Information for families involved in the Ontario child welfare system

In its report "Harmful impacts: The reliance on hair testing in child protection" the Motherisk Commission recommended that the Ministry of Children and Youth Services (now the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services) fund the development of a comprehensive, plain-language guide on the child protection system in order to empower families with information to participate in case decision-making and to recognize when they may need legal assistance.

This library guide may prove useful until such a resource is developed. It provides links and information on the child welfare system, its processes, and its legal proceedings. While it is possible for families to seek help from a Children's Aid Society (CAS), for example, during times of stress or when they need more support, this guide is primarily intended for families who have not approached a CAS for services.

This guide is intended as a supplementary resource for families involved in child welfare as well as the professionals and service providers that support them. It is not intended to be used as legal advice for a specific legal problem.

The guide provides links to external resources, some of which may not include the most current information available or reflect recent changes to Ontario child welfare. You are therefore encouraged to confirm information with agencies and other organizations. For reference, some recent changes impacting child welfare include:

• The Child and Family Services Act (CFSA) has been repealed and replaced by the Child, Youth, and Family Services Act, 2017 (CYFSA). A high-level overview of changes, including information on raising the age of protection from 16 to 18, can be found here. The CYFSA can be accessed here
• Under the new legislation certain terms have also been retired and replaced with more inclusive and child-centred language. For example, "Crown ward" has been replaced by "child in extended society care" and "apprehended" has been replaced with "brought to a place of safety." The retired terms, however, may still be in use in some publications and on websites
• The new Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services (MCCSS) is now responsible for all former Ministry of Community and Social Services (MCSS) and Ministry of Children and Youth Services (MCYS) programs, with the exception of youth mental health
• As of May 1, 2019, the Ontario Child Advocate's office is closed and the Ontario Ombudsman’s Children and Youth Unit is responsible for looking into concerns about services received from a Children’s Aid Society (CAS). Note that the Ontario Child Advocate is also sometimes referred to as the Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth (PACY)

This library guide features select content embedded directly from the Steps to Justice website. Steps to Justice is a project led by Community Legal Education Ontario (CLEO) that empowers people to understand their legal rights and to take action to address their problems.