TORONTO - Ontario's ombudsman says parents of special-needs children are still being asked to give up custody to get their kids the treatment they need, but the provincial government insists it's keeping a promise to stop the practice.
Ombudsman Andre Marin issued a special report in 2005 criticizing the government for forcing parents to relinquish custody of severely disabled kids to the Children's Aid Society so they could be put into residential care.
The province eventually restored custody to parents of 63 of the 100 children covered in the 2005 report, but Marin said he's received complaints that it's happening again, to at least another 19 Ontario families.
"We've been able to resolve two of them, cutting it off at the pass as they were in the process of handing over their kids to the CAS," Marin said in an interview Wednesday.
"It's the most morally repugnant thing that I could possibly imagine a government doing."
The ombudsman said he was "extremely disturbed" by the actions of the Ministry of Children and Youth Services, and would likely launch another special investigation into the custody-for-care problem.
"It's as if there's a dam with holes popping, and if there's enough media attention given to one particular hole, or if we're vocal about it, they'll run and plug it, but the whole dam is crumbling slowly," Marin said.
"What's happening there is just not normal. Period. They're not behaving in a way which gives me a lot of confidence."
Children and Youth Services Minister Deb Matthews said her staff is working closely with the ombudsman to ensure no parents are forced to give up custody of their kids just to get the services they need.
"I've asked for regular updates from my ministry officials to make sure that no child is ever taken into the care of the CAS because their parents need supports," Matthews said.
"This isn't OK. We've been there. We're not going back there."
Marin said he's heard government assurances before that this issue has been resolved.
"In between very nice, candy-coated statements by the government that this shouldn't be happening and is not happening, we see it's still happening," he said.
"For almost a decade now, this issue has essentially crippled the government. It seems to me that once in a while it rears its ugly head in greater numbers, and that's what's happening now."
The Ontario Association of Children's Aid Societies said getting appropriate care for special-needs kids can be stressful on families, especially when the services needed aren't available locally.
But no child is taken into custody unless there is a concern they need to be protected, said association executive director Jeanette Lewis.
"My information from the (local Children's Aid) societies is that they're very clear that they are not to take special-needs children into care unless there is a clear protection issue," Lewis said.
"Children are not being taken into care simply because they have special needs."
Matthews said her office has worked with the ombudsman to resolve at least seven cases so parents wouldn't have to give up custody.
"If he has more cases than those that we're already aware of, then I want to know that so we can be there for them," she said.
However, Marin said he was at a loss to explain why the ministry is still forcing some parents to give up custody.
"Is it complacency? Is it a lack of proper oversight by the ministry? Is it a lack of sensitivity by the ministry, an I-don't-care attitude?" he wondered.
"We're going to provide the relief to those individual families right now, and then we will regroup and most likely take another run at it."
Marin complained that unlike other provinces, Ontario Children's Aid societies are not subject to oversight by the ombudsman's office.
