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Len Kennedy Responds
November 12, 2011 permalink
In a letter to the Belleville Intelligencer Hastings CAS executive director Len Kennedy comments on the case of foster parents Joe and Janet Turner Holm, recently convicted of sexual abuse of their foster children. Following that are three reader comments posted by the newspaper.
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Actions of one couple shouldn't mar work of foster parents
By P. Len Kennedy, Executive Director, Hastings Children's Aid Society
Recent publicity about foster parents in Prince Edward County being convicted on charges of sexual abuse has raised concerns about the safety of the foster care system.
As a CAS with one of the largest foster care networks in Eastern Ontario, I wish to provide the community with information about the safeguards in place to prevent harm to children in foster care.
The Ministry of Children and Youth Services has set out stringent standards for recruitment, training, selection, supervision and support of foster homes. Hastings CAS currently has 181 approved foster families providing care to 166 children.
Anyone wishing to become a foster parent participates in both a prescribed province-wide assessment process and a training program called PRIDE (Parent Resource for Information, Development and Evaluation) which is comprised of nine sessions and must be complete prior to commencing fostering.
In addition, the CAS is required to conduct vulnerable sector screening checks, police checks and character reference checks for each adult in a potential foster home. This includes any children in the home who are over the age of 18.
We look at the applicant's background including family of origin and earlier family experience and history. We also examine relationships and lifestyle issues as part of the evaluation.
Once a foster home is approved and children are placed there, additional standards must be met. These include visits to each child that involve private conversations, at seven days and 30 days after placement and 90 days thereafter.
In addition, our Resource Workers must visit each active foster home every 90 days. Annual reviews must also be complete for each home, a process which includes speaking with every member of the home.
Independent of the CAS, the Ministry of Children and Youth Services conducts an annual licensing review of how the CAS runs its foster care system. This includes file reviews or home visits and interviews with several foster homes associated with the agency.
When complaints or concerns are received from a child in foster care, these are investigated on a timely basis taking precautions for the child to be kept safe and protected while the matter is being looked into.
There are numerous other safeguards in foster care including the child's right to speak to his or her worker, or the Children's Advocate at any time.
Notwithstanding these protections and checks in the system, no CAS is able to give 100 per cent guarantees about what goes on in the privacy of any home.
However, we take our role of protecting children as our most important duty and we work closely with hundreds of foster families each year to provide safe, loving homes to children who require protection.
In October, we held a number of recognition events to honour foster parents in local communities during Foster Family Week. Let us not diminish, due to the actions of one couple, the credit that is due to so many wonderful families who do so much to keep our children safe, nurtured and protected.
P. Len Kennedy
Executive Director
Hastings Children's Aid Society
CAS Says, Actions of one couple shouldn't mar work of foster parents
Recent publicity about foster parents in Prince Edward County being convicted on charges of sexual abuse has raised concerns about the safety of the foster care system.
As a CAS with one of the largest foster care networks in Eastern Ontario, I wish to provide the community with information about the safeguards in place to prevent harm to children in foster care.
The Ministry of Children and Youth Services has set out stringent standards for recruitment, training, selection, supervision and support of foster homes. Hastings CAS currently has 181 approved foster families providing care to 166 children.
PAT NIAGARA
We hear this again and again yet the problem is still happening, kids being abused, sexual abuse and the list go's on. It has been getting worse over the years and it's clear the The Ministry of Children and Youth Services stringent standards are just not working. This is all the more reason the Children's Aid need Ombudsman oversight. Doors also need to be opened for any child or youth who has been abused in the system to file a lawsuit and be compensated for any type of wrong doing while in the care of CAS and its poorly ran foster homes
Pat Niagara is totally right, abuse in foster care is rampant, there is no oversight, Ombudsman review is needed, and all abused should be compensated and helped. Sexual, physical and emotional abuse happens all the time in foster care. This self-serving diatribe is once again about the image of the CAS and foster strangers instead of children. CAS refuses to see the level of child abuse in foster care and it is despicable. The public needs to be aware. Further when children report abuse they are not always given attention or listened to. In fact someone posted on another comment section that the abuse in this case was reported and nothing was done, that is not confirmed but it would be no surprise at all. For all concerned please watch out for kids in foster care, and worry more about the safety of these kids, not the image of CAS or their paid agents. What is sickening about this spin is that it does nothing to address preventing abuse what so ever, it truly is disgraceful and as Pat Niagara stated all the more reason to have Ombudsman oversight.
They are in dire need of oversight and clearly looking at the cases piling up such as this one there is an underlying issue not being address. The CAS does not care what happens to these kids once they are in care and their paycheck starts to roll in. Many foster kids claim that abuse in all forms is commonplace in these group homes or foster homes and complaining about it is useless. This alone would support what I am saying, they are charged with protecting the vulnerable kids yet they do nothing to not only prevent the abuses but more importantly, put an end to it. This article is dispicable and only damage control on their part because more and more of these stories are coming out everyday. CAS - I hope your days are numbered, oversight and criminal charges against those who fail to protect when that is precisely what they are paid to do could not come soon enough!
Source: Belleville Intelligencer
In his letter Mr Kennedy cites rule after rule applied by his agency to vet foster parents. Is that all? Does he even care about the children? Where is the apology to the children harmed by his agency? The apology to the families of the children? He gives no hint of taking responsibility for the failure of his agency. What he really cares about is avoiding responsibility, blaming the foster parents while excusing his own agency for putting children in the hands of derelict caretakers.
On another point, the headline starts "actions of one couple shouldn't ...". It is not just one couple. Fixcas generally ignores stories of sexual abuse from foster care in other jurisdictions. There are just too many, and current custom groups serious abuse (raping a girl causing two pregnancies) with the trivial (oral sex to a wine bottle). We included this one because it is a rare case from Ontario. Why are they rare? Not because there is no abuse — talk to almost any graduate of foster care to find out the real conditions. They are rare because of the efforts of CAS, including Mr Kennedy, to suppress the news.
