Sudbury Local News - Local CAS faring better than others

Agencies across Ontario facing bankruptcy and layoffs

By: Stacey Lavallie - Sudbury Northern Life

The Children's Aid Society of the Districts of Sudbury and Manitoulin is faring much better than their counterparts in other parts of Ontario, which are currently facing bankruptcy and layoffs.

Payukotayno James and Hudson Bay Family Services have issued layoff notices recently, as has York Region Children's Aid Society (CAS).

Chatham-Kent's CAS is preparing for bankruptcy, and Kenora's CAS can't make payroll, states a press release from the provincial New Democrats.

"We're looking good right now, but you never know what the year will bring," said Jane Kaija, president of Sudbury-Manitoulin CAS. She explained that the local agency is not facing bankruptcy or layoffs.

The Sudbury-Manitoulin CAS has three offices, one each in Sudbury, Chapleau and Manitoulin, and employs about 200 unionized staff and just over 30 non-unionized staff. Its employees consist of child protection officers and support staff.

Child and Family Services and the Children's Community Network in the Sudbury area are also being affected by tighter budgets, said Kaija.

In the NDP press release, party leader Andrea Horwath called on the provincial government and the premier, Dalton McGuinty, to promise that CAS agencies across Ontario will not have to cut services and place children at risk.

She said in the press release there have been budget cuts at the agencies.

However, Sudbury MPP Rick Bartolucci said the CAS is not facing any cuts to its funding.

"Are we asking them (CAS) to do more with the money? Yes," he said. He explained the CAS has seen its budget increase annually, a total 40 per cent since 2003-2004.

Bartolucci said that financially, the Sudbury-Manitoulin CAS is considered "low risk."

According to statistics provided by Bartolucci, the amount of children placed into CAS care since 2003-2004 has risen nearly 20 per cent, and the number of staff has risen by 33 per cent. The number of investigations have decreased.

The Ministry of Youth Services was created to interface with agencies such as the CAS, to enhance services and work more effectively with the agencies, Bartolucci said.

Staff at the CAS and other children's mental health agencies across Ontario, including Sudbury-Manitoulin CAS, will be wearing blue ribbons on National Children's Day, Nov. 20, to draw attention to funding issues.

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27 Comments

Tiredofuninformedopinions 2/16/2010 8:16:24 PM - Report Abuse

NEW FLASH FOLKS:TAKE CARE OF YOUR KIDS AND YOU WON'T HAVE CAS KNOCKING AT YOUR DOOR.
FemaleDriver80 2/8/2010 8:10:24 PM - Report Abuse

share the wealth wrote :" There are no PSW's who work in Child Protection or Case Management at CAS."
Are you kidding me? MOST of them only have a PSW degree....and CAS here is a joke!!! Less investigations, but a rise in children going …more» into care? know why? because they cut out the investigations and just ABDUCT your children ...and our government supports this! They give them all the legal rights to do what they want, and HOW they want to do it.
No child in Sudbury is safe...unless you are a lawyer, judge, police officer's child..and the list goes on. They target single mom's and single dad's and MOSTLY people living in low income. Wanna debate on that? go ahead, but unfortunetly it's true. Go to courtwatch.com.....
Alot of these workers also dont have children...and are young themselves..and when i say young, i mean 22-25...nice to know these are the ones dictating the lives of parents , some old enough to be THEIR parents. SAD....Sudbury CAS is nothing but a joke, and we really need a private practice that looks over and scrutinizes EVERY single move that the CAS makes....right from budget to the investigations they do, and right down to apprehending children. Someone needs to watch CAS like a hawk....and naming names..lyndds is one of the worst CAS over zealous workers.«less
MAXIMVS-corruptioncentral 11/25/2009 5:44:40 PM - Report Abuse

Jody Marcotte...a child protection worker ...without meeting parents makes an decision that there should no access...how can a person make such a decision...answer...money...Hi Jody....come and talk on blog...or you just prove my point that you, poulin, …more» kinsley and paquette are coward and criminals...the klegacy that will be sudbury is your CAS francoponey child abuse team...cany wait to meet you cause when I do...the children will speak...and you will be in court...better get a better lawyer than your sugar daddy Paquette...«less
MAXIMVS-corruptioncentral 11/25/2009 5:40:46 PM - Report Abuse

so where is CAS...do we want an organization that is soo destructive and unaccounatble in our city...
with held 11/23/2009 12:44:02 AM - Report Abuse

Its Time For A Change, agreed on many of those points but cases involving drugs or crime border on the substantiated side or about 45% (34,650) of the roughly 77,000 cases in Ontario really need to be investigated even before turning them over to other …more» family members. In a drug related problem the other parent could get drug testing rather quickly but we all know CAS, Lawyers and Family Court doesn't make money by acting quickly.

What my only real beef is the remaining 55% (42,350) the totally innocent victims who were not or are not involved in any wrong doing, have not broken any laws or involved with people who have and that the CAS knows this without any doubt they are innocent.

Worse yet of the 55% about 4% (1,016) are victims of a malicious prosecution or perjured case created by CAS, Police or other "professionals" for revenge or a way to discredit people.«less
MAXIMVS-corruptioncentral 11/22/2009 11:02:17 PM - Report Abuse

Lets not forget the few doctors who prescribe the equivilant of crack cocaine for toddlers...all with the encouragement of CAS... for the trauma inflicted by the CAS...in the name of child protection!
MAXIMVS-corruptioncentral 11/22/2009 10:35:59 PM - Report Abuse

There is obviously a need for an organization to be responsible for protecting our children. But the need has been inflated for one purpose, to inflate the wallets of those responsible for the abuse. Time to compensate the victims...children and …more» parents. CAS said 1500 children recieved care. Who are these children?«less
Its Time For A Change 11/22/2009 9:07:43 PM - Report Abuse

Did you know ??? when they abduct a kid from a strung out mother or father they will not give them back to the a good parent right away or to another competent family member because they require the child be in their care for a minimum ### of days ( I …more» believe its 2 weeks but correct me if im wrong) so they will place the kid in foster care rather than with family to fund their criminal organisation. What a Joke CAS is. Its about $$$$$ to them if they gave the kids to gradparents, god parents ( arent god parents there for this specific reason if the parents cant care for child then god parents step in????) or other parent if they family is split up then they would go broke due to lack of funding. There is a bottom line, absolute power corrupts absolutly and in the case Of CAS its the truth exactly.«less
with held 11/22/2009 12:59:43 PM - Report Abuse

"which are currently facing bankruptcy and layoffs" if anyone is paying close attention to this you may begin asking the questions as to why a government agency is facing bankruptcy.. well here is the news scoop of the day they are not a …more» government agency. They are a private cooperation just like McD's except McD's does not want or get paid outrages fees to abduct children, McD's is heavily regulated to follow the rules and laws of Canada the Children's Aid is not and is well protected from prosecution by the Ontario Liberals including one from Sudbury who ignores this problem and people trying to stop it. I can say with all honesty to everyone of Sudbury that the Sudbury Children's Aid willingly participate in deliberate Child abductions, often commit perjury willingly and are a criminal organization that have committed more crimes in the Sudbury region against more people yearly than any bikers and gang have ever. I am here on record saying it and they can't touch me because they know and I know it's true. I also believe they should all be suffering jail house justice for all the child abuse they commit for money.

Sudbury, please demand more don't give them money.. please pressure the Ontario Liberals to stop protecting them and force a criminal investigation (not by the GSPS) then an audit and I guarantee you all they will prove illegal activity and will pay the legal expenses if I'm wrong...«less
MAXIMVS-corruptioncentral 11/20/2009 5:53:31 PM - Report Abuse

Sudbury CAS has many "partners"in this town...Im sure CAS's "private" donations on the brink of this crisis has increased to minimize the damage control.
MAXIMVS-corruptioncentral 11/20/2009 5:41:34 PM - Report Abuse

The Chatham-Kent Children's Aid Society is running out of money... more than a Million dollars short of meeting its budget.
And the story is similar across Ontario. Right now, 47 of 53 Children's Aid Societies are facing a deficit, and 37 of …more» those have appealed to the province for cash to avoid bankruptcy.

They need a combined total 0f $60,000,000. And even if they get it they'll likely be in the same bind next year. If they don't get it, bankruptcy next year seems likely.

Ontario's Association of CAS's are behaving like a lobby group...or this is the governments way of controlling the restructing of ontario's cas by claiming most may go bankrupt. Open up the child protection industry...other agencies can provide better accountable services to our children.«less
MAXIMVS-corruptioncentral 11/20/2009 4:36:48 PM - Report Abuse

Motormouth...mistakes are one thing... CAS CREATING cases against parents is another thing. Mistakes dont take years to correct.
Motorboat 11/20/2009 4:18:44 PM - Report Abuse

MAXIMVS-corruptioncentral

I have seen children stripped away from parents with no investiation. I have also seen parents who have not lost their kids after MANY investigations, parents who should not even have the right to be called parents.

The …more» whole system is gone to pot.«less
MAXIMVS-corruptioncentral 11/20/2009 2:38:02 AM - Report Abuse

http://www.canlaw.com/judges/salaries.htm
MAXIMVS-corruptioncentral 11/20/2009 2:36:36 AM - Report Abuse

I dont agree with everything in the 2 links below...but both contain some relevant informations and parallels that are happening today...here and most other cities to some extent.

…more» title="http://www.abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=7178686&page=1" class="EkForceWrap" onclick="window.open(this.href); return false;">http://www.abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=7178686&page=1

http://www.abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=7178686&page=1«less
MAXIMVS-corruptioncentral 11/20/2009 1:16:35 AM - Report Abuse

If anyone might consider a different feild it would be the disshonest lawyers and judges who shape the child protection industry. I dont think you will ever see a CAS "Protection Worker" tell a CAS Lawyer what to do...do you?
MAXIMVS-corruptioncentral 11/20/2009 1:14:05 AM - Report Abuse

Sharethewhat....Your statement Sudbury's CAS workers most often do have University Degrees in Social Work is bull.....Then you say " Those going into the Social Work Profession are thoroughly screened prior to acceptance to professional …more» years"....You claim to know this because you worked at CAS? Im sure that an occassional "bad worker" is the only problem our CAS and the rest of the CAS's in Ontario have too right? Oh and Im sure some workers are hand picked for their ability to listen and do what they're told by the clowns (lawyers) who tell them what to do in order to secure more funding. Who does this screening? The local CAS hiring committee? Those in charge of recieving the government funding?
I've dealt with CAS for 5 years and with close to 20 so-called "CAS workers"...only ONE was registered to the college of social work and TWO might have had degrees. The ones with degrees must have been the "supervisors" right?. Well for your information....under this supervisor are "Child Protection Workers"...not "Social Workers" all of which have no social work degree, little or no training at all...They use the title "Child Protection Worker" and have their legal team write false affidavids. I say FALSE because if you met these "workers"...you'ld see that they dont have the skill to write such an affidavid...wanna check their credentials? The CAS "legal team" uses the title "Protection Worker" for unqualified CAS personnel...passing them off as Social Workers. Obviously not all are qualified or good at their jobs, but Child Protection goes beyond the social worker or child protection worker or whatever.....it includes their legal team and some judges...unjust decisions are made in the court by the judges without any evidence...possible influenced by the ridiculous funding CAS has been recieving. If anyone might consider a different f«less
Share the Wealth 11/20/2009 12:18:05 AM - Report Abuse

Maxime, you are mistaken about the qualifications of CAS workers, especially those who work in Child Protection. CAS workers most often do have University Degrees in Social Work BSW's , Most supervisors have Masters Degrees MSW's. Some CAS case …more» workers may have a College Degree in Social Welfare. Anyone using the title of Social Worker, must be registered with the College of Social Workers. There are no PSW's who work in Child Protection or Case Management at CAS. Those going into the Social Work Profession are thoroughly screened prior to acceptance to professional years, and Foster Parents do go through screening. I was both a Foster parent for many years, and later became a univeristy educated Social Worker. I did some parent\family support work for CAS also,I know that most of the CAS workers are well educated and qualified to do their jobs. Not all are good at their jobs however, and might consider a different field rather than CAS work,«less
MAXIMVS-corruptioncentral 11/19/2009 7:46:36 PM - Report Abuse

SudburyBoy1234 Thanks for that information...however... You said Bart is the spokesperson for the government that funds CAS ....then this same government "spokesperson" (Bart) who gives CAS their funding refuses to oversee how these public …more» funds are spent, Bart hands over a check of our tax dollars (38 million) then says goodbye? This is happening in our community with our tax dollars. How can you believe our government (Bart) when it funds CAS then doesnt care how they spend the money? In fact the money was squandered and used to destroy families. There is no "probabaly needs to be organized"...You're absolutely out in left feild. It must be reorganized.
I aggree CAS is usless but needs alot more than reorganization. Whats more usless is your atempt to belittle the seriousness of the issue of Child protection. As for the "too much tax dollaars CAS recieves not being allocated properly" Again..this has been going on for years...CAS needed kids and time spent in court to account for the money...hence CAS creating cases out of thin air....a mini economy. Child Protection needs to be re-structured especieally in Sudbury and victims compensated. That would be the proper allocation for the extra funding.
Who cares about Howies pension? Try and focus...FYI The ridicoulous increase in funding CAS came after the Harris years. Sooo...Nevermind what the NDP is focussed on...you should try remaining focussed on the fact. The fact the CAS Sudbury mismanaged, funds, destroyed familiies, and the rights of children (mine). They remain unacountable, so does the governmet that gives them 38 million dollars plus every year.
normduster...According to statistics provided by Bartolucci, the amount of children placed into CAS care since 2003-2004 has risen nearly 20 per cent, and the number of staff has risen by 33 per cent. The number of investigations have decreased...are you confused?«less
normduster 11/19/2009 5:42:37 PM - Report Abuse

Sudbury has less children coming in 20%...but they have 33% investigators...I think I know where the wasted money goes!!!!!
SudburyBoy1234 11/19/2009 9:05:37 AM - Report Abuse

Maximvs.....Van Bommel is not Minister responsible for CAS, Laurel Broten is. Further to that, Barto is not the spokesperson for the CAS, he is the spokesperson on behalf of the government who gives the CAS funding.

I agree that the CAS is a very …more» useless organization and probably needs to be reorganized. They get too much tax payer money and dont know how to allocate it accordingly.

The NDP would do far better if they focused on issues that really matter - but again - they decide to resort to political pandering.

Why dont we ask Howie to use some of the money he earned when he traded in his pension benefits for a buyout during the harris years to help these so called underprivleged organizations? The NDP are useless.«less
MAXIMVS-corruptioncentral 11/18/2009 9:09:37 PM - Report Abuse

News Toronto & GTA
Addict escapes jail term in daughter's abuse
By SAM PAZZANO, COURTS BUREAU Last Updated: 8th January 2009,

"A crack-addicted woman was handed a 13-month conditional sentence yesterday for corrupting her …more» developmentally challenged daughter, who was used for sex and given cocaine by other crack-users at the family's Rexdale flophouse. "Her actions ... made the child vulnerable to acts of violence ... But it doesn't send any greater message (to imprison her). It's in the child's interest to restructure the family under the supervision of the CAS," said Budzinski" ...... The child is still in the home?...More likely than not the CAS worker will go over to check up on the kid and smoke some crack or worse? I believe all who are in such positions should be drug tested regularly not to mention all should undergo personality assessments. Hiring workers with personalities likely to be dishonest or abusive would be screened out. Drug addicts included. I would wager nobody from or few from CAS would support that idea.
http://www.torontosun.com/news/torontoandgta/2009/01/08/7953736-sun.html

After you read above link, remember people (me included) have a judge in Sudbury who is bought by CAS and has prevented me from seeing my son because why? How can a competent member of the judiciary or someone who calls themselves a social worker and is on record as saying that the child is better off without his father? I am a business owner, I am drug free, no history of violence or abuse against children, no history of mental illness...and obviosly of superior intellegence than some of these so-called social workers...maybe I should start smokin crack and become one of the many of Sudbury's "CAS creviceheads". Then will I be able to see my kid??«less
Grouchy 11/18/2009 8:43:40 PM - Report Abuse

This is more public brainwashing by an agency that is the least accountable of ANY agency ever funded by the Canadian Government. If anyone ever questioned either the Canadian Government or the C.A.S on who is accountable in this agency you would spend …more» the rest of your life like a dog chasing its tail. They are accountable to no one and have more power than the R.C.M.P , Courts, and Judges.

The Sudbury C.A.S leads the world in Parental alienation.

Social workers spend more time in Court than investigating for them selves.On the word of one vindictive parent the other parent may go years without having access to their children.

For any person who thinks that every parent not being allowed access is justified without any charges or accusations of neglect or abuse againt the child needs to rethink. I would hate to think of what my Mother or Father would have done if an Agency would of told one of them they had no right to see me or my siblings. Just because two people can no longer cohabitate is no reason to take the children from one of the parents lives. Its long been in the best interest of the C.A.S to make a families problems a "make work" project for themselves. They should be dis banned and a New accountable Agency formed that is family value friendly and accountable.«less
2010 11/18/2009 6:55:59 PM - Report Abuse

Investigations down? what a laugh. What is even funnier is who can qualify to be a foster parent. Poor Canada!
MAXIMVS-corruptioncentral 11/18/2009 6:37:09 PM - Report Abuse

(continued again)...How can this be if the number of investigations is down and the number of kids in care increased only 20% and staff increased only 33%...where is the extra money... according to these number we should have one and a half CAS agencies …more» in Sudbury or a hell of alot more children in care or needing to be ``kidnapped``....maybe the CAS should be building arenas in the city or helping out the Sudbury foodbank..... I for one can say Ive witness what this ridiculous 40% increase in funding has resulted in. The government should charge the operators of most of Ontario`s CAS agencies with defrauding the public and child abuse.
How original of Sudbury CAS to wear Blue ribbons to acknowlege funding cuts. I wonder what CAS workers would do if everyone who wanted ``CAS accountability`` wore a blue ribbin.. In my opinion a swastika is more representative of their corrupted practices...In fact the blue ribbon concept was first adoped here at http://corruptioncentral.com/?s=blue+ribbonon to bring awareness to the abuses (funding included) of Ontario`s CASs. The Sudbury CAS stole the access awarded to me in a higher court (Superior Court) than the one they play their games in (Court of Justice) just like they stole my blue ribbon concept.. Both Bart (Valle) and Sudbury CAS are missleading the public and abusing the children,citizens and our tax dollars.....the two go good together. So when Bart said the cuts mean we`re asking them (CAS) to do more with the money.....well thats a matter of speculation. It could be that the much needed changes are in progress. I for one hope so and will not rest until justice is served. This agency would be wise not to ask for any donations from me!
Thank You NL for doing this story.«less
MAXIMVS-corruptioncentral 11/18/2009 6:36:04 PM - Report Abuse

(continued)...Since when is Bartolucci the``spokesperson`` for the CAS in Sudbury.....He said that financially, the Sudbury-Manitoulin CAS is considered "low risk" and is not facing any cuts to its funding....What does he mean by ``low risk he …more» doesnt even sit on the board and refused to discuss the CAS with yours truely ...is he speaking for the NEWLY appointed minister responsible for CAS Ms. Vanbommel.MPP or for the CAS Board of Directers......According to statistics provided by Bartolucci, the amount of children placed into CAS since 2003-2004 has risen 20 per cent, and the number of staff has risen by 33 per cent BUT the number of investigations have decreased. How many kids does 20% translate to...How many kids in Sudbury are in care...how many parents are being denied the right to see their kids... You see...my kid is one of them who is being denied the right to know the parent that pays support to the province...the same provinces that provides funding to Sudbury CAS. Can you explain how staff increases 33% and funding increases 40%...but yet the number of investigations is down...doesnt make sense. Looks like all the funding paid for newly created and unnessary so called social worker``jobs``. So does this mean that no investigation is nessarry for you to strip children of their parents... With three CAS offices, one each in Sudbury, Chapleau and Manitoulin, employing about 200 unionized workers ... If the union ``protects the unionized workers``...then who protects the 60 or so``un-unionized CAS workers...hmmm maybe CAS lawyers...Though they may be unionized, Do you actualy expect us to believe that Sudbury CAS has 223 qualified Social Workers registered with the Ontario College of Social Work.
Last year 36 million dollars government funding was allocated to our CAS (not including private donations). Bartolucci explained the CAS has seen its budget increase annually, a 40 per cent since 2003-2004. How can this be if the number of i«less
MAXIMVS-corruptioncentral 11/18/2009 6:34:56 PM - Report Abuse

Last month in Queen's Park OCTOBER 1, 2009 - Kenora—Rainy River NDP MPP Howard Hampton said the McGuinty government will put needy children at risk if it continues to gut funding for the province’s Children’s Aid Societies (CAS). Hampton asked for …more» an explanation from then Children and Youth Service Minister Deb Matthews during TODAYS Question Period. For the last 6 weeks, Ontario has had a new Minister responsible for CAS...Ms. Vanbommel MPP. Former and current ministers were and are both cutting funding...determination equal to their new HST. Locally....Sudbury CAS Jane Kaija, president says ``We're looking good right now, but you never know what the year will bring,". She explained that the local agency is not facing bankruptcy or layoffs. Really...Bankruptcy... Now that is funny ...that would be like say the government is going bankrupt. In fact there should have been a surplus of money for years according to the numbers provided by Bart (newly declared spokeperson for CAS)....This is how kids get kidnapped so to speak...to justify more funding. Changes are coming soon because more and more people will begin to see it.... If Sudbury CAS is ``looking good finacially`` . They are not looking good credibility wise. They may claim to be looking good financially but its because the majority of workers there are not qualified and not paid what a 5 year masters of social worker would be worth...the majority of workers are PSWs (6 mth course partime workers or similiar) but have the authority of someone with a 5 year masters degree in social work. The extra funding which was managed by a selected few was utilized at their own will and discretion. I would wager that not more than 12 people at Sudbury CAS actually have a degree or Masters in Social Work. any takers.....The ones making the decisions for our children, families, society are not ``social workers`` but lawyers and judges.
Since when is Bartolucci the``spokesperson`` for the CAS in Su«less

Local CAS faring better than others

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Agencies across Ontario facing bankruptcy and layoffs

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