EDITOR’S NOTE: This article originally appeared on The Trillium, a Village Media website devoted exclusively to covering provincial politics at Queen’s Park.
Children's aid societies, municipalities and other groups are calling on the province to "step up" and fix what they say are increasingly "scant, siloed, and splintered" community supports and treatment for children and families.
"Children, youth and families should have easy and equitable access to supports and services in their communities that are high-quality, trauma-informed, identity-affirming, and inclusive. But this is not the case," wrote Solomon Owoo, CEO of the Ontario Association of Children’s Aid Societies (OACAS), in a letter to Premier Doug Ford.
The Oct. 1 letter was written on behalf of several organizations including Addictions & Mental Health Ontario, the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, Autism Ontario, Children’s Mental Health Ontario and others.
It follows the Children's Aid Society of Ottawa's warning in June that the child welfare sector was "at a tipping point" as families of youth with complex needs were increasingly unable to access treatments and supports in their communities and were turning to children's aid societies for help. The Trillium recently reported on the stories of several of these families and their calls for change after Ford announced an audit of the child welfare system, which he reiterated on Wednesday, accusing some child welfare agencies of "working in Taj Mahals."
It also comes after the provincial ombudsman's announcement last month that his office is investigating the placement of children in hotels, Airbnbs, or society offices, with agencies saying this is because of a lack of appropriate housing options, particularly for youth with complex needs.
The letter was part of the "Dress Purple Day campaign," which child welfare agencies and their partners hold in October to raise awareness about supporting vulnerable youth.
They called on the province to ensure community groups and service providers have enough funding, staff and other resources to "truly respond to the needs of children, youth, and families."
"The province must take a cross-ministerial approach to investing in community-based organizations and service providers and bolstering social infrastructure," Owoo wrote, listing several recommendations.
These included developing "wraparound approaches to service delivery so children, youth, and families have access to individualized, coordinated care that is easy to navigate and meets their unique needs," making targeted community investments, improving access to prevention and early intervention programs and ensuring youth with complex needs can access supports and treatments and continued care as they enter adulthood.
Owoo's letter also said non-profits are "facing worsening economic hardships" and are having to cut back programs or close, leaving growing waitlists.
"The government of Ontario cannot ignore these warning signs. If the province fails to act, we fear what this will mean for children, youth, and families in the short- and longterm," he said. "The challenges many children, youth, and families face will intensify. More and more will be pushed to the point of crisis, which can have devastating impacts on their health and well-being and lead to negative outcomes. We need the government to champion community-based organizations and service providers, who are the backbone of our social infrastructure in Ontario."
The Trillium reached out to the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services for a response to the letter and will update this story with a response.
Meanwhile, at an unrelated press conference on Wednesday, Premier Ford targeted child welfare agencies.
"We're hearing nightmare stories about the abuse of taxpayers' money. I've heard stories of ... some of these agencies are working in Taj Mahals, they're paying ... $100,000 for rent," Ford said in response to a question about how his government would address a lack of placements for kids in care with complex needs.
"The managers are giving themselves a bonus. All those managers that are giving yourself a bonus, not worrying about the kids, I'm coming for ya," the premier continued. "We're doing a complete audit, and if we see funds not being spent properly on the kids, guess what? You're looking for another job."
The Ontario Association of Children’s Aid Societies said after the press conference that it was "disappointing that Premier Ford did not directly address the question put to him about the lack of supports, services, and appropriate placements for children and youth presenting with complex needs," and that this is the responsibility of all levels of government and community organizations.
"Child welfare agencies work tirelessly to keep children and youth in their homes, with kin, and connected to their community and culture. This type of work is intensive, demanding significant time and resources. Additionally, the types of cases child welfare agencies encounter are becoming more and more complex," the association said in a statement to The Trillium.
The association noted a recent survey where 39 child welfare agencies reported "that the number of children or youth requiring high-cost care (i.e., over $200,000 per year) has seen a significant increase over the past three years, doubling from 174 in 2021-2022 to 354 in 2023-2024. In many, but not necessarily all cases, this refers to children and youth who present with complex needs and require highly specialized, intensive care (i.e., supports, services, treatment)."