OACAS; or JOKE for short

I will post the link to Jeanette Lewis' letter to the editor of the Globe yesterday, but first I wanted to let all of you know what an absolute JOKE and waste of money this agency is! It should be completely shut down and all their funding go directly to the ombudsman who will hopefully have the power to investigate. I've also thought it might be funny to see pigs fly, but I'm not holding my breath!

Ontario Association of Children's Aid Societies is an agency set up to advise the 53 CAS and CCAS's on their policies and procedures... that's about the total purpose of the OACAS. They are also paid for all the marketing and, if I'm not mistaken, the fundraising for the CAS's. I wrote to them in September asking them to investigate what went wrong with Jeffrey's case; to do something that would let the CCAS know they were in the (very) wrong and should be held accountable, that I wasn't just going to forget what happened to this child. Their response was 'we advise the 53 agencies.' So, basically, they have no power to do anything about anything... so why is yet another useless (private) government agency getting millions a year care of you and I, Joe and Jane Taxpayer??

A clip from their website:
OACAS is a membership organization that represents 53 children's aid societies in Ontario. We have served our members, the community, the public and the government in a variety of ways since 1912. These services have included the promotion of child welfare issues, member services, government liaison and policy development, research and special projects, quality assurance in child welfare practice and training for all protection workers throughout the province. The Association is funded through membership fees, government grants and other revenue producing activities. OACAS provides system support to its member societies to assist and enhance their role in the community. Some of the services offered to member societies are accreditation, consultation services, French language services support, information and database services, the Ontario Child Protection Training Program, training and support to foster parents as well as our Youth in Care Network Support Program .

Did you notice that they have an 'accreditation service'?? Here is the BEST quote from the whole site:

Children's aid societies (CASs) in Ontario have expressed their determination to hold themselves accountable for providing high quality services to children and families across the province. Using a peer review model, the Ontario Association of Children's Aid Societies Accreditation Program evaluates all aspects of CAS service, governance and administrative responsibilities against common standards developed by the child welfare field. The standards for the OACAS Accreditation Program are designed to reflect the needs and expectations of the community, the requirements of provincial child welfare legislation, current best practices and emerging trends in the field of child welfare.

What a load of crap!

So, I agree with anonymous who said in a comment:

'Ms. Lewis now proposes a solution with more authority, money, and absolute power for her little business. Instead, I would say that the Legislative Assembly needs to review the entire process and revamp the entire structure. Bill C210 needs to be taken back to the Ministry for revision as it is seriously flawed. Ms. Lewis needs to give her head a shake and to get her facts straight as to who were the perpertrators and who were the victims. '

Here is Jeanette's letter to the Globe:

By JEANETTE LEWIS
Friday, December 23, 2005 Page A21

Jeffrey Baldwin should not have died. It is always a tragedy when any child is hurt or dies, and it is particularly heart-rending in this case because members of Jeffrey's own family have been charged in his death. It is also clear there were some terrible errors made in the child-welfare system.
It is the role of others -- the courts in particular -- to assign responsibility for Jeffrey's death. I hope they act swiftly and with the full weight of the law. But for those in the child-welfare field, and for concerned citizens in general, the priority must be to look closely at what each of us can do to prevent future tragedies.
The Ontario Association of Children's Aid Societies believes that Jeffrey's tragic story provides the impetus for the child-welfare field to examine its practices and make changes to the system in collaboration with the Ontario government.
Much has changed since Jeffrey's death in 2002, and more changes are required. Here are some of the critical areas:
Mandatory training in forensic investigations for children's aid workers, in collaboration with police. One of the best ways to protect children is to have qualified, highly trained staff who are experts in conducting child-protection investigations. There are hundreds of such people in Ontario who have had the opportunity to receive state-of-the art training, including training in forensic investigation.
While forensic investigative training is now used widely, it is neither mandatory nor included in the training for new workers. We believe changes that would make such training mandatory at or near the beginning of a worker's tenure would greatly enhance the system's capacity to protect children.
Some say the job of conducting investigations should belong to the police, given their experience in dealing with criminals; others defend the role of the Children's Aid Society worker, who is trained to understand children's needs. Both views are valid: Investigations must be a shared responsibility. The pooled knowledge and different skill sets of a police officer and a child- protection worker investigating jointly provides the best protection for children.
Across the province, Children's Aid Societies and police services have protocols in place to govern joint investigations by defining the roles and responsibilities of each organization. Even more joint training of CAS workers and police in child-protection investigations would be the best way to fill a serious gap in our system.
Enhancing the coroner's role in reviewing and reporting on child deaths. When a child is harmed or dies under questionable circumstances, or as the result of maltreatment, there are extensive reporting procedures, including a review by the Office of the Chief Coroner and its multidisciplinary pediatric death review committee.
Unfortunately, the information from child death reviews is not regularly available. No analysis or interpretation of the reviews is provided except to individual CASs that are involved. If the coroner's office were to receive sufficient resources to publish this information on an annual basis, the system could learn valuable lessons that would enhance its capacity to protect children.
Passing kinship care legislation. The unfortunate reality is that the high standards that have been applied for years to foster care have not applied to kinship care -- that is, when a vulnerable child is placed in the custody of a relative. We believe the same rigorous standards that apply to foster care should apply to kinship care, too.
The government is listening. Ontario has recently introduced a wide array of initiatives designed to build the capacity of the child-welfare system. They include amendments to the Child and Family Services Act, policies around kinship care, new assessment and planning tools and a new funding model.
Workload relief for CAS staff. Children's Aid workers in Ontario conduct more than 82,000 investigations a year and provide in-care services for more than 30,000 children. Children's Aid Societies operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Child welfare is a highly regulated sector -- as it should be. CASs are subject to 16 different review mechanisms within the Child and Family Services Act. Each CAS is accountable to the Ministry of Children and Youth Services, which reviews its performance. CASs are also accountable to the courts and overseen by boards of directors that represent the communities in which they serve.
In this complex environment and with this huge workload, the demands on workers can be overwhelming. It is critical that sufficient resources be put in place to enable them to fulfill their vital mission. Ontario's most vulnerable children deserve no less.
The responsibility to report: raising public awareness. Even with all these changes, our biggest ally in the fight to protect children is the public. Each and every one of us has a responsibility to report any circumstances in which we suspect a child is -- or may be -- at risk of harm.
Children's Aid workers are dedicated to child welfare. They are equipped to respond around the clock, and when they get a call, they respond very quickly. They have been protecting Ontario's most vulnerable citizens, its children, for more than 100 years.
But there are limits to what these workers can do. In a society that still has serious social challenges and too much violence directed at children, CAS workers need help. That is why a child's family, friends, neighbours and the general public must be the eyes and ears of the child-welfare community.
Even as society brings those responsible for Jeffrey's death to account, there is a broader challenge -- and there are larger lessons we must all learn. By making the right changes today, we can prevent countless tragedies tomorrow.
Jeanette Lewis is executive director of the Ontario Association of Children's Aid Societies.

and here's the link to the OACAS website: (don't laugh too hard at how ridiculous the whole thing is and drop them a line if you have a minute asking what exactly they do!!)
http://www.oacas.org

Crisis Nursery

Saskatchewan and Alberta both have one of these places, I believe it would be extremely beneficial to have one open in Ontario. Another proposal I will be following up with.

I think if it was run by people who are not involved with the CAS's, it would help keep children being taken from their families needlesly. It shouldn't be a crime to be poor, children shouldn't be taken from their homes because houses are messy (who has time to have a spotless house when you're busy playing with your kids??) or two parents don't live togather, not to mention any other weak excuse the agency gives for taking children. A crisis nursery also provides help to parents- financial, social, counselling, etc. If it becomes apparent that the child's mother or father don't want the child or are abusive, then the CAS be called by the nursery staff.

Everyone needs help sometime, everyone needs a break and unfortunately, instead of helping families, CAS's are ripping them apart.

Please see the following link for information on the Saskatoon crisis nursery. I have no idea why Ontario doesn't have one, but then as we recently found out from Andre Marin the ombudsman, Ontario is far, far behind the rest of Canada with regards to our child welfare system!

http://www.sbcc.ca/cn.htm

I received a fantastic letter today from Waterloo-Wellington MPP Ted Arnott. He also attached a letter he sent to Ms. Chambers requesting her consideration of the ombudsman's proposal as well as a letter he sent to the Social Policy's clerk, asking her to forward my letter to all members of the SP Committee! (which I have already done, but it was a nice gesture!)

Hopefully the feedback from members will continue to be positive!

Please send letters...

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20051219/BALDWIN19/TPNational/
the above is the link to Christie Blatchford's article in today's Globe. Please send letters to the editor of the Globe at:
www.theglobeandmail.com/feedback/LettersToTheEditor

Please make reference to Christie's article or they may not print it.

and / or to Christie directly thanking her for her amazing work at:
cblatchford@globeandmail.ca

Thanks,
Amanda

Social Policy Committee Member's Reply:

Ms. Reed:

Thank you for your letter regarding the Children's Aid.I believe the Children's Aid should be held accountable for its actions.
Sincerely,
Ted ChudleighMPP Halton

After Foster Care Petition

Please visit the following site to download a petition stating the Ombudsman should have the authority to investigate CAS's. Return address and further information is all on the site.

Thanks!

www.afterfostercare.ca

Globe and Mail December 19!!

Christie Blatchford is AMAZING! There are some pictures in the paper today as well, so I suggest you buy one, it's too long to post... three full pages!

Thanks Christie!!

Why is the public letting the CAS's away with murder? Since when did a publicly funded organization just be allowed to be private and unaccountable? Why are the authorities and ministers allowed to do what ever they want without talking to people affected by the CAS's? These people are making decisions without any basis or thought to what happens to us, the public. Bill 210 is a joke of a law that is AGAIN, costing us thousands, if not millions, to put through. Is the government a sepereate entity from the public now? Are we in Orson Wells' 1984... has the government become Big Brother??

NO! So put pressure on your local politicians about how we are not being listened to and we are supposed to be consulted about where our money goes!

If we refuse to pay taxes, we go to jail. Yet our tax money goes to people and organizations who are criminals that are for some reason, above the law!

Something has to give and I'm mad as hell! I hope you are too.

Some info...

I sent off the gifts for the children today. To arrive on Monday, delivered Tuesday. The woman at CCAS (yes, it's THEM who have to deliver the presents!!) said she would let me know what the kids thought of the gifts and when they were delivered.

Will hopefully meeting with the Ombudsman in January. If you haven't sent a letter of thanks yet, please do!

Keep writing letters!! They are making an impact!!

Letter to Ms. Chambers...

Dear Ms. Chambers,
I am very disappointed at your lack of support for ombudman Andre Marin's plea for
the authority to investigate Ontario
Children's Aid Societies.
The CAS's of Ontario have absolutely no accountability to the public; we who pay
their salaries through taxes. I have
been informed that they answer only to their Board of Directors who are not
impartial.
What consequences befall employee's who do not carry out their jobs effectively?
None.
It is the role of the ombudsman to act as the 'go between' the Provincial government
and the public, and as such, he
should have the authority to investigate any misuse of power or financing; of which
the child welfare system is a
perfect example.
You know my opinion of the child welafre system through our previous conversation;
they are no longer beneficial to
society on a whole in protecting our children. The CAS and CCAS's of Ontario instill
fear, contempt and loathing in the
public view. They have a jaded history of destroying families and more importantly,
of devastating the children they are
entrusted to protect and provide for.
I ask you, who protects the protected from their protectors? Who provides the checks
and balances?
It is my opinion that Mr. Andre Marin, if given the right, will be a beneficial,
independent official that will ensure
that the child welfare system is functioning properly. The Children's Aid Society's
of Ontario, (all of them) MUST be
accountable to the public, as well as to the children they supposedly serve.
Does the government not realize that the cost to society in caring for children
properly now is much less than the
burden of youths going through the judidial system or relying on social assistance
later?
We pay the CAS's to perform a duty that is not being carried out, and as a result,
the system needs a complete overhaul
and SHOULD be changed. Giving the Ontario ombudsman the authority to investigate
complaints against the child welfare
system is a very positive first step in rectifying the current situation.
I beg you to please re-think your stance on Mr. Marin's plan and support him
regarding his proposal to the Social Policy
Committee.
I know you are upset as a result of the Jeffrey Baldwin case; you must realize that
the CCAS holds a great majority of
the responsibility for his torture and death.
We, the public, are demanding that this organization be held liable for this child.
(and many other children who have
died as a result of their negligence)
I look forward to hearing from you in the near future.
Sincerely,
Amanda Reed

Ms.Chambers' reaction to Ombudsman... not good!

Ottawa Citizen Newspaper

Minister unenthusiastic about ombudsman overseeing CASs: Chambers lukewarm to Marin's proposal, but says she shares his concern for young
The Ottawa Citizen
Wed 14 Dec 2005 Page: C9 Section: City Byline: Jeff Esau Source: The Ottawa Citizen
Ontario Children and Youth Services Minister Mary Anne Chambers may share the provincial ombudsman's concerns about protecting children, but she's lukewarm to his ideas on how to do so.
"The ombudsman can say whatever he wants to say, but I, as the minister, cannot put myself in a position that could be defined as being in contempt of the legislative process," Ms. Chambers said earlier this week in response to ombudsman Andre Marin's proposal to place the province's Children's Aid Society under his office's oversight. She characterized the idea as only one of "a variety of options" for protecting children.
Last week, Mr. Marin told members of the legislature's social policy committee that if legislation to amend the Child and Family Services Act passes as is, Ontario would gain the "dubious distinction" of being "at the back of the oversight pack in Canada."
Mr. Marin noted that Ontario is the only province where child protection services are run by private agencies funded by the government -- in Ontario's case, to the tune of $1.2 billion each year. In other provinces, he said, child protection is a public function or is shared between government and private agencies. He also noted that all provinces, except Ontario and Quebec, have ombudsmen overseeing child protection services. The ombudsman then recommended this situation be rectified by granting his office oversight over Ontario's 53 Children's Aid Societies.
The minister, however, suggested Mr. Marin's recommendation regarding Bill 210 was too narrow. "The recommendation that the ombudsman is making is focusing on one particular solution.
Ms. Chambers said she and the ombudsman "share concerns about accountability on behalf of kids and families," but she questioned his assertion that Ontario affords convicted criminals housed in privatized provincial jails protection by the ombudsman, but fails to extend the same protection to children. "I don't think that's fair at all. We actually do have a number of opportunities for protection of children and youth. There are some provinces where the ombudsman has oversight, but there are some provinces where the ombudsman does not."
Ms. Chambers pointed out there is already a plan to make the ministry's child advocate -- currently an official reporting to the minister -- an independent officer of the legislature, similar to the ombudsman.
Mr. Marin dismissed the use of a child advocate for oversight as "not helpful in investigating complaints about the CASs." The child advocate, he said this week, is "like a town crier for children," which is a "world of a difference" from his own role as provincial watchdog. Unlike the ombudsman, "the advocate does not possess any investigative powers, is not impartial and is not neutral."
"We should be moving heaven and Earth to provide an investigative ability," said Mr. Marin. A child advocate "will not solve the problem of the CAS being without any oversight."
Not everyone agreed with Mr. Marin's view. Jeanette Lewis, executive director of the Ontario Association of Children's Aid Societies, thinks the necessary oversight is already in place. Mr. Marin "has not very well articulated to the public the number of accountability mechanisms that exist for Children's Aid Societies," she said, pointing out such oversight functions as death reviews, Crown ward reviews, financial audits and ministry monitoring. As well, all decisions by child welfare workers to remove a child from a home are reviewed by the courts within five days.
"I'm not sure how the ombudsman's authority would then also deal with the court-related decisions," said Ms. Lewis.
The minister, meanwhile, noted the legislative process precludes her from responding in detail on what she expects regarding Bill 210. "If I am going to declare firmly and unequivocally what the outcome of a bill that we have introduced is going to be, why then do we have the legislative process?"
Ms. Chambers emphasized that with Bill 210 still at the committee stage, "there will be an opportunity for us right now to strengthen accountability and complaint mechanisms for Children's Aid Societies, and we're working on that."
Illustration:• Colour Photo: CNW Group Photo / Children and Youth Services Minister Mary Anne Chambers called the ombudsman's assessment unfair.

My letter to the Committee

December 12, 2005
Dear Honourable Members of the Ontario Social Policy Committee,

On December 6th, 2005, Ontario Ombudsman Andre Marin presented the your Honours with his proposal to amend Bill 210 regarding the Ombudsman's authority to investigate Children's Aid Societies. I believe it is about time that these organizations must be held accountable to the public as opposed to their Board of Directors.

It is the Provincial taxpayers that finance their salaries and it has become quite apparent that the Ontario child welfare system is corrupt, outdated and inefficient. They have unchecked power and authority to do as they please and suffer absolutely no consequences for any actions, regardless of the outcomes.

I use Jeffrey Baldwin as an example. (one of many, many children) Mr. Marin discussed the details of this case that is currently before the courts and I am sure you have read some of what happened to this child. The Catholic Children's Aid Society placed him and his three siblings with two KNOWN and CONVICTED child abusers. The CCAS did not even have to go outside of their own building to research this information; the history of Jeffrey's grandparents was in their OWN files in their OWN filing cabinet.

They never checked on these children following placement although three separate requests for the children were made. These children were taken out of the fire and put into the flame by their so called protectors.

So I pose this question to all of you; Who protects the protected from their protectors?

We are angry that we PAID for Jeffrey to be tortured and killed. The CCAS has to date not been held accountable for any of their actions. (or lack thereof) Jeffrey Baldwin's case worker is not facing criminal charges; in fact she is still actively employed! The Executive Director of the CCAS, Mary McConville should also be held responsible for the negligence of her employee's because she should have been more diligent in ensuring reports were properly filled out and children properly cared for.

Complaining about more funding is a poor excuse when the Ontario child welfare system receives a billion dollars a year.

I am asking you to please seriously consider Mr. Marin's request for the authority to investigate Children's Aid Societies. I think that should the committee deny his proposal, the public will react. I encourage all of you to visit the following blog site to read what is being said about this case, it may shed some light on just how outraged people are.
http://jeffreyslawnow.blogspot.com

We demand a voice, we demand accountability from the people who are supposed to be protecting our future generation.

I wish you wonderful holidays with your children and family.

Sincerely,
Amanda Reed

Letter Template

Your name

Your mailing address

Your e-mail address

Date

Person's name

Mailing address

Fax number

RE: Ontario Ombudsman regarding Bill 210

Dear Ms. ____________ (or Mr.)

On December 6th, 2005, Ontario Ombudsman Andre Marin went before the Social Policy Committee requesting permission for his office to investigate Children's Aid Societies. As an Ontario tax payer of government employees' salaries, I believe granting this request would ensure that these organizations are held accountable for their actions when placing children. We are paying them to perform a service; to do a job, and it has become very apparent that they are not properly fulfilling their role as society's protectors of children.

If the office of the Ontario Ombudsman is authorized to investigate claims against CAS, Ontario will be taking a big step in becoming equal with the rest of Canada regarding child welfare. The Ombudsman of every other province in this country except Quebec already has this authority and are all currently moving forward to increase the Ombudsman's position to investigate the child welfare system.

As it stands currently in Ontario, CAS organizations are funded publicly but are only accountable to their Board of Directors. We, as taxpayers pay their salaries, however they do not have to answer to the public for wrong doing or gross misconduct! I personally do not know of any government run organization that has quite the same ultimate power and ability to do just about anything they please with no questions asked. Mr. Marin stated in his presentation to the committee that: 'The Province of Ontario provides over 1 billion dollars to fund child protection services through 53 independent Children’s Aid Societies yet fails to provide the checks and balances that would ensure that administrative decisions taken by these Societies, which have life and death impact on children in need, be exposed to independent investigation.'

The public is questioning the child welfare organizations and the government now and we are demanding answers.

I encourage you to show your support to Mr. Marin by assisting him with his request to the Social Policy Committee in any way possible.

Please feel free to contact me anytime.

Sincerely,

______________________ (your signature)

Your name

cc: (anyone else you send this letter to)

Addresses to Write to:

Letters to the Editor of the major newspapers are good too...

Contact information for individual members of the Social Policy Committee:
Chair: Mario Racco, Liberal www.marioracco.onmpp.ca
Vice Chair: Khalil Ramal, Liberal www.khalilramal.onmpp.ca
Members: Ted Arnott, Conservative www.tedarnottmpp.com
Ted Chudleigh, Conservative www.tedchudleigh.com
Kim Craitor, Liberal www.kimcraitor.com
Peter Fonseca, Liberal www.peterfonseca.onmpp.ca
Jeff Leal, Liberal www.jeffleal.onmpp.ca
Rosario Marchese, New Democrat www.rosariomarchese.ca
Kathleen Wynne, Liberal www.kathleenwynne.ca

The committee's address is:
Room 1405, Whitney Block
Queen's Park Toronto, Ontario M7A 1A2

General emails may be addressed to its clerk:
anne_stokes@ontla.ola.org

Dalton McGuinty
Premier of Ontario
Legislative Building
Queen's Park Toronto ON M7A 1A1
Fax: (416) 325-3745

Mary Anne Chambers
Minister of Children and Youth Services
56 Wellesley Street West, 14th Floor
Toronto, M4S 2S3
Fax: (416) 212-7431

Mr. John Tory
Leader- Official Opposition Conservative Party
Rm. 381 Legislative Building
Queen’s Park Toronto ON M7A 1A8

Ms. Marilyn Churley
MPP Toronto – Danforth
Rm. 116Legislative Building
Queen’s Park Toronto ON M7A 1A5

Jack Layton
1506 Danforth Ave.
Toronto, ON M4J 1N4
Fax: (416) 405-8918
laytoj1@parl.gc.ca

Stephen Harper
Conservative Party of Canada
#1720 - 130 Albert Street
Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5G4
Toll free: (866) 808-8407
Phone: (613) 755-2000
Fax at: (613) 755-2001

Ombudsman Needs Our Help

Hi everyone,

I have been speaking with the office of the Ombudsman and it has been suggested that I and all of you and any other concerned citizens write letters to Mary Anne Chambers, our MPP's as well as newspapers voicing our support for Mr. Marin's efforts and request that his office be allowed to investigate CAS or CCAS complaints. As it stands right now, as you are all aware, these organizations answer to their Board of Director's ONLY and are therefore, not accountable to anyone, least of all the public who pay their salaries. I ask you all to please continue to write letters and keep the pressure in the right places. The Ombudsman has asked for the right to investigate because of all of the letters he has received regarding the Jeffrey case that I and a lot of you wrote, so it DOES make an impact when you take the time to send off an e-mail or letter.
Thanks and keep in touch!
Amanda

Ombudsman's Presentation

Under Our Watch
Submissions of the OMBUDSMAN of ONTARIO to the Standing Committee on Social Policy, respecting Bill 210, the Child and Family Services Statute Law Amendment Act

Introduction
I thank the Committee for making some room for me to present on Bill 210. I understand that I have 30 minutes this evening. I intend to make a short presentation then answer your questions.
As this committee knows full well, Bill 210 is not without its fair share of controversy. However, the objection that I bring for your consideration is one that has not been heard publicly and one which I believe I am duty bound to raise. In a nutshell, whereas other provinces have seen fit to provide independent oversight over their respective child protection agencies, the Ombudsman’s office has, in Ontario, an extremely narrow opening to investigate complaints about the services sought or received by the Children’s Aid Societies. That small window will close once this bill passes unless this committee makes its voice heard. If that small window closes, Ontario will have the dubious distinction of having solidified its position as being at the back of the oversight pack in Canada in ensuring that the most vulnerable of our children have an independent avenue of redress.

The Stakes

We all know who our most vulnerable citizens are – children at risk – children whose parents are unable or unwilling to care for them. The importance of ensuring that we succeed in rescuing and protecting these children and in helping their families cannot be overestimated. After all, our children are our future. Today’s children are tomorrow’s citizens – tomorrow’s parents, tomorrow’s workers, tomorrow’s governors. When today’s children are protected and given a sense of self-worth, they can take care of tomorrow. But when things go wrong, today’s children can become tomorrow’s burden. Worse, when things go wrong, today’s children can be today’s tragedies. When they are not given the effective support and protection that is their simple birthright as human beings, they are neglected, even abused. They are left unfed or unsupervised. At times they are beaten or sexually violated, or as in the horrifying case of Jeffrey Baldwin and his young sister, they can be denied their humanity entirely. And as that case also shows, these tragedies can happen under our watch.

The Reality

Fortunately Ontario is blessed with good citizens who are prepared to make the protection of children their life’s calling. There are 53 independent non-profit organizations in this Province, Children’s Aid Societies, staffed by dedicated people who try to pick up the pieces when our children are being failed. Their work could not be more important. The effectiveness of what they do could not be more urgent. But as is true of all humans, these societies sometimes fail, and the systems we have put in place to help them sometimes fail. When this happens families can be broken apart needlessly, or children can be deprived of stable foster-care, or adoptions can fail, or at times, children can suffer continued abuse, or even die as Jeffrey Baldwin did.

Jeffrey slowly starved to death in 2002 at almost 6 years old. He was only 21 pounds and stood only at 37 inches. Evidence now being called at the trial of his grandparents charged with 1st degree murder is that he was living in his own feces in his bedroom while his lungs were filled with pneumonia. He was “treated like a dog” and forced to eat in a corner and urinate and defecate on the floor. Sadly, according to media reports, the Catholic Children’s Aid Society of Toronto not only did not prevent this horrifying situation from happening, but facilitated it. This CAS gave custody of Jeffrey and three of his siblings to these two accused-murderers. One of the co-accused had been convicted years before with assault causing bodily harm in the death of her baby who suffered broken bones.

If honourable members wonder how in God’s name the CAS, our child protection agency in Ontario, could ever facilitate providing custody to someone in these circumstances, you are not alone. We received a complaint in the last month about this case and asked to investigate. We had to turn it down. We have no jurisdiction over the CAS. If Jeffrey had had the good fortune of being born in any other province in Canada, lingering questions about the role or complicity of the CAS in the death of Jeffrey could be probed. Alas, in Ontario, we are forced to simply turn a blind eye and move on.

Jeffrey’s case may be an extreme case but it is not a unique one. Children can die as 25-day-old baby Jordan did in 2001, when he starved to death while his 19-year-old mother was supposedly being supervised, because CAS workers assumed staff at a Community woman’s shelter would take care of things.

It is never time to stop trying to improve things. It is never time to stop making the system and the people who administer it as good as they can be.

The Goal

Like any thinking citizen of this Province, I am therefore pleased to see many of the improvements to our child care practices being taken in the Child and Family Services Statute Law Amendment Act, things like increasing the flexibility of dispositions to meet the needs of each child, making the system friendlier for adopting parents, and the attempts to reduce the expense and acrimony of litigation by encouraging mediation. But I did not come here simply to applaud the Act. I am here because the legislation will fail in reaching another of its underlying objectives – namely, strengthening the complaint procedure to provide higher standards of accountability for Children’s Aid Societies. Not only will Bill 210 fail to achieve this, it will make it worse.

The Problem

Currently, my office cannot accept complaints directly about Children’s Aid Societies, even though we receive hundreds of complaints annually. Last year we received 305. In the first six months of this fiscal year we received 94. Because of limits on our mandate we cannot address them. We have to tell affected individuals caught up in what are likely to be the most important events in their lives – struggles relating to the welfare of children – that we cannot help.

Other provincial Ombudsmen are not so limited. In 1991-92 in her Annual Report my predecessor lamented that “All provincial Ombudsman except for Ontario and Quebec have jurisdiction over Children’s Aid Societies or their equivalent.” Meanwhile, last year Nova Scotia passed amendments to increase the relevant jurisdiction of its Ombudsman.

Quite evidently, there is no policy reason why my Office should not be dealing with CAS complaints. Other provincial Ombudsmen do. Indeed, as long ago as 1986 a Canadian Ombudsman’s conference in Ottawa passed a resolution to give priority to the investigation of complaints made by or involving children.

Our inability to consider CAS complaints is not because of any concrete policy choice, or because of concern that it would be unsuitable to have an Ombudsman help achieve inexpensive and expeditious solutions to the litany of problems that arise. Our inability is an accident of history. It is because Ontario is the only province in Canada where Children’s Aid Societies, although publicly funded and provincially monitored, developed as private institutions, and, like other provincial Ombudsman my Office generally oversees only government agents. At present this gives me only a sliver of responsibility to oversee what I will call “Directors’ reviews” that are undertaken under s.68(3) of the Child and Family Services Act. Directors’ reviews occur rarely, where the Ministry chooses to exercise its discretion to assign a Director to review a CAS decision. Since the Director is appointed by government I can examine the way he conducts the review, but not the underlying issue.

The Failure of Bill 210

So what does Bill 210 do in an attempt to improve the handling of complaints? Not only is the Office of the Ombudsman of Ontario not taken advantage of, Bill 210 removes the jurisdiction of the Ombudsman of Ontario over Directors’ decisions by abolishing Directors’ reviews under s.68(3). While other provinces are moving forward in lock step to give their citizens the benefits of an expeditious, inexpensive, informal complaints procedure relating to some of the most important matters those citizens will face, we in Ontario are moving backwards.

How then, can the Government present Bill 210 as legislation that will increase CAS accountability by improving the complaint procedures? We do not yet know the details because they will be housed in regulations. What we do know is that the Ombudsman of Ontario’s Office, provides the ingredients necessary for effective oversight, “expedition and informality” and “effectiveness.”

Expedition and informality

As Bill 210 recognizes with its call for increased mediation, not every problem requires formal adjudication. Most of the complaints we receive can be solved quickly and inexpensively through timely intercession. Sometimes it happens because our impartiality enables us to see obvious solutions that the parties are too invested to see. At other times we serve as honest brokers.

Effectiveness

For deeper and more intransigent problems, particularly when those problems are systemic, there must be investigation, and there must be credibility in reporting. The Ombudsman Act provides our Office with the tools needed to find the facts, including the statutory power to demand production and if necessary, compel testimony and conduct hearings, and we have the track record to employ reason and exercise moral suasion to secure results.

The Solution

An elaborate statute has been crafted to make this Office effective at external oversight. That statute is called the Ombudsman Act. This Office, which administers that statute, is not only in place, it is well-established. Giving the Ombudsman of Ontario jurisdiction to oversee the work of Children’s Aid Societies will provide the most expert, expeditious, informal and effective form of oversight possible. This is why my predecessors have been calling for this power for more than twenty years. This can be achieved easily, without having to amend the Ombudsman Act and without setting any precedent as I already have some authority relating to private contractors operating under the Ministry of Correctional Services Act. The solution can be achieved by adding a single provision to the Child and Family Services Statute Law Amendment Act to give the Ontario Ombudsman authority over Children’s Aid Societies. I would propose that Bill 210 be amended by adding the following provision:

Approved agencies designated as children’s aid societies under s.15(2) shall be deemed to be governmental organizations for the purposes of the Ombudsman Act.

In the end, this should be done for the most compelling of reasons – for the children and their families. If this power had been given when my predecessors called for it in an effort to correct a technical accident of history, much of the grief experienced by the parents of disabled children told about in my Report, Between a Rock and a Hard Place may have been avoided. Those parents were forced to give their children up to Children’s Aid Societies in order to secure residential care they could not afford, and while the Societies were supportive in most cases, some of the bureaucrats they dealt with were insensitive to the realities of the situation, and subjected these families to humiliation and degradation, without apparent appreciation that they were dealing with loving, capable parents. And I wonder what kind of contribution we can make to improving the protection for the Jeffrey Baldwins and Baby Jordans of the world.

The Province of Ontario provides over 1 billion dollars to fund child protection services through 53 independent Children’s Aid Societies yet fails to provide the checks and balances that would ensure that administrative decisions taken by these Societies, which have life and death impact on children in need, be exposed to independent investigation.

If we as a Province want to discharge our deep moral and legal responsibility by using private Children’s Aid Agencies to perform one of the most important functions of government, that is fine – for the most part those societies have acquitted themselves well and we are in their debt. We must, however, do what we can to make sure that they operate as effectively and as fairly as possible. They do the ground work, but in the end, the children of this province are our responsibility. Their wellbeing is under our watch. Tragically at times, we know that their very lives can be lost under our watch. We can never let that happen because we have not been watching effectively, nor can we permit families and adopting parents to suffer needlessly because we have developed an incomplete or ineffective oversight system. This Office was devised to improve the quality of decisions affecting the lives of Ontario’s citizens. This is my plea to make use of it where it is most required.

AMAZING!!

By CHRISTIE BLATCHFORD
Wednesday, December 7, 2005 Page A20

Ontario Ombudsman André Marin wants the power to investigate complaints against the province's 53 children's aid societies.
Appearing last night before the government's social policy committee, which is examining a bill that would amend the laws governing the societies, Mr. Marin cited the notorious Jeffrey Baldwin case as an example of his office's powerlessness.
"We received a complaint in the last month about this case," he told the committee, "and were asked to investigate.
"We had to turn it down. We have no jurisdiction over the CAS."

The complaint seeking a probe into Jeffrey's death of starvation-induced pneumonia and septic shock, Mr. Marin said, is one of 94 his office received in the first six months of this year.
"Last year, we received 305. . . . Because of limits in our mandate, we cannot address them."
His counterparts in other provinces, he said, have the ability to investigate such complaints.
The little boy died while in the custody of his maternal grandparents, approved by the Catholic Children's Aid Society of Toronto as acceptable caregivers for him and his three siblings.
Only after Jeffrey died, weighing at almost the age of six less than he did when he was a year old, did the CCAS find in its files evidence that the grandparents, Elva Bottineau and Norman Kidman, were each convicted child abusers.
Ms. Bottineau, 54, was convicted as a teenage mother of assault causing bodily harm in the death of her infant daughter.
Mr. Kidman, 53, was convicted eight years later of two counts of assault causing bodily harm upon two of Ms. Bottineau's children by a previous relationship.
The two are on trial for first-degree murder in the death of Jeffrey on Nov. 30, 2002.
Mr. Justice David Watt of the Ontario Superior Court has heard evidence that Jeffrey and a sister were confined for such long periods of time to a dank and fetid room that they lived amid their own waste.
The information about the grandparents' criminal past was contained in the CCAS records, the agency has acknowledged, but went undiscovered, prompting Mr. Marin to characterize the agency as having, in effect, "facilitated" the harsh and degrading conditions in which Jeffrey was kept.
"I think the committee was stunned to realize that the CASs, despite receiving a billion dollars in taxpayers' money, run themselves without any independent oversight," Mr. Marin told The Globe and Mail last night in a telephone interview.
He said he received a sympathetic audience, but no firm commitment that the legislation would be amended.
He says it would require only the addition of a "10-word line" to the law.

The UN post is getting quite full with comments, so here's a blank one to leave your thoughts...

CCAS Board of Directors

HRS@ccas.toronto.on.ca - this seems to be HR's e-mail, so maybe better to fax or write to them with the specific person's name on the envelope
The fax # is (416) 395-0583.
26 Maitland Street,
Toronto, Ontario,
M4Y 1C6
Tel: 416-395-1500
(main) Fax: 416-395-1581

Board of Directors
Aloysius Cardinal Ambrozic, Honorary President 2005/2006 CCAS Board of Directors President: John Cressatti1st
Vice-President: Stephen Grant2nd
Vice-President: Michele Fordyce
Treasurer: Joseph Fanutti
Secretary: Eleanor Shannon
Past President: Tom Donovan
Angelo Cristofaro
Steve De Quintal
Mary DiFrancesco
Michael Fullan
The Honourable Joseph James
Carolyn Lockett
Dorothy McGuigan
Hugh O'Reilly
John Spekkens
Larry Talbot
Dr. Joanne Turner

Letter to United Nations:

To Whom it May Concern;

I am a self proclaimed child advocate. Everything I do is on my own time; I am not paid by anyone. I research child death cases and then write to all levels of government asking why the death occurred, why no consequences were sufferedby the perpetrator, etc.
There is currently a case in trial about a little boy named Jeffrey Baldwin. He was betrayed by the Catholic Children's Aid Society and as a result endured torture and severe malnutrition and starvation. One medical professional said his case is one of the worst he has ever seen and he does extensive volunteer work with children in under developed and third world countries.
The Canadian government is turning it's back both financially and lawfully on these children and the people and agencies who have caused their deaths.
I would like to make a formal complaint to the United Nations against my country and various specific agencies withinCanada.I would like to know how to do this. Please take me seriously; Canada is a criminal when it comes to children.
Sincerely,
Amanda Reed Canada

Response from UN:
Thank you for the work you are doing on children's rights. We're very sorry to hear about Jeffrey and the sufferings he injured.

In the website, https://webmail.cogeco.ca/webmail.cgi?cmd=url&url=http!3A!2F!2Fwww.ohchr.org!2Fenglish!2Fcontact!2Findex.htm, you will find a model complaint form which you can fill out and send to the

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
either through their fax hotline, + 41 22 917 9022,
or their e-mail address, tb-petitions@ohchr.org.

You can also contact non-governmental organizations in Canada engaged in activities concerning children. You will find a directory of NGOs associated with the UN on-line at https://webmail.cogeco.ca/webmail.cgi?cmd=url&url=http!3A!2F!2Fwww.un.org!2Fdpi!2Fngosection!2Fasp!2Fform.asp
Once again, thank you for sharing your concerns and taking the time to write to the United Nations. Public Inquiries UnitPublic Relations SectionDepartment of Public InformationUnited Nationshttps://webmail.cogeco.ca/webmail.cgi?cmd=msg_new&h_from=inquiries2@un.org&utoken=jeffreyslaw!40cogeco.ca!40pop.cogeco.ca!3A110_!7E2-ef9f0df6ab332c2409e200_0

Informative website...

www.fixcas.com

Quilt 3 is finished!

This is for Jeffrey's oldest sister. If you remember that she once sat outside his door describing the July 1st fireworks she had seen. It was a good memory she had of her and her brother, so I found fireworks material just for her quilt.

Quilt Two is finished!

Jeffrey's brother's quilt is finished!

Ombudsman

This is going to make you all fall off your chairs...
I just spoke to the office of the Ontario Ombudsman. I had written him a letter asking for his help to ensure a public inquiry is called after the trial and to help us in general.
Here's a shock: The CCAS is NOT a public agency! They are NOT public servants so the Ombudsman CAN NOT investigate or question them about anything. They are publicly funded, but are a private organization!
Who are they responsible to?? ONLY their Board of Directors... that's IT! They CAN NOT be held accountable, sued or 'made' to do anything except by their Board. I will post the letters I write to my pal Mary McConville and her Board tonight!!
I am SO mad! They don't answer to ANYONE!!
Write to Mary, write to the Board of Directors, the e-mail address is below as is Mary's address...
What a JOKE!

Archives

Infamous kitchen mat.Because of all the posts, some are getting put into archives. Scrool down to the bottom of the page and click on 'archives' on the right hand side bar. I am putting this post back on so it stays on the first page.

Believe it or not!

... the CCAS got back to me on where we should send our letters to their Board of Directors!

HRS@ccas.toronto.on.ca
The fax # is (416) 395-0583.

I actually think it's the Human Resource Service (?) but in any case, tons of letters would be good!

One quilt is finished!

front_______________ back

This is the quilt for the sister locked in the room with Jeffrey. It's not a great pic, but all the fabric on the back is velvet, flannel, etc. That's a pic of Jeffrey in the middle. The flowers on the front are shiny and I embroidered a little bee. Hope you all like it. I've started his brothers now and should have it finished by Monday. Will post pictures when they're finished.

Letters to Mary McConville

Dear all,

I am putting the letters I have written to Mary McConvill, Executive Director of CCAS. They are controversial and I debated about whether I should post them or not, but I want you all to know how this case has effected me and how angry I am at this woman. She is the Exec. Director and she did not monitor her agents or ensure anyone was doing their job. In my opinion, if there is a house cleaning, she should be the absolute first to go. I welcome comments and I hope no one is too offended, but if you should know that with all her experience, she should have known that something wasn't right and I don't buy over worked... she's not in the field, she is supposed to be guiding her agents and being their boss, making sure they are doing their jobs, and she didn't. Please notice the dates of the letters as some things have changed since they were written...
Amanda

Here goes....

Amanda Reed
jeffreyslaw@cogeco.ca

October 24, 2005

Mary McConville
Catholic Children’s Aid Society
26 Maitland Street
Toronto, ON M4Y 1C6
Fax: 416-395-1581

Re: Jeffrey Baldwin Tree and Memorial Ceremony

Dear Ms. McConville,

I would like to once again extend my invitation to you and all Toronto Catholic Children’s Aid Society staff to the Jeffrey Baldwin Tree and Memorial ceremony on Sunday, October 30th at 2 o’clock p.m. in Greenwood Park. The address is 150 Greenwood Avenue if you need to do a Map Quest. It’s only about two streets over from 354 Woodfield Road; that’s where Jeffrey Baldwin lived in torture and died alone. You may not be familiar with this address as neither you, nor any of your agents ever visited there.

I chose this park because had Jeffrey or his sister ever been allowed out of their hellhole, this would most likely have been the park they would have played in. But then what’s playing? They never even got a chance to do that at ‘home’, unless you can call a child banging his head on the walls and floor amusement; if that is the case, then I correct myself, Jeffrey had tons of fun.

I have had numerous e-mails from people who are so grateful that a memorial is being installed, people who have sent donations to ensure it is a success. People who think there are more parties responsible for this child’s death than Bottineau / Kidman clan.

I have mentioned to them in my responses that I have invited the CCAS staff, including you, the Executive Director to the memorial ceremony. Everyone is anxious to meet you and I have told them that your picture is on the internet; included on the sites that praise your accomplishments so they will be able to pick you out in the crowd. In fact, would you be interested in saying a few words? I have asked all speakers not to mention God. He was never in that house or in those people’s hearts, He’s not welcome at Jeffrey’s memorial.

Looking forward to seeing you this weekend, take care.

Sincerely,
Amanda Reed

Amanda Reed
jeffreyslaw@cogeco.ca

November 2, 2005

Mary McConville
Catholic Children’s Aid Society
26 Maitland Street
Toronto, ON M4Y 1C6
Fax: 416-395-1581


Dear Ms. McConville,

I was very disappointed not to make your acquaintance this past weekend at Jeffrey Baldwin’s memorial. A lot of people, almost 200, were also upset that you did not take time out of your busy weekend to attend. I thought you cared about Jeffrey, apparently not. Did you know that Ms. Mary Anne Chambers came? She brought beautiful yellow roses to lay at the base of the tree.

I was hoping to use the left over donations (and they keep coming in daily) to set up a trust fund for Jeffrey’s siblings. After the trial, I will ask Ms. Chambers how I can go about accomplishing this. I know your agency will dispose of them as soon as they are no longer useful in covering your collective asses, which will inevitably leave them unable to fend for themselves in this cruel world. Have they not aged enough? I hope they will have the chance to achieve post secondary education and I know your agency, nor the government will not help them, so once again, public generosity is a child’s only chance. You use these children up, burn them out, break their souls and then say ‘have a nice life.’ You should be so ashamed of yourselves, I hope you can not sleep at night. To be honest, you ain’t seen nothing of me yet…

These children have nothing, and even less now that you have torn them out of the only safe, sane environment they have ever known, and the Tuesday before the Thanksgiving long weekend? Are you all insane? It astounds me that you actually think that separating the children, and taking away the only family they have now, is actually beneficial to their psyche’s! You have now permanently lost probably one of your best foster homes which is shameful. But then, your agency is a disgrace, so why should you change now?

I can not stress enough how angry people are with the CCAS. Your agency has completely lost all public faith, we don’t ‘trust you now’ and I don’t think anyone should. Besides the fact that you inadvertently approved and conceded to the torture and death of Jeffrey Baldwin, (because no one was sharp enough to check the histories of Kidman or Bottineau; the information was in your OWN files and you were too goddamn lazy to read it!) you betrayed his surviving siblings by ripping them out of their loving foster home. You are not doing a very good job at convincing anyone that you have changed or care about children. Enough is more than enough…

I sincerely look forward to meeting you as I am sure we will eventually. Contact me anytime to go for lunch; it will be my treat as I know how minimally funded and underpaid you are.

Regards,
Amanda Reed


Amanda Reed
jeffreyslaw@cogeco.ca

November 7, 2005

Mary McConville
Catholic Children’s Aid Society
26 Maitland Street
Toronto, ON M4Y 1C6
Fax: 416-395-1581


Dear Ms. McConville,

I read your letter to the editor dated November 2nd, 2005. If you aren’t going to say anything the public wants to hear, why do you waste your time even writing a letter? You are accountable to us, the public, your employers, not solely to the Ministry of Children and Youth Services. They only give out funding, they don’t provide it; we do. You are also accountable to the countless children you betray and hurt everyday, they are your clients. Telling us exactly why you tore those three children from a loving foster home after three years of love and stability should be mandatory. Divulging the reasons why you separated and ripped them from their family would not give away the current whereabouts of the kids and so, should be public knowledge. I imagine that your agency being terrified of what the foster mother would say on the stand and the possibility the children would be asked to testify in the murder trial was enough for you to tear them apart, to confuse and hurt them.

No, I suppose those aren’t frivolous reasons, you should be really scared of what secrets those kids can give up.

I honestly don’t believe any of you understand the importance of stability and love in a child’s life or you would not have done what you did the Tuesday before the Thanksgiving long weekend. I’m very surprised you did not wait until Christmas Eve because only that date would have been more damaging than Thanksgiving. Once again, you should be ashamed of yourselves for your selfishness. No one believes you have the siblings’ best interests at heart so stop letting all this garbage and these lies come out of your mouth, it makes you look silly. You are consistently assuming we are all stupid and ignorant to your big policies and procedures. We are not.

The circumstances that led to Jeffrey Baldwin’s death are indeed very tragic and unacceptable, but not once have I heard you publicly apologize to your employers or to the children you have let become so badly damaged. I have not once heard of you taking the responsibility for being so lazy and unorganized, the public has not heard of your incredible life-saving changes to policy following his death. Surely you aren’t going to hide behind the very weak and transparent Bill 210 are you? We can see you hiding behind there grasping on to it for dear life. But let me tell you Ms. McConville, if you ever, ever want to gain back any inkling of public trust, you must admit that this child’s blood is on your hands.

I hope you are shaking in your boots, I hope you and your agency will be found partially responsible for Jeffrey’s death and be severely reprimanded. I hope you can’t sleep or eat or have a day pass by that you do not think of this child; we have all paid numerous precious hours sleepless, crying and feeling helpless as a result of your mistake.

We are waiting for an apology.

Regards,
Amanda Reed

Memorial Pics

I wonder what this child is thinking... I hope he never fully understands why he was there

Toronto City Councillor Paula Fletcher... an incredible woman!
Memorial plaque

My son Reed and I laying a rose...
The EMS workers, some were at the dreadful scene November 30th, 2002...
Giving my speech in front of the tree, bench and plaque...

beautiful day, glorious colours on the tree!

The crowd...

-all pictures courtesy of Kris Harper

More pictures

Jeffrey and his younger brother, again notice the difference in size!

Jeffrey, his siblings and 'loving' mother. As if she didn't know what was going on! Look at his eyes! He can't seem to open them!

Jeffrey and his siblings. My guess is Christmes 2001. His younger brother is to the right of him and is obviously taller and more robust. The distress on Jeffrey's sister's face (the one locked up with him, to his immediate left) is heartbreaking!

'Letters To' Information

Betsworth, Linda
Phone: 416-325-0661 Fax: 416-325-5735
Program Supervisor - CHILDREN'S SERVICES
3rd Flr477 Mount Pleasant Rd
Toronto, ON M7A 1G1

Prime Minister Paul Martin
You can send your comments by e-mail to pm@pm.gc.ca
Office of the Prime Minister
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa K1A 0A2
Fax: 613-941-6900

Don Guy
Chief of Staff
Office of the Premier
Queen's Park
Toronto ON M7A 1A1

Hon Irwin Cotler
MINISTER OF JUSTICE AND ATTORNEY GENERAL OF CANADA
312 West Block House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6
Fax: (613) 990-7255

Dalton McGuinty
Premier of Ontario
Legislative BuildingQueen's Park
Toronto ON M7A 1A1
Fax: (416) 325-3745

Mary Anne Chambers
Minister of Children and Youth Services
56 Wellesley Street West, 14th Floor
Toronto, M4S 2S3
Fax: (416) 212-7431

Ontario Association of Children's Aid Societies
75 Front Street East, 2nd floor
Toronto, Ontario M5E 1V9
fax (416) 366-8317

Catholic Children's Aid Society of Toronto
Mary McConville, Executive Director
Toronto Catholic Children's Aid Society
26 Maitland St,
Toronto ON M4Y 1C6
Fax: (416) 395-1581
Please write to this woman for sure

Michael Bryant
Ministry of the Attorney General
720 Bay Street, 11th Floor
Toronto, ON M5G 2K1
http://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca/english/comments.asp

Andre Marin
Ombudsman Ontario
125 Queen's Park
Toronto ON M5G 2C7

Dr. Barry A. McLellan
Chief Coroner
Coroners Building
26 Grenville St., 2nd Floor
Toronto ON M7A 2G9

Mr. John Tory
Leader- Official Opposition
Conservative Party
Rm. 381
Legislative Building
Queen’s Park
Toronto ON M7A 1A8

Ms. Marilyn Churley, MPP
Toronto – Danforth
Rm. 116
Legislative Building
Queen’s Park
Toronto ON M7A 1A5

Jack Layton
1506 Danforth Ave.
Toronto, ON M4J 1N4
Fax: (416) 405-8918
laytoj1@parl.gc.ca

The Hon. James K. Bartleman
Lieutenant Governor of Ontario
Queen's Park Toronto, Ontario M7A 1A1
Fax: 416-325-7787
E-mail: ltgov@gov.on.ca

Three Step Proposal- Jeffrey's Law

Three Step Proposal- Jeffrey's Law

1. Agencies need to be held accountable for their actions:


a) if a child dies in care, an agent should be required to prove before a committee that they did everything in their power to protect the child including:
- a thorough check of the child’s family for a history of abuse
- a thorough check of child’s foster family regardless of blood ties
- saw the child face to face at every home visit which is currently every 90 days- and should remain every 90 days regardless of ‘kinship’ care
- ensured all appointments were kept if parents or children are receiving social services
- if allegations were made after placement or initial intervention, they are followed up closely

Failing to do any of the above, and found guilty, the agent would not only be dismissed, but they could face criminal charges of negligence causing death. Hopefully this would encourage more concise, thorough investigations and documentation being done.

Currently, all the CCAS agents involved in the Jordan Heikamp, Sara Podniewicz and Jeffrey Baldwin cases are either still actively employed or are on long term disability paid with Ontario public’s taxes- they should be in jail.

b) Agencies need to be responsible for hiring qualified agents who have university or college education to work in the field. Agents should be trained by all levels of professionals including pediatricians, coroners, homicide detectives, sexual abuse workers, and highly experienced social workers so they can be better equipped to notice red flags. More funding definitely needs to be concentrated on children to ensure agents are qualified professionals.

c) These agencies should have to function like a business. Without divulging confidential information about children or families, they should have to publish an in depth annual report available to anyone on their web site that states budget, spending, the number of children placed in foster homes or adopted as well as any deaths and their causes. The agency should have to divulge the details surrounding any deaths and why they were not prevented.

They should have to be accountable to their four stakeholders;
a) their customers- the children,
b) their shareholders- Ontario tax payers;
c) their community- doing fundraising, awareness campaigns, benefits of adoption/ fostering/ volunteering campaigns, etc.,
d) and finally to their employee’s- adequate benefits, salaries and vacation time.


Instead of a monetary bottom line, they will have a ‘successful placement’ bottom line.

They should have goals, budgets and forecasts just like a corporation and should strive to meet these objectives.

e) Agencies must take every call seriously and have someone personally visit the household and see the children face to face before they consult their ‘Risk Assessment Module’. Agents should legally be allowed into any home when an accusation of abuse has been made or if they fear for their safety, an officer go with them. The visit should be a surprise and at the initial meeting, the caller should not be identified. Agents would note various aspects such as the condition of the home, the demeanor of the parents and the condition of the child relative to its age. If the claim is substantiated by the agent, the child be taken immediately and put into emergency foster care. If not, the agent then visits the caller to determine whether or not revenge or malicious intent was the motive for the call. I use the example of the Toronto woman who cut off the hands of her neighbour because she thought the neighbour called the CAS on her.

f) Abuse repeats itself, so family histories should be researched and examined before a child is placed with a relative or back with their parents.

This is all regurgitated information. It’s the same issue over and over again. It is past due time that the Provincial and Federal government step in with more funding and provide more resources to agencies. I’m convinced that the general public wants our future generation to be properly protected. Having said that, agents must be held responsible for their judgement calls and have known and severe consequences for failing to research properly.

‘Why should we cut more slack for professionals than we ever would with a parent? A parent screws up, their kids are taken. When an agency screws up, it’s an honest mistake and everyone has to be understanding.’ - Bruce Hardy


2. Various Laws and Legislation need to be changed as well as the Judicial System:

a) Parents should not have access to children taken and put into foster homes until they can convince the CAS that they are willing to learn how to be better parents. Children should be made crown wards more often than not and available for adoption rather than going from foster home to foster home, or worse, back to their parents

b) Children must come first. The clients of the Children’s Aid Society are the children! Too often the parents are forgiven for their behavior and the child’s best interest is not taken into account. The laws must be revised to state that the child’s welfare is the absolute most important factor the minute a call is placed to the society. The current child- protection legislation in Ontario states that children will benefit more from less intrusive alternative and no longer applies when statistics show that the most dangerous place for a child is in the home, and that abuse most of the time is inflicted by a known person. In a report done in 1998 called The Consequences of Child Maltreatment Canada, the Manitoba Family Services stated that ‘the fatality rate from physical abuse is estimated to be between 4% and 10 % if an injured child is placed back in the family home a second time.’ The rates are most certainly higher now. The system clearly puts the rights of adults before children.

c) A special charge of ‘death by child abuse’ must be included in the Criminal Code of Canada with a minimum sentence of ten years regardless of the child’s age. Currently the trend is that the younger the child, the less the sentence, sometimes parents getting no jail time at all. A year or two later they’re pregnant again and it starts all over.

d) Government has to start taking an interest in Child Welfare because although they can not vote right now, they will eventually. The price of properly caring for a child now is a lot less than the cost of dealing with potential juvenile delinquents

e) Neglect and failing to provide the necessities of life should be considered as significant as physical abuse to the judge

f) Section 43 of the Criminal Code of Canada states that any adult can use force to correct a child under his care as long as the force does not exceed what is reasonable under the circumstances. This is so out of date it shouldn’t need fighting to be changed, however, both the Provincial and Supreme Court of Canada believe it should still be in effect.


In all, there are too many loopholes in many aspects of both the Criminal Code and Child and Family Act of Canada to mention. Why haven’t the other four adults living in the house with Jeffrey been charged with Criminal Negligence causing death? Their actions, or rather lack thereof, clearly fall under that law. Why are some laws enforced while others are abandoned?

3. The public CAS and CCAS should be amalgamated:

a) Both agencies are competing for the same funding but if both agencies cleaned house so to speak and became one public agency, it would function much more effectively. The public CAS on a whole seems to performing much better than the CCAS

b) A single case manager for each child for the full duration of their lifetime in care would be beneficial and help prevent fatal miscommunication mistakes.

In conclusion, our current system is not working and requires a complete overhaul that I don’t believe would take millions of dollars to accomplish. It’s logic that should guide agencies, ministries, judges, and foster parents. Consulting some professionals on how the laws should be revised, what signs to look for when determining potential abuse and an agency set up to watch the Children’s Aid Society is all that should be required. It needs to happen now, too many silent victims have lived in torture and died alone and needlessly. Coroners inquests don’t carry much weight anymore, the recommendations aren’t implemented, it costs a lot of money and places empty blame. No one can be charged, fired or serve jail time as a result of the jury’s decision. We know what happened, we know who’s to blame, we know what should happen, there’s no point spending thousands or millions of dollars on finding that out. Use the money to overhaul the system, it would be much more beneficial.


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