To get help for your family or to report your suspicion that a child is being abused or neglected, contact the CAS.

Our intake workers can provide counseling and advice over the phone, initiate child welfare services and/or direct you to other community resources.

Investigation and Assessment

Child Protection Workers investigate all allegations of child abuse and neglect. When it is deemed that a child is “at risk”, the worker will establish a preliminary plan to protect the child. Depending on the circumstances the child might:

1. remain in the home with a safety plan
2. be placed in a safe home with a caregiver known to the child (see Kinship Services)
3. be admitted to the care of the Society (see Foster Care and Kinship care)

Ongoing Protection Services

In cases where ongoing protection services are needed, the CAS develops a plan of service, either voluntary with the family or through court order. Either way, CAS staff are committed to working collaboratively with the family. Goals are set to address and resolve risk factors or problematic issues. The CAS worker will help identify service needs and assist the family with referrals to CAS programs or community resources.

Afterhours Services

Trained staff are available outside of regular office hours to respond to emergencies. The CAS accepts reports of children and youth in need of protection 24 hours a day.

Client Relations

If you have a concern or complaint about services you have sought or received from the CAS, you have the right to have it dealt with in a timely and courteous way.

a) Discuss the matter with your worker and try to resolve things

b) If you are still concerns, the worker will arrange a meeting for you with the supervisor within 7 days.

c) If the problem remains, write a letter outlining your complaint and send it to the Executive Director or the Child and Family Services Review Board. The Society will provide you with a pamphlet about the Child and Family Services Review Board.

d) Within 7 days of the Executive Director receiving your complaint, you will be notified in writing about whether your complaint is eligible for review. Under Section 68 of the Child and Family Services Act, you cannot complain if:

1. you are not a person who has sought or received services from the Society
2. the issue is before the Court or has already been decided by the Court
3. the matter is subject to another decision-making process under the CFSA or Labour Relations Act (1995)

e) If your complaint is not eligible for review, you will receive written notice and a meeting with the CAS’s Internal Complaint Review Panel will be scheduled within 14 days. The Panel members will not be directly involved in your case.

f) Within 14 days after this meeting, you will receive a letter summarizing the meeting and next steps.