Ontario launches review following Ford criticism of children's aid societies

Ontario launched a review of the province's 37 non-Indigenous children's aid societies Wednesday after Premier Doug Ford suggested they are being financially mismanaged, but the unions representing CAS workers say it is a mere "smokescreen."

Officials with the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services say the review will look at issues such as the quality of protection the societies provide and their finances. As part of a background briefing Wednesday, they provided graphs that show annual funding for the sector steadily increased over the past decade to $1.7 billion this year, even as the number of children in care declined.

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Ford indicated last week that his government was doing an audit, as he railed against "nightmare stories about the abuse of taxpayers' money." Officials said the process to look for an outside contractor to conduct the review was starting on Wednesday.

"I've heard stories of some of these agencies, they're working in Taj Mahals, they're paying rent, $100,000 for rent, that the managers are giving themselves a bonus," Ford said in response to a question at an unrelated press conference.

"All those managers giving yourself a bonus, not worrying about the kids, I'm coming for you. We're doing a complete audit, and if we see funds not being spent properly on the kids, guess what? You're looking for another job."

The Ontario Association of Children's Aid Societies said it was disappointed Ford did not address the question of what the government was doing about reports of children's aid societies housing kids in hotels or offices because placements weren't available.

There are systemic barriers to providing services for kids with complex needs, the association wrote in a statement following Ford's press conference.

"This type of work is intensive, demanding significant time and resources," the group wrote.

"Additionally, the types of cases child welfare agencies encounter are becoming more and more complex. In a recent survey, 39 child welfare agencies reported that the number of children or youth requiring high-cost care (i.e., over $200,000 per year) has seen a significant increase over the past three years, doubling from 174 in 2021-2022 to 354 in 2023-2024."

Ministry officials who provided the background briefing on the review said societies' deficits are continuing to rise and the audit will examine the underlying issues and possible solutions.

The officials, who spoke on condition they not be identified, said the review will focus on service quality, consistency of services, out-of-home placements, finances, executive compensation, staffing models, cost structures, capital assets and integration with community supports.

Minister Michael Parsa said the review is part of other, ongoing efforts to try to improve the child welfare system.

"We'll see unprecedented funding, and then we'll see (cases) where a youth was placed in a home that failed a fire safety requirement, one that their food was restricted, and as a result they were injured after being restrained. Or in some cases, where funding is being used for unrelated programming, straining the budget of the agencies," Parsa said in an interview.

"This is all part of the process to make sure that their supports and the funding and the investments that are being made are utilized accordingly, appropriately, to protect children and youth in our province."

Ontario began an overhaul of the child welfare system four years ago, with a focus on keeping more families together and strengthening prevention and early intervention supports, but the unions representing CAS workers said there is little to show for it.

"It’s clear the announced audit is another smokescreen to distract from the government's abject failure to support children and families while opening the door for more privatization in the sector," the Ontario Public Service Employees Union and CUPE Ontario said in a joint statement.

"We need to end the for-profit models in all residential care facilities, and introduce province-wide licensing of group homes, to ensure our services place children at the centre of care," OPSEU president JP Hornick wrote.

NDP critic Monique Taylor said action, not another review, is what's needed.

"They have been reviewing for five years, but what do they have to show for it?" she wrote in a statement.

"Is this the best we can do after having hundreds of children lose their lives in our broken system? What does this review do for children like Neveah and Katelynn?"

Four-year-old Neveah Tucker, who police identified more than a year after her remains were found in a Toronto dumpster in May 2022, was in the child welfare system, the Toronto Star has reported.

Katelynn Sampson was killed in 2008 by her guardians. A coroner's inquest into her death heard that several agencies, including the Children’s Aid Society, missed opportunities to help the Toronto girl before her death despite knowing her guardians had previous criminal convictions. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 9, 2024.