Teen makes video statement about abuse by children’s aid society 06/28/10



Retrieved from

http://www.sunnewsnetwork.ca/sunnew s /canada/archives/2014/04/20140411-181308.html

Summary                         

“Teen makes video statement about abuse by children’s aid society 06/28/10” is a webpage article (published on June 29, 2010) from the Canada Court Watch website.

On Monday June 28^th, 2010, a teenager fled the control of Kitchener Waterloo CAS because he and other children were being abused in the care of CAS. This particular teenager, as well as another teenager who lived in the same foster home, both made and signed statements that were videotaped.

The teenager that fled the control of the CAS has his signed statement enclosed in the article. I opened it up to see what information this boy was stating and summarized it below.

·   This boy is 15 years old and will be turning 16 in one month.

·   He has been in the care of Kitchener Waterloo CAS since 2006.

·   He has been involved in two fosters homes where abuse has been seen and has occurred.

 

·   In his first foster home, his foster mother did the following (NOTE: this teen’s sister also was in her care and lived with them):

1.     Degraded their biological parents (ex. Called their mother a pig because they had lice)

 

2.     Mentally abused him (ex. This boy had a bladder problem and would sometimes wet the bed, the foster mother would make fun of him and call him a pig, leaving this boy to feel bad about himself)

3.     She abused alcohol and smoked inside the home.

4.     She provided alcohol to minors. This boy and his sister refused the alcohol because it was against their religion.

5.     Refused to allow phone calls between himself and his parents for over a month.

6.     Restricted access to milk (due to a metabolic disorder, this boy required many glasses of milk per day to stop the symptoms including, “the shakes” and severe headaches).

7.     Bathed four children in the same bath water without changing it.

8.     Had three boys (including the boy who made the statement), of different ages, sleep in one bedroom. Inappropriate actions took place and the same boy who conducted the inappropriate actions was allowed back into the same foster home but required to sleep in a different area.

·       In his second foster home (where he stayed for one year and also fled), which was a single-mother foster home, the following occurred:

1.     He was prevented from calling his parents when he felt like talking to them. If he was given permission to call, he felt someone was listening to the conversation from another phone in the home.

2.     His safe was broken into that held his valuables, including money and a letter to the Ontario Child Advocate.

3.     He witnessed two other children in the home being physically abused. One of the children would start crying and would get pulled onto the ground and sat on by the foster mother. This child would cry and scream and yell “get off of me.” This same child would end up at the hospital for days and when he questioned his foster mother about her, she would not disclose any information to him. This child was also given medication in the morning and a bedtime. Under the influence of this medication this child would laugh uncontrollably and lose their memory. When this child first arrived at the foster home she was happy and cheerful and by the end she did not appear to be happy anymore.

4.     He had no privacy, not even in his own room.

5.     An alarm was put on his bedroom door.

6.     His home was full of bugs, rodents, and rodent feces.

7.    He was forced to go to a church that was no his own religion. He was punished for falling asleep in church. He would be forced to stay in his room and phone calls to his parents were taken away.

8.    He was only allowed one glass of milk per day, which did not fit with his medical needs.

9.    He was given food he did not like and rotten fruit.

·      The following was the problems/issues this teen had with CAS:

1.      His rights were being violated.

2.      Nobody in CAS would listen or help to do what was best for him.

3.      He lived in fear of the CAS workers and what they might do to punish him and his biological family.

4.      CAS would prevent him from calling his parents and it was used as a form of punishment when he did not do as he was told by the workers.

5.      CAS would make every decision for him and not allow him to have any input whatsoever.

6.      He overheard a CAS worker tell his sister that the Church her parents went to was no good.

7.      CAS workers would threaten and bully not only him, but other children in the same foster home.

·       The teen confided to the Ontario Child Advocate about the abuse that was going on with the other children and nothing was done.

·       This teen’s sister ran away from the same foster home he lived in February 2010. She ran home to her biological mother and has been living with her since.

·       His biological parents would send money with his sister to school so this teen could have milk during the day for his medical condition.

·       He once arrived at his parent’s home for a weekend visit and came in such a bad physical state (i.e. shaking, feeling “bad,” and a terrible headache) due to lack of consumption of milk. His parents would give him milk, cook him scrambled eggs with milk, and give him one dose of advil, which made him feel much better. He would be feeling physically well by the time he had to go back to his foster home.

·         This teens wishes and preferences included:

1.      Never going back into the care of the Children’s Aid Society

2.      Not to be threatened and bullied by CAS workers or by uncaring foster parents anymore.

3.      Not to be forced to live in environments where “workers don’t listen” and “where workers just cover up bad things inside the foster homes”

4.      CAS not to threaten he and his parents with being arrested by the police as they attempted to do when his sister ran away from the same foster home

5.     To live with his mother in her home where he feels safe, happy and loved. He has his own bedroom at his mother’s and he feels very cared for (both his parents support this)

6.      Continue the same school he was in

7.     Not to have CAS workers harass and intimidate him at school as they have already done to his sister after she fled the foster home

8.      Wants his rights to privacy at school to be respected by CAS.

9.      Wants his freedom and rights back, especially his right to be happy

10.   His clothing and money returned to him

11.   His health card returned to him

·       “The CAS has done nothing to help me be happy and if anything CAS has only tried to control my life and to treat me like less of a person I am. I am tired of being like an object and not a person by CAS workers (Canada Court Watch, 2010)."

·       A child advocate reviewed his statement with him, vidoetaped him reviewing and signing the statement, and his informed consent was given to the child advocate.

·       The teen initialed each page of the statement for proof the document was reviewed by himself.

·       The statement was written on his own and in the absence of his biological parents.

·       He is willing to go to court ad speak to the judge should this be necessary to get him out of the care of CAS and have them stop threatening and harassing him.

·       “It is my hope that my statement will assist the truth to be known about how I have been abused while in the care of the Children’s Aid Society and how other kids are being abused as well while in the care of CAS. Hopefully my statement will help to put an end to other children being abused (Canada Court Watch, 2010).

Opinion

This article was another example of failure of the Children’s Aid Society to protect the children and youth they are taking away from their biological families.

How could CAS allow another youth to be abused so terribly in foster homes that are supposed to be safe? This boy went to two different foster homes. One in which degraded his parents and restricted their phone calls. He was mentally, physically and almost sexually abused. This boy had a metabolic disorder requiring large quantities of milk to be a part of his diet, which he was deprived of and would go through physical episodes until milk was given to him. Lastly, this environment supported minors to drink alcohol, which is illegal”! The second foster home also prevented the boy from calling his biological parents. He had no privacy, his belongings stolen and was even forced to give up his religious faith. He was also mentally and physically abused there. Why did these CAS workers intervene? Why don’t they listen? This is why as parents we cannot give up the fight! This is not only the problem of people involved in children’s aid societies but also society’s problem. We need to fight to make a change. We need to support Bill 42, so that the government can intervene and these CAS workers can be held accountable for not doing one of the most important jobs in our society.

This teenager had no one to go. He had no one to trust to tell what was going on in these foster homes he was living in. He felt CAS violated his rights. They would prevent phone calls to his parents as a form of punishment. CAS wouldn’t listen to his concerns. He lived in fear of the CAS workers and what they might do to punish him and his biological family. He was allowed no part in the decision making process of his life. Lastly, CAS workers would threaten and bully not only him, but other children in the same home.

I can’t understand why CAS was not required to return this boy to his mother when his sister began living with her. If there was serious child protection concerns, CAS would not allow for her to live there. I know I have not been given all the information as to why these siblings were taken in the first place, but how can one child live there and not the other? I feel this has something to do with money. I feel these workers were abusing their job power and doing this for funding. Why else? Why would one child return without the other?

There is a lot of room for improvement in Children’s Aid Societies of Ontario. All CAS workers should be affiliatedke place in all of these homes at least twice a month to make sure there is no abuse taking place. These children should be in mandatory counselling outside of CAS so there is another trained professional watching over their care. Phone calls to parents should take place at minimum twice a week so parents can be kept informed of how their children are being treated.

  
Citations

Teen makes video statement about abuse by Children's Aid Society 06/28/10 (June 29, 2010). Canada Court Watch. Retrieved from http://www.canadacourtwatch.com/content/teen-makes-video-statement-about-abuse-childrens-aid-society-062810

Waterton, Willy (n.d.). The Sun Times. Retrieved from http://www.sunnewsnetwork.ca/sunnews/canada/archives/2014/04/20140411-181308.html

Questions

1.      How can Ontario Children’s Aid Societies improve protecting children and youth?

 

       2.    Should children involved in CAS have mandatory child advocates?

Jeffrey Baldwin, 5, starved to death by grandparents



Retrieved from
http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/first-responder-still-disturbed-by-soul-destroying-sight-of-starved-boy-1.1446078 

 

 

Summary

 

“Jeffrey Baldwin, 5, starved to death by grandparents” is a web page article posted by the Ontario Coalition for Accountability webpage.

Jeffrey Baldwin was apprehended by Catholic Children’s Aid society as well as York Children’s Aid Society, and put into the care of his grandparents along with 3 of his siblings. Four years after his grandparents received custody of these children, Jeffrey died of bacterial bronchopneumonia as a complication of chronic starvation. A few weeks before Jeffrey’s sixth birthday (when he died) he weighed a mere 21lbs, the same weight he was on his first birthday. When Jeffrey’s grandmother, his primary caregiver, placed the 911 call on the morning of November 30, 2002, she seemed rather annoyed during the taped conversation rather than concerned (Ontario Coalition for Accountability, 2014). She said Jeffrey had just recently stopped eating and drinking and “he may have a touch of the flu (Ontario Coalition for Accountability, 2014).” “Apparently my grandson is not breathing right now (Ontario Coalition for Accountability, 2014).” Elva only requested the services of a police car but dispatch told her they were sending an ambulance.

Paramedic, Marc Douglas, was absolutely horrified when he came to the house in response to the 911 call. “You see something like that and it’s just soul destroying.  It was complete and utter destruction of dignity to any child or human being (Ontario Coalition for Accountability, 2014).” Mr. Douglas comments on how he is usually able to “switch off” and not take disturbing images from his work home with him, but with Jeffrey it was different (Ontario Coalition for Accountability, 2014). “It got so bad I couldn’t sleep at night. Every time I closed my eyes I would see it for days afterwards. Very rarely in the 18 years I’ve been in service has that happened (Ontario Coalition for Accountability, 2014).” Douglas was shocked by Jeffrey’s condition but the rest of the family seemed unconcerned. When paramedics were working on Jeffrey in the ambulance, not one family member came out of the house to see what his condition was. When Toronto Fire Capt. Royal Bradley went to knock on the door, Elva answered looking annoyed and made a comment to him to keep it down because there was a child just inside, sleeping on the couch. She showed no emotion (Ontario Coalition for Accountability, 2014).

Jeffrey’s grandparents, Elva Bottineau and Norman Kidman, have been convicted of second-degree murder in Jeffrey’s death.  These grandparents were granted custody without so much as a background check. They both had a previous child abuse conviction (Ontario Coalition for Accountability, 2014). Once the grandparents were given custody, the case file was closed and there were no check-in’s being done at the home to make sure the children were safe in their new environment. “Moreover, no worker performed any background checks and no internal checks of past society files. Had proper checks been done, they would have revealed a horrific history of incapable parenting and child abuse (Ontario Coalition for Accountability, 2014).”

During Jeffrey’s inquest, information came out that Jeffrey hadn’t been to a doctor since he was 17months old, he was not enrolled in school and neighbors never saw him outside.” Jeffrey and one of his sisters were frequently locked up in their cold barren bedroom, soaked with urine and feces (Ontario Coalition for Accountability, 2014).” The evidence told to the jury shows that Jeffrey “had been a hidden, neglected, malnourished child, who ultimately succumbed to his maltreatment (Ontario Coalition for Accountability, 2014).”

Big changes were implemented at the CCAS and children’s aid societies across Ontario after Jeffrey’s death. This includes increased family history, background and record checks. Relatives who become caregivers are also subjected to the same standards foster parents and adoptive parents must meet (Ontario Coalition for Accountability, 2014).

Opinion

I wanted to provide a bit more background information about Jeffrey. I watched a very touching and emotional video about little Jeffrey that provided some information about his life as well as showed pictures of the condition Jeffrey was in with his biological parents as well as later with his maternal grandparents. It is approximately ten minutes long and I would suggest watching it. It may be difficult to watch emotionally due to some graphic before and after photos but we need to be aware of these types of situations so that we can stop them. I got this video from https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/jeffrey-baldwin-memorial#home.

 

 

Jeffrey Vincent Baldwin was born on January 20^th, 1997 to parents Yvonne Kidman and Richard Baldwin. His parents were young and had four children quickly in their relationship. Jeffrey had two older sisters and one younger brother.  The Catholic Children’s Aid Society took Jeffrey and his 3 other siblings away on April 28, 1998, due to allegations pointing towards the mother violently shaking Jeffrey. Jeffrey was only 16 months old at the time.

Jeffrey was then given to his maternal grandparents as protection against his biological parents. Little did CAS know that Jeffrey spent his time at his grandparent’s house locked away with his sister in a dark, cold bedroom full of filth. This bedroom’s window was taped up and the vents were closed. Jeffrey and his sister were locked up in this room for up to 14 hours a day. They were not even allowed to go to the washroom so they would use the floor of their bedroom. Elva, Jeffrey’s grandmother, would make these children clean up their urine and feces. She called them "pigs!" When they were allowed to come into the kitchen, they were forced on a shoe-mat and given trash to eat or table scraps in a dog bowl (Boyce & Rishes, 2014).

 

Retrieved from
http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/first-responder-still-disturbed-by-soul-destroying-sight-of-starved-boy-1.1446078

 

Jeffrey died on November 20, 2002, at the age of 5, and weighing only 1 lb. heavier than he did at the age of 1 (when he was taken into custody of his grandparents). Jeffrey died from bacterial pneumonia, septic shock and starvation. He was found dead in his bed with his little blanket on. He was covered in bruises, sores, holes and scabs (Boyce & Rishes, 2014).

As seen in the Ontario Coalition for Accountability website, paramedics were disturbed by the condition of Jeffrey. They were still horrified and dealing with possible post-traumatic stress disorder.

When I read this article it actually brought tears to my eyes. A young boy dies due to serious and severe abuse and neglect by his own maternal grandparents. How can this be possible? Why did CAS not conduct the proper checks to make sure this child was going into a safe environment? What I find super scary is that Elva, in 1970, pleaded guilty to assault causing bodily harm in the death of her 5 month old baby girl, Eva (Boyce & Rishes, 2014). How could CCAS miss this? Again, a simple criminal check would have seen this and Jeffrey could still be alive today. And what happens to the CAS workers involved in Jeffrey’s case? They probably lost their jobs when really they should have been charged with manslaughter. It was their job to ensure that Jeffrey and his siblings were safe and they failed. Not only did CCAS fail Jeffrey but so did his biological parents. That’s why it is extremely important and necessary as a parent to not give up when your child is taken. It is easier said than done, but it is necessary because you really don’t know how safe your child is and whether people are doing their jobs checking in with your child. You need to keep fighting! You need to stay on top of visitations. You need to communicate with your children. If you see anything concerning on visitations, you need to be active and give your child a voice and let that voice be heard by CAS, the government or the media. Although your child is not in your care, you are still responsible to care and love your child.

I believe if a child has been apprehended by CAS and a court order for custody has been granted to a different caregiver, relative or not, it should be mandatory for CAS to check in on the family periodically during the first year to make sure the children are safe and functioning appropriately. Due to CAS’s neglect, this child died in the hands of evil and it could have been completely prevented if the protocol was followed.

If you would like to make donations towards a life size bronze memorial statue of Jeffrey wearing his Superman costume, you may do so at https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/jeffrey-baldwin-memorial#home. The statute will be constructed in a manner allowing children to interact with it (Boyce & Rishes, 2014).  This statute is honor of Jeffrey and will become a centerpiece tribute within Greenwood Park, Toronto. “It will be a symbol to everyone about how important it is to be diligent about reporting suspected instances of child abuse to prevent another needless death such as Jeffrey’s (Boyce & Rishes, 2014).”

There was an inquest held on Monday September 9^th, 2013 to examine the events surrounding Jeffrey’s death. You may check out the results of the inquest and what the jurors’ recommendations were at http://www.thestar.com/news/crime/2014/02/14/merge_all_childrens_aid_societies_jurors_tell_jeffrey_baldwin_inquest.html.
 

Citation

Jeffrey Baldwin, 5, starved to death by grandparents (2014). Ontario Coalition for Accountability. Retrieved from http://ontariocfa.com/2013/09/10/jeffrey-baldwin-5-starved-to-death-by-grandparents/

Boyce, Todd & Samantha Rishes (2014). The Story of Jeffrey Baldwin. Retrieved from https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/jeffrey-baldwin-memorial#home

Jones, Allison (2013). First responder still disturbed by 'soul-destroying' sight of starved boy. Retrieved from http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/first-responder-still-disturbed-by-soul-destroying-sight-of-starved-boy-1.1446078

Blatchford, Christie (2013). Photo of Jeffrey Baldwin at the time of his death from evidence provided by the coroner. Retrieved from http://o.canada.com/news/six-adults-were-witness-to-jeffrey-baldwins-torment-inquest-told/

 

Questions:

 

1.       How did this article make you feel towards Ontario Children’s Aid Societies?

2.       What could you do to help prevent child abuse?

Bill 42 protects children from CAS abuse

Retrieved from http://www.childrensaidsociety.org/files/imagecache/feature-image/images/feature-images/50best-3.jpg

Summary

 

“Bill 42 protects children from CAS abuse” is a web page review article written by Curtis Kingston. 

 

Mr. Kingston mentions in his article how Ombudsman oversight is necessary for Ontario Children’s Aid Societies. Over many years, families and children “had to endure horrific encounters with an unregulated and unaccountable private organization with funding models that create perverse incentives to destroy families (Kingston, 2013.).” Each children’s aid society in Ontario is a privately run organization and receives funding from the government through the number of children in their care and the number of open files on families.

 

There is going to be a change to the CAS funding model, as of April 1^st,  where the funding will change by using a 3-year average of case files instead of every year and there will also be an introduction to boosts in funding cases involving minorities (including low-income families, single-parent families etc.). This new funding model now gives CAS a way to target minorities especially (Kingston, 2013).

 

Due to CAS funding models and lack of oversight/accountability, these privately-run organizations regularly act outside of the law and morals by unnecessarily keeping files open and by apprehending children from their homes without actual child-protection concerns as to increase their financial gain (Kingston, 2013). According to a MCYS operational review of Prince Edward County Children’s Aid Society (completed in January 2012), it was unfortunately found that “the Ontario average for CAS compliance with the Child and Family Services Act was only 66% (Kingston, 2013).” Therefore, “34% of CAS workers are acting outside of the law (Kingston, 2013).” Canada Court Watch has obtained documents proving in some circumstances where CAS has actually apprehended children when their warrant to apprehend these children has actually been denied in a court of law. These CAS workers are actually now possibly committing a criminal offence.  But the law does allow CAS workers to apprehend children without a warrant if there is an emergency situation where CAS finds the child in severe danger and there is just no time for a warrant (Kingston, 2013).

 

When children are apprehended they will go to foster families that fit that their individual needs. Unfortunately, Prince Edward County Children’s Aid Society (PECCAS) had “six foster parents charged and 3 convicted of sex crimes against children (Kingston, 2013)”. In January 2012, “PECCAS did not have one foster home or group home available that was legally considered a place of safety for children (Kingston, 2013).” This was largely due to the lack of criminal record checks of foster parents in the area. Sadly enough, not one PECCAS worker was held accountable for the horrors that took place.

 

Bill 42 has just passed its first reading in the Ontario Legislature, which would allow the Ontario Ombudsman the authority to investigate complaints in Children’s Aid Societies across Ontario. Now if this bill gets passed, it would give child welfare in Ontario the same accountability and oversight that all the other provinces in Canada have.

 

 

Opinion
 

The fact that children are being taken away for funding is quite scary. I've heard "money rules the world" but to the point  where people would go to the extent of abusing their job power by destroying the lives of children and their families for their own financial gain? Why hasn't the government stepped in?

What scares me most is finding out that CAS organizations were changing their funding model for the worst, attacking low-income families, single parents etc. Finances in these "minority" families are obviously low and having a child taken away by child protection court order will costs thousands upon thousands of dollars, which these families most likely will not be able to afford. Even with the availability of legal aid to these families, the amount of time a lawyer may work on the individual court procedures are limited. In the meantime, these families may not have enough money to carry out the necessary steps to ensure to the courts that they are indeed safe. Usually in these proceedings, psychiatric evaluations are required because they are requested by CAS (another tactic to making it even more difficult to get children back) and usually enforced by court order. They cost range between $5000-$12000 dollars alone and could take months to complete depending on availability of the psychologist performing the assessment. Imagine taking a psychiatric evaluation when your family has been ripped apart and you can only see your child under supervision of CAS protection workers for a few hours a week. Of course these parents are going to have some mental health issues (at minimum, depression and anxiety) when child protection court applications could take up to a year and half or longer to fight (leaving them to tight restrictions in their time and interactions with their children). Because court proceedings take quite a bit of time, children are stripped of their rights and left feeling hopeless that their life is not going to get better and it may even go to the extent of the children thinking it is their fault. This devastation lasts a life-time and affects the way these children will conduct their life in the future.

 

I found it terrifying to hear the facts that were stated in the article with respect to 34% of CAS workers do not abide by the Child and Family Services Act and what is even more scary is that was only in one CAS district. What if each individual CAS organization was closely looked at and compared to on a large-scale? I already have been told by some people who I have witnessed go through this system that certain children's aid societies are know to be "worse" then others. "Worse" meaning contain the most corruption. 

 

A large portion of families are having their children “kidnapped” and it is time for us to get involved in the fight to pass Bill 42 and finally put an end to all of this. This is so important to the present families and children in Ontario and to the future of our families. We need to speak up to our local MPP's. This Bill needs to be passed so these workers are held accountable for the pain and suffering these families and children have gone through and to prevent anymore damage to our society for years to come.

 

 

Citation

 

Kingston, Curtis. (2013). Bill 42 protects children from CAS abuse. Retrieved from            

       http://www.ckreview.ca/2013/04/bill-42-protects-children-from-cas-abuse/

The Children's Aid Society (n.d.). Retrieved from      
      http://www.childrensaidsociety.org/employment

 

 

Questions
 

1.      Would you support the passing of Bill 42?

2.      How could you help support Bill 42?

 

 

 



Protect children and youth

Summary

 



Retrieved from http://www.yorkcas.org/images/quote10.gif

“Protect youth and children” (published by Scott Thornley + Company in 2009), is a web article from the Ontario Association of Children’s Aid Societies website. It is a  summary of the role of Children’s Aid Societies in Ontario.

Ontario Children’s Aid Societies (CAS) are mandated by the Ontario government to protect children from harm. Their services provide critical and essential services to the most vulnerable members of society, including child protection, family support, public adoption, and referrals to other community services ("Protect youth and children," 2009).

This article states that vulnerable families tend to become overwhelmed through poverty, poor mental health, substance abuse, social isolation, or legacy to prior family violence and that these families are more likely to deal with such crises in an "unsafe way" by providing an unsafe environment for their children to grow up in ("Protect youth and children," 2009). The traumatic impact of emotional, physical or sexual abuse and neglect are seen to be long-lasting and can affect children or youth negatively well into adult life ("Protect youth and children," 2009).

CAS will work with families early on, providing essential support that helps stop crises and family violence before they occur, allowing families to heal and strengthen. CAS programs and services utilize all available resources (provide assessments, crisis intervention, positive parenting programs, individual and group counseling, peer support groups, referrals to other community services) to make sure children and their families are given all the proper supports to be successful ("Protect youth and children," 2009).

The primary focus is always the child, and the plan for every child to have a permanent home. If a child is taken from their family home for protection, CAS will try and place that child with a relative or a family friend. If that is not possible, the child will then come into the care of CAS and the needs of the child will be matched with a foster family, kin care home or customary caregiver. If the child cannot be reunited with their family, adoption is an option. ("Protect youth and children," 2009).

CAS needs the help of the community to keep children safe. Every person in society has a moral and legal role to play in protecting children and supporting vulnerable families in our communities by being alert for signs of abuse and reporting it.

Opinion

The first thing that I find misleading is in the first sentence of the first paragraph, “Ontario’s Children’s Aid Societies are mandated by the Ontario Government to protect children from harm ("Protect youth and children," 2009).” At first glance, looking at the article objectively,  I would have automatically assumed that because the Ontario government is mandating CAS services then the Ontario government would also be overlooking this type of service that affects all types of families and societies most vulnerable people, children. I think they particularly mention this to make the reader feel more comfortable about their services knowing  that the government is involved and will be accountable if anything goes wrong.

I am also questioning the information about families in crises who become overwhelmed and become unsafe for children. I don’t believe that is always the case. There are so many different families with different cultural backgrounds and socioeconomic class, that have problems or go through difficult phases and their children are still being taking care of safely.  The problem is when a CAS worker  comes into these homes and have a different view of how things should be done . They may take a child just because the family is not dealing with their issues the way the worker would like them to. This is where the government needs to step in and at least start having these social workers licensed and monitored so they can become liable for their actions. I'm sure the workers in a situation like this would exercise extreme caution before making life-altering decisions (i.e. taking children from their family home) for families.

The only problem I see with the community being involved in reporting child abuse is that this moral and legal obligation can be taken advantage. People could report false allegations or people who don't agree of the parenting methods being used in one home (because it is different from their own parenting methods at their home), are reporting families when there is actually no abuse being done through this different parenting method. False allegations are very common when people who are having issues with each other use this method "to get back at" one another when there is no real issue of abuse going on in the family home. Abuse of the system can really damage families and children who have workers who want to abuse the system as well and keep the case open for financial gain or job promotion.

I do absolutely agree that CAS is needed because I do believe there are true workers out there that do save children’s lives for the right reasons (emotional, physical and/or sexual abuse and neglect). The problem I have is that they also destroy a lot of families due to their lack of accountability. This could be a great system for our children if the right people with the right attitude do their jobs appropriately. 

 

Citation

Scott Thornley + Company. Protect children and youth. Retrieved from       

        http://www.useyourvoice.ca/en/protect

York Children's Aid Society (2009). Retrieved from http://www.yorkcas.on.ca/links.asp

 

Questions

 1.  What are some signs of mental, physical or emotional abuse?
 

 2.   If you see a bruise on a child (a sign of physical abuse), what would you do first:

                  a)   Contact the child's parents to see what caused the abuse?
                  b)   Contact your local Children's Aid Society?
                  c)   Talk to a counsellor about the situation? 

 

 Note:  You are legally obligated to report any signs of child abuse to your local Children’s Aid Society and I am absolutely NOT suggesting for you to not follow the law! I am  rather searching for the truth to see how many people would possibly further investigate the situation or talk to a counsellor before reporting it to your local Children’s Aid Society.