Do you have a complaint about services you have sought or received from an Ontario Children’s Aid Society?
You have the right to voice your concerns.
This is easy to do and the same across the province.
STEP 1
Voice your complaint in writing to the Children’s Aid Society (CAS) and/or by going to the Child and Family Services Review Board (CFSRB).
STEP 2
If you submit your complaint to a CAS Within 7 days the CAS will let you know if it can review your complaint and set a date and time for you to meet with its internal complaint review panel. This meeting must take place within 14 days.
and/or
If you submit your complaint to the CSFRB
Within 7 days the CFSRB will respond to you by letter. If your complaint is eligible for review, within the next 20 days the CFSRB will send you a letter with their decision or a notice that a hearing will be held.
STEP 3
Meet with the CAS panel
Within 14 days, you will receive the CAS panel’s decision in writing.
and/or
If required, attend a CFSRB hearing
Within 10 days, you will receive the CFSRB’s decision in writing.
Who can make a complaint to the CFSRB?
You may choose to take your complaint to an independent board – the Child and Family Services Review Board (CSFRB) – at any time if you believe the CAS:
- Refused to proceed with your complaint
- Did not follow the complaint review process or timelines
- Did not give you reasons for a decision that affects you
- Did not give you the opportunity, where appropriate, to be heard and represented when decisions that affected your interests were made
- Did not give you the opportunity to be heard when you had concerns about services you were receiving
- Inaccurately recorded something in your fiInaccurately recorded something in your file.*
* This complaint can only be made to the CFSRB after it has been heard by the CAS.
How do I make a complaint to the CFSRB?
Obtain and complete the application form Request for Review of Children’s Aid Society, available from any CAS, the Child and Family Services Review Board, or the Ministry of Children and Youth Services at
www.ontario.ca/children and mail or fax it to:
Child and Family Services Review Board at the address on the bottom of this page.
What happens after I make my complaint to the CFSRB?
Within 7 days, the CFSRB will respond to you by letter. If your complaint is eligible for review, within the next 20 days the CFSRB will send you a letter with their decision or a notice that a hearing will be held. Where a hearing is required, details of the hearing process will be provided in the letter.
Who attends the CFSRB hearing?
- You and one support person, as well as one representative from your band or native community, if applicable
- One or more representatives from the CAS
- Any other person the CFSRB thinks should attend the meeting
- An interpreter will be provided by the CFSRB if you need one.
What happens after the CFSRB hearing?
The CFSRB will send you a written decision within 10 days after the hearing.
There are a number of ways to make a complaint
- To the children’s aid society you are dealing with.
and/or - By going to the Child and Family Services Review Board (CFSRB), an independent board responsible for reviewing certain actions and decisions made by children’s aid societies.
Who can make a complaint to a CAS?
If you have sought or received services from a children’s aid society and have concerns about these services, you have a right to complain. In many cases, you can discuss and resolve any concerns directly with your case worker or their supervisor in a way that provides good solutions for everyone involved. When this is not possible, you can complain directly in writing to your CAS.
How do I make a complaint to a CAS?
Put your concerns in writing and submit them to your local children’s aid society by delivery, mail, fax or e-mail. Explain your problem clearly and include all of the details important to you, so that those reviewing your complaint will understand your concerns. Within 7 days, the CAS will respond to you by letter. If your complaint is eligible for review, this letter will set a date, time and place for you to discuss it with the CAS internal complaint review panel. The meeting date must be within 14 days of the date on the letter sent to you. If the meeting time or date is not convenient, you can request that the meeting be rescheduled.
Who will review my complaint at the CAS?
To make the CAS internal complaint review process as fair as possible, the panel will consist of a small number of people who have not been directly involved with your case. The CAS executive director will select panel members from society staff (including one senior manager) and will also choose one person not employed by the society.
What happens when I meet with the CAS internal complaint review panel?
The CAS complaint review process is designed to be fair and objective. You will be able to discuss your complaint with people who are not directly involved with your case. The goal is to deal with your complaint as quickly as possible in a way that works for everyone. An interpreter will be provided by the CAS if you need one. You can bring one person to support you at the meeting, as well as one representative of your band or native community, if applicable.
The review panel may ask you questions to better understand your concerns. Within 14 days after the meeting, the panel will send you and the executive director of the CAS a written summary of the results of the meeting, including any agreed-upon next steps. If at any point in the complaint review process the complaint is resolved to your satisfaction, the society will send you confirmation ofthe resolution in writing.
What types of complaints are excluded from the CAS and CFSRB complaint review processes?
The CAS and CFSRB review processes cannot consider:
- Matters currently before the courts or that the courts have already decided
- Matters that fall under other decision making processes under the Child and Family Services Act or the Labour Relations Act.
For more information
Get in touch with your local CAS.
Get in touch with the CFSRB:
Child and Family Services Review Board
2 Bloor Street West, 24th Floor
Toronto ON M4W 3V5
Telephone (416) 327-4673
Toll Free 1-888-728-8823
TTY (416) 327-9247
Fax (416) 327-0558
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