Minister's Letter to Children's Aid Society Board Chairs
and Executive Directors
November 26, 2009
Children's Aid Society Board Chairs and Executive Directors
In June of this year, my ministry announced the creation of a Commission to Promote Sustainable Child Welfare to work towards the achievement of a stable financial future for child welfare in Ontario.
Children’s aid societies and the ministry understand that there are opportunities for improvement to the current child welfare system and that the current rate of expenditure growth is unsustainable. Together, we are facing the same challenge; working within our means to protect children and youth and improve their outcomes.
My predecessor engaged you in this challenge and introduced the Commission as an instrument of system change for both CASs and the ministry. The Commission will work with CASs and the ministry to identify how we can find better ways to do business, while protecting and supporting children and youth who require services. The Commission provides us with a unique window of opportunity to work together differently to develop creative solutions to improve the services children and youth are receiving in Ontario within the available resources.
I am pleased to announce that the Commission has now been formally established and Ms. Ene Underwood, Mr. Barry Lewis and Dr. Wendy Thomson have been appointed to undertake this challenging work. Individually and collectively, these three Commissioners bring to their task a tremendous passion for child welfare and a rich set of skills and experiences. I am very pleased that people of this calibre, expertise and objectivity will be working with CASs and the ministry to meet the Commission’s mandate. You will find their biographies attached to this letter.
As part of the Commission’s work of making recoMmendations and implementing change towards a more sustainable child welfare system, the Commissioners will be engaging and consulting CASs, the ministry, subject matter experts and other parts of the child and youth service system to create opportunities for input into and regular communication regarding their work. The Commission will have the necessary objectivity, expertise and authority to do this job.
In creating this Commission, our driving force is better outcomes for children and youth served within the child welfare system. To meet this shared goal, the Commission will have the capacity to explore a variety of strategies, including the establishment of performance measures and targets, changes to ministry and CAS business processes, effective accountability structures between the ministry and CASs, policy changes, supporting consolidation planning, and issues with impact on other parts of the children’s system.
The Commissioners have informed me that they will be communicating with you shortly to introduce themselves and share information on the Commission’s next steps.
Once again, I look forward to the opportunity to work with you, your agency and the Commissioners towards our shared goals of strengthening service delivery, promoting sustainability, and improving outcomes for children, youth and families receiving child welfare services.
Sincerely,
Laurel Broten
Minister
See also: Commissioner Biographies
