Scenario:
Rochelle is 14 years old. She lives with
her mother, father, and her younger sister, Georgia. Rochelle’s father lost his
job a year ago and has been struggling to get back on his feet. They are
currently receiving social assistance, but the family only receives about $1200
a month. After paying their $900 rent each month, there is not much money left
for food. Sometimes Rochelle and her sister go to school without a lunch. One
day, Rochelle’s teacher noticed a bruise on her arm. When she asked her about
it, Rochelle said she fell off her bike. Her teacher also noticed that Rochelle
and her sister often did not eat at lunch. Her teacher was worried about
Rochelle and her sister, so she called the Children’s Aid Society (CAS).
Legal
Information
The Children’s Aid Society is responsible
for protecting children under the age of 16 from harm. It also works with
families to help take better care of their children.
The law in Ontario requires that members of the public,
including professionals who work with children (i.e. teachers) must report any
suspicions that a child is or may be in need of protection to the CAS. The law
defines the phrase "child in need of protection" and sets out what
must be reported to a children's aid society, which includes physical, sexual
and emotional abuse, neglect, and risk of harm. In this case, Rochelle’s
teacher had a duty to report her suspicions of abuse (bruise on Rochelle’s arm)
and neglect (lack of food).
Once contacted, the CAS will do an initial
screening of the report. The CAS worker will take some steps to decide whether
CAS needs to become involved. If the CAS worker decides that the children are
well cared for, then it may decide not to become involved. After the first
step, screening, the CAS may decide to do a child protection investigation. If
this happens, the CAS worker will visit the family’s home and talk to the
family. They may also talk to other people, such as teachers or neighbours. At
the end of the investigation, they CAS worker may decide that the children are
not in need of protection, and no further action will be taken. If, however,
the CAS decides that the children are in need of protection, they will take
steps to make sure the children are safe. This can include working with the
family to try to address the issues and problems the family is facing. If the
CAS feels there is no other way to keep the children safe, it can remove, or
apprehend, the children.
After the children are initially removed
from their home, the CAS must go to court within five days to have what is called
a child protection proceeding. A judge will then decide what happens next and
make a temporary order as to where the children should live while the case is
being worked out. If the judge says the children must be removed from their
home, they can be placed with another family member or friend if it is safe and
appropriate to do so. If this is not possible, the children will be placed in
residential care, which could be a group home or a foster home. What happens
next will depend on many different factors. Child protection proceedings can be
complicated and involve many different steps. For more information on child
protection proceedings in court, check
out this booklet.
If you are a child and have been removed
from your home, you have rights,
which include the following:
a. You have the right to a plan of care.
This plan describes:
• What you need,
• What you and the staff are trying to do, and
• How you and the staff are trying to
meet your needs. You have the right to take part in making and changes to it.
b. You have the right to take part in
making important decisions about your care. These decisions include medical
treatment, education, religion, ending or transferring your placement.
c. You have the right to speak with and
visit members of your family on a regular basis except when there is a court
order which says otherwise.
d. You have the right to speak to and
receive visits from your lawyer, an adult person representing you, the
Ombudsman, or the Office of the Child and Family Service Advocate.
e. You have the right not to be punished
physically.
f. You have the right to proper food and
clothing.
g. You have the right to proper medical
and dental care.
h. You have the right to proper education.
i. You have the right to participate in
sports and recreation programs.
j. Within reasonable limits you a have the
right to privacy and to your personal property.
k. You have the right to receive and send
mail. Your mail cannot be kept from you and usually should not be read by
anyone else. If the person looking after you believes that the mail you are
sending or receiving is harmful to you or others, they may open it. Your mail
to or from your lawyer may not be read.
l. You have the right to be told of the
complaint procedure and to make complaints. You have the right to make complaints
to an independent person who is not looking after you.
No matter how you end up in residential
care you keep these rights. You must be told of these rights by a social
worker, child care worker, or other person. If you have any questions about
your residential care you should ask your worker, phone a lawyer or the Office of the Provincial Advocate for
Children and Youth at 416-325-5669 in Toronto
or 1-800-263-2841.
There are special Children’s Aid Societies
that you should be aware of. If you are First Nation, Aboriginal, Metis, or
Inuit you have the right to access services from Native Child and Family
Services. If you are Catholic, you have the right to access services from the
Catholic Children’s Aid Society and if you are Jewish, from the Jewish Family
and Child. Please note that not all
communities have these special Children’s Aid Societies.
To
find more information or to contact your local Children’s Aid Society, please
visit:
If your family is involved with a
Children’s Aid Society in Ontario
and you are under 18, you can call Justice
for Children and Youth form more information and legal advice at (416)
920 – 1633.
This
post was written by PLE Team volunteer Christine Doucet. Christine
recently graduated from Osgoode
Hall Law
School.
