“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.
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| Retrieved from http://www.yorkcas.org/images/quote10.gif |
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.
Scott Thornley + Company. Protect children and youth. Retrieved from
http://www.useyourvoice.ca/en/protectYork Children's Aid Society (2009). Retrieved from http://www.yorkcas.on.ca/links.asp
Questions
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.
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