Overwhelmed families surrendering custody of their children to CAS

Northern families with high-needs kids in crisis A northern Ontario MPP says families with high-needs children can't get help they need and are being forced to give their kids to the CAS.

Last week, Nickel Belt MPP France Gelinas told the Ontario Legislature about a mother in her riding who gave up guardianship of her eight-year-old, high-needs daughter to the Children’s Aid Society (CAS).

The family could not get the support they needed to properly – and safely -- care for the child, forcing the mother to make the heartbreaking decision.

Gelinas said she’s advocating to see the return of community-based children’s agencies rather than parents receiving funds to access private, for-profit services.

"We have tried to help her at every step of the way, but the Ford government changed the system," she said.

At one time, Gelinas said parents could access care based on their needs. Now you get funding to pay for private care to look after high-needs children.

"That doesn't work in northern Ontario," she said.

Gelinas said she knows of three families in Nickel Belt alone who have given up guardianship to the CAS after exhausting all other avenues for care.

The mother she spoke of last week quit her job, and remortgaged her home but still didn’t have enough money to provide the proper care.

"They are good parents who love their children deeply, who would do anything they can to help their child but just can't manage," Gelinas said.

"Add to this that you are in northern Ontario, where finding occupational therapy, finding a speech-language pathologist, finding an intensive behavioural intervention therapist, etc., is really hard to find. And the family falls apart and the children go without the care that they need."

Gelinas said the child was first placed in a hotel before being moved to a foster facility five hours away.

While not commenting on a specific case, the CAS told CTV News that the problems are the result of a residential crisis affecting all children, but especially those with complex needs.

"In the last year, we've had about 13, 14 kids placed in hotels where we've had to try to find staff … who bring that skill to provide support for that child in that hotel room," said Eilana Groves, CEO of the Children’s Aid Society Sudbury Manitoulin.

"Children should not be in hotels -- children should be in family homes, or at least in settings that can meet their needs."

Groves said the CAS has taken the strict position that it will be at the table to support moms and dads and ensure it's giving parents every option available before resorting to relinquishing care.

"There are situations where we have, you know, we've met moms and dads who have hit … their wit's end. And it's getting close to a child being in need of protection because the parents are unable to cope," she said.

"So we have stepped in, but temporarily to ensure there's some supports to provide alternative care, hopefully for a temporary period."

Groves said in 97 per cent of the calls the CAS receives, children do not end up going into care.

For the three per cent that do, the agency looks to return children to their families as quickly as possible.

The society considers a child in need of protection as an individual under the age of 18 who has experienced or is at risk of abuse or neglect.