Leamington CAS Closes

February 10, 2009 permalink

The good news is that the Leamington office of children's aid is closing. The bad news is that, according to executive director Bill Bevan, it will not impact on service delivery.

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Children's aid closes Leamington office

Posted February 9, 2009

The Leamington office of the Children's Aid Society is slated to close but it will not impact on service delivery, says executive director Bill Bevan.

"The issue is the budget, the dollars for infrastructure is limited, and children's aid is no different," said Bevan on Friday.

The Leamington office was of the CAS was opened nine years ago, but Bevan notes that over the decades that has always been an occasional thing.

"I am certain that Amherstburg or Belle River would have liked an office as well."

One person could be laid off.

Bevan said that many of the county staff, intake and family service employees work from their homes with occasional meetings in Windsor.

He emergency calls will be handled as they were in the past.

"I don't expect there will any difference, we'll be there just as quick," said Bevan.

The CAS is now trying to sell the office located on John St., just west of the Post Office.

Source: Leamington Post

Addendum: Howls of pain come not from families denied "services" but from police denied their efficient working arrangement.

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Police board protests closing of children's aid office

Posted Friday, February 13, 2009

The province will get a letter protesting the closing of the Children's Aid Society office in Leamington from the Police Service Board.

Several concerns were outlined to board members Thursday although Chief Dean Gow is uncertain of the impact.

But he told the board the local CAS office has been a vital link.

"We have a protocol, an efficient working arrangement," said Gow, of the working arrangement with police officers and frontline society workers.

"We are there on a regular basis," he told board members.

The issue was raised at the meeting by Mayor John Adams, who said that it appears the decision is a monetary one by the province, so that's where the protest must go.

Adams told the board that in a way it appears that some issues are simply being "downloaded on the police."

He added that some people who may require the service are simply not going to make the trip to the Windsor CAS office.

Board chairman Rob Schmidt agreed saying that "no matter how they try to provide the service in cannot be as good" as with the office here.

"Sometimes they seem so short-sighted."

According to Adams, another puzzle is that the CAS "just spend thousands of dollars in renovating "the Leamington office.

The mayor said he may recommend that town council request officials with the CAS come to a council meeting here to explain the decision.

Children's aid has operated a facility here since 2000 and it is the only satellite office in the county.

Source: Leamington Post

Addendum: Union wins, children lose.

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CAS county office to stay open

Sonja Puzic, Windsor Star, Published: Thursday, March 05, 2009

The Windsor-Essex Children's Aid Society has scrapped plans to close its Leamington office after community members and union officials expressed concern about the reduction of child protection services in the area.

Three weeks ago, WECAS said it would close the Leamington office and move its staff to the agency's Windsor building, citing funding pressures and deficits faced by CAS offices across Ontario.

The news angered the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 2286, which represents local children's aid workers. WECAS has maintained that the closure would not hurt service or translate into frontline staff job losses.

The agency received numerous letters asking that WECAS reconsider closing the Leamington office.

Tina Gatt, WECAS's manager of public relations, said Wednesday the office will remain open while the agency looks at other possible cost saving measures.

"We're trying to find creative ways to save money in other areas," she said. "We will be working with the Leamington community to figure out the best way to serve the area. We have a mandate to provide services not just in Leamington, but across Essex County."

In a news release, CUPE Local 2286 president Cathy Matthe said she was pleased with WECAS's decision.

"The decision to keep the Leamington office open is a good one for our community, and for the services we provide," she said.

Gatt said even if WECAS eventually sells the Leamington building, it will look for another office space so that it can maintain a physical presence in the area.

Source: Windsor Star