Windsor Star reports on CAS

December 19, 2004 permalink

The following article from today's Windsor Star contains some interesting comments by Sandra Pupatello. Some additional material following the article helps to interpret her words.

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CAS intake numbers dropping significantly

Fewer kids coming into care: Director

By Craig Pearson, Star Staff Reporter

The rate of apprehensions at the Windsor-Essex Children's Aid Society -- which had taken children into care at more than double the provincial average, according to a provincial review released in July -- has plunged 25 per cent in the last five months, says the agency's director.

"At this point we're slowing down in the number of kids coming into care." said local CAS executive director Bill Bevan.

"We don't know if it's a trend yet but kids are coming into care at a slower rate than in any of the last few years. In the last five months, we have had a 25 per cent drop ... so it is significant.

The Windsor CAS nevertheless has a record 820 children in care, though Bevan is encouraged about the apprehension slowdown, even if he can't pinpoint the cause.

"It's too early to tell why it's dropping," Bevan said. "We have less business coming through the front door".

Bevan also noted that the CAS recently restructured allowing workers a bit more time with individual cases, possibly giving them more opportunity to keep families together.

It's also possible that the local CAS is finally gaining ground on child abuse.

"We have been so involved with so many families over the last few years, you've got to think at some point we're going to have a slow down," Bevan said. "So at this point, we're statistically down".

Windsor MPP and Minister of Community and Social Services Sandra Pupatello, who has publicly questioned the high local rates of apprehension, cheered the 25 per cent reduction.

"It's very good news," said Pupatello, who feels complaints to her office have also diminished. "I'm just really pleased to hear the statistics are dropping".

Different theory

Pupatello, however, has a different theory on the decrease. She believes the child-welfare agency is reacting to public pressure, in particular from politicians and the Ministry of Children and Youth Services which conducted a review of the Windsor CAS, based on a number of complaints.

"I'm certain of it," Pupatello said. "Any time there is scrutiny -- and there's no question our local CAS has been under intense scrutiny -- things change. The provincial review turned out to be a very valid and useful exercise because it makes everyone certain when it's something this serious".

The ministry review found 80 per cent of referrals to the Windsor CAS resulted in an investigation, more than 1.5 times higher than the provincial average of 53 per cent, and more than 24 per cent of referrals resulted in a transfer to ongoing services, 2.2 times higher than the provincial average of 11 per cent.

Pupatello also thinks more provincial funding for children's mental health services in Windsor, the first increase in 12 years, has eased family strain.

Dr. Dolores Sicheri, a Windsor oncologist and co-founder of Citizens for Social Morality, a protest group formed this year to call for decreased power at children's aid societies, is cautiously optimistic.

"It's a step in the right direction," said Sicheri, who vowed to continue lobbying for changes to the law since she believes some children are apprehended needlessly. "But I would still have to see if the apprehensions are justified. I still want to know that there's integrity restored to this organization".

Sidebar

Group protests for judicial review of CAS

About a dozen people picketed outside Windsor MPP Sandra Pupatello's office Wednesday calling for changes to the Children's Aid legislation.

Organizers of the group Citizens for Social Morality, which has organized a series of protests outside Pupatello's office this year, have recently increased their lobbying efforts to have the power of Children's Aid Societies curtailed.

Instead of just asking for a Ministry of Children and Youth Services review of the five-year-old legislation, which is underway, protesters want the Attorney General of Ontario to conduct a judicial review.

"What's happening to families in this province is criminal," said Dr Dolores Sicheri, a Windsor oncologist, who believes Children's Aid Societies across Ontario now have far too much power to apprehend children. "These families are being worked over. For CAS, it's all about getting more children into care so you can get more money and have bigger buildings and bigger salaries. CAS can do whatever they want with your children if they don't like you".

Local CAS executive director Bill Bevan, who said only children in need are taken into care, welcomes a review and said the attorney general will be involved to a certain degree anyway if legislation is changed.

The scrutiny that Sandra Pupatello referred to in the article is a reference to an examination by Minister of Children and Youth Services Marie Bountrogianni. Refer to the July 3 article in the Windsor Star inserted chronologically in this news, where we link as well to copies of the internal audits of Windsor-Essex CAS. Windsor-Essex is the specific children's aid society discussed in the provincial parliament in this extract from the Hansard of October 27 2004. Mrs Bountrogianni also concedes that funding formulas cause children to be taken away.

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Mr Parsons: First of all, I want to commend the children's aid societies for their work. In 18 years of fostering, our family has never fostered a child who didn't belong in care. I think their standards are excellent. But I watch with concern the media reports of ever-increasing deficits across the province and I wonder what your plans are to deal with CAS deficits.

Hon Mrs Bountrogianni: As I've said publicly, this is a growing budget without the outcomes to show us and to show the taxpayer that indeed this huge increase in costs is actually resulting in better outcomes for children. We have a few hints at perhaps better outcomes for children in that the majority of cases do not lead to taking the child away. They actually lead to mediation and counselling with families so that the child is not taken away.

Again, this is on the public record. We have reviewed a specific children's aid society -- I don't think it's important which one it is -- and we did have some concerns with that particular children's aid society. We made recommendations to streamline the efforts of that particular society, and they're acting on those recommendations. We keep monitoring that.

If that society is representative of all of the societies, or of most of the societies, then we do have a problem in how we are running our children's aid societies. This is not a secret; the children's aid societies themselves have talked to me about this and have said that the funding formula is conducive to increased deficits because it's funded on the number of children you take away. Therefore, you know that if you want to hire more staff or do different things, you've got to take away more kids. It's not as blatant as that; no one has actually admitted or said, "We're taking kids away to increase our budgets," but they have said that the funding formula is not conducive to other results. We are definitely looking at that. That's why we have a child welfare secretariat. Again, Bruce from the Children's Aid Society of Toronto is seconded to give me recommendations. My understanding is that I will receive his report at the end of December, and the intent is to present the report in the new year to the people of Ontario and to act on it immediately.

Mr Parsons: I think you said, but just to confirm, that you're in fact, then, looking at a different funding formula?

Hon Mrs Bountrogianni: Absolutely.

The Vice-Chair: There's still about six minutes.

Hon Mrs Bountrogianni: Could I just add something to that, then, if there is time?

The Vice-Chair: Certainly. You have six minutes.

Hon Mrs Bountrogianni: Again, this isn't a black-and-white one, where you can just say we're going to cap everything and we're going to -- it's about the lives of children and protection of children. So again, we don't want to do anything impulsive that may lead to tragedy. I think it's worth the time we're taking to review this and to do it properly. Yes, the taxpayers have rights, but we don't want to do anything to increase child protection disasters.