live-in staff.

“You know your system is based on the flimsiest of foundations when you have absolutely no standards on who can do this work,” adds Gharabaghi, director of Ryerson University’s school of child and youth care.

https://www.mykawartha.com/news-story/7974974-kids-are-going-through-trauma-staff-are-getting-assaulted-we-are-all-in-the-trenches-together-/

https://www.mcgill.ca/socialwork/channels/news/report-calls-better-oversight-residential-services-young-people-ontario-260997

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