Children's Aid Society of Ottawa at breaking point, organization says

The Children's Aid Society of Ottawa (CASO) warns it is struggling to provide proper care and treatment to youth with complex needs, blaming a chronic lack of funding and inadequate resources. 

CASO and the union representing its workers, OPSEU/SEFPO Local 454, held a joint news conference Tuesday to issue the same urgent message: the organization is at a tipping point and the government needs to step in.

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"It is an absolute crisis, and we need the funding so that workers aren't overburdened, so they can be strong and healthy to best help the youths and families we serve," said Michele Thorn, a CASO front-line worker and union local president.  

The executive director of CASO said some families are turning to the agency not because they're experiencing abuse or neglect, but because they can't access appropriate treatment options for their children.

I have workers that cry every day because they can't keep up.- Michele Thorn, OPSEU Local 454

"With financial strain being experienced by a number of social and health partners, families who have children with complex needs are turning to the Children's Aid Society as a last resort," said Kelly Raymond. "Primarily, their requests are for foster or group home placements."

Those residential placements aren't equipped to provide treatment for children and youth struggling with mental health, addictions or behavioural issues, CASO said.

Thorn said CASO workers are suffering burnout as a result.

"I have workers that cry every day because they can't keep up," she said. "They constantly are not able to do their work properly, that they're doing the bare minimum or cutting corners."

What families want and need, CASO's executive director said, is more support. 

"They want more educational supports for their children, and children and youth with complex needs. They want in-home behavioural supports, so kind of therapeutic interventions and respite," Raymond said.  

CASO is calling for more "robust funding" for better collaboration between the health-care, social and education systems to provide comprehensive services for children and youth in need.

CASO has operated at a deficit of $3.3 million over the past two fiscal years. More than half of Ontario's children's aid societies are similarly stretched. 

OPSEU reports 49 of the 53 societies face an accumulated budget shortfall of $67 million, representing about 30 per cent of their operating costs.

"Our government is redesigning the child welfare system to focus on high-quality services that prioritize safety, are culturally appropriate and are responsive to the needs of children, youth and families," a spokesperson for the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services wrote in an email to CBC.

It said it has allocated $1.5 billion for 50 child welfare societies across Ontario.