Letter from Children's Aid

May 21, 2005 permalink

The most revealing statements come not from critics, but from Children's Aid itself. Here is the Executive Director of Peel Children's Aid suggesting that it is improper for a father to publish information about his own family. The letter below contains several instances of "withheld to maintain confidentiality". These phrases are in the original CAS letter, not editing changes by fixcas. CAS refuses to provide the names of family members to their own father.

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PEEL CHILDREN'S AID

PROTECTING CHILDREN AND SUPPORTING FAMILIES

May 5, 2005

Mr. Karol Karolak
5530 Glen Erin Drive
Apt. #110
Mississauga, Ontario
L5M 6E8

Dear Mr. Karolak:

I am writing to you to address an issue that has come to my attention. I have recently learned that you have circulated confidential correspondence regarding the various complaints processes that you are currently involved in to individuals not involved in the complaint processes. The correspondence identifies members of your family and other individuals who have been involved with your family in a professional capacity, some of whom are not subject to or involved with the current complaints processes.

Peel Children's Aid recognizes your right to utilize the various complaint processes legally available to you and in fact, we have engaged in several processes to provide you with due process in this area. These are outlined below:

In 2003, you filed a formal complaint with the Society concerning the Society's handling of your referral to the Society in 2002. The Society investigated your complaint in accordance with its four level internal complaint process, the final step of which is a review by an Appeals Committee of the Society's Board of Directors. The Board of Directors through their appeals committee heard your complaint and concluded that the Society had fulfilled its mandate with respect to child welfare. This complaint process did not identify any professional misconduct by any staff involved with your referral.

The Society completed its internal complaints process in October 2003 and advised you by letter of November 14, 2003, of the conclusions of the Society's complaint process. Also in this letter, the Society advised you of your right to have the Society's Board of director's decision reviewed by an independent third party appointed by the Ministry of Children and Youth Services (Section 68 CFSA Review).

You asked for and received the independent third party review, which was carried out by Mr. T. Giesbrecht, the Director appointed by the Ministry. In his Report dated September 15, 2004, Mr. Giesbrecht's review reached the following two conclusions:

"The Society dealt with the provision of its substantive services, namely the protection of the welfare of (name withheld to maintain confidentiality), adequately and on a timely basis. Sufficient personnel and resources were deployed in a timely manner to effectively and efficiently serve the wellbeing of (name withheld to maintain confidentiality) and (gender withheld to maintain confidentiality) family. The Ministry of Children and Youth Services requires Societies to provide a standard of service at a high level and my describing the Society's adherence to this high standard as adequate is to confirm that the service provided to (name withheld to maintain confidentiality) and the Applicant and their family was of a high quality."

"I further find that the Society dealt with the provision of its review services prusuant to Section 68 of the CFSA for dealing with complaints of persons regarding services sought or received from society in an adequate and timely manner in that the internal and external review processes were provided in accordance with the Ministry approved complaints process and access to all levels of the complaint process were made available to the Applicant in a timely manner."

Mr. Giesbrecht specially notes the high standard of service with which your referral was handled and he did not identify any professional misconduct by any staff involved with your referral or subsequent complaint.

Our concern is that in accessing the various complaint processes legally available to you, you have gone beyond the necessary and acceptable steps of engaging in a complaint process. You have released to the public, without consent, the personal and private information of your family members and the professionals and organizations involved with your family. This release of personal and private information is damaging to the individuals involved and further, is an invasion of their privacy. It is not appropriate for you to share your compliants or the personal and private information of others with the general public. Mr Karolak, I am urging you to engage in your complaints processes in a manner that maintains the privacy and confidentiality of all involved.

I trust you recognize your obligation to maintain the privacy of the above-mentioned individuals and will act accordingly in the future.

Yours truly,

/signed/

Paul Zarnke
Executive Director
Peel Children's Aid

6860 Century Avenue   West Tower   Mississauga ON   L9N 2W5   T 905 363 6131   F 905 363 6133

www.peelcas.org