We are your sons and daughters

The OCFSA would also like to recognize at the onset the critical parenting role that Children’s Aid Societies, the foster parents, and staff of residential facilities play in the lives of the children and youth that are in their care. [...] The purpose of this inquiry is to solicit documented evidence of good practice that leads to good outcomes for children in or from care that are consistent with Canada’s obligation to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child; to ensure uniformity in the standards and regulations of child welfare practices nationally; and to reduce inappropriate or harsh treatment, abusive practices and deaths [...] This includes: the availability of meaningful programming, respectful staff/youth relationships, and the use of natural consequences, rigidity of rules, the use of intrusive measures, the level and the frequency of peer aggression, and the inappropriate use of police services. [...] As advocates for young people it is the obligation of the OCFSA to ensure that all children and youth, but particularly those in the care of the state, have the opportunity to comment and give feedback regarding the care they receive. [...] Historical and Current Trends in Child Welfare Legislation and Policy in Ontario The establishment of the Child and Family Services Act in 1984, replacing the Act for the Prevention of Cruelty to and the Better Protection of Children (1893), initiated significant changes to the way policy and procedures were conducted within child welfare services.