Ontario ombudsman finds 'significant increase' in complaints about children in care

The provincial child welfare system has seen a "significant increase" in complaints related to the quality of care for vulnerable children,Ontario ombudsman said in its annual report. report.

Paul Dube outlined the trends and research his office covered from April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022, in a report released Tuesday. explained. It highlighted a notable surge in complaints related to child protection services, including child support societies and groups or foster care providers.

According to reports, the Ombudsman's Children and Youth Division has 25 staff members and has more than 1,600 total cases, of which 1,337 are from adults and 314 are from children or their children. It was a complaint from a teenager. This is up from the previous year's total of just over 1,300, Dubé said.

These were his one of over 25,000 complaintsthat were brought to the Ombudsman's office in all jurisdictions, including prisons, local governments and boards of education. . Overall, he has increased by 52% since last year.

was," Duvet said on Tuesday.  "Overall what I find encouraging is that the more complaints we have, the more people we can help."

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From youth involved in the child welfare system Complaints included requests to move to another location, being denied contact with siblings, feeling that their culture and personal identity were not respected, and problems with peers and staff.

On the other hand, parents and extended families frequently filed complaints about their children's living conditions or that the Child Aid Society was not addressing their concerns.

Ombudsman highlighted the use of physical restraints in groups or foster homes as a "major concern" and noted that they were often the subject of youth complaints.

may involve pinning the child's shoulders to the ground and extending the arm to grasp the wrist. Sometimes children are laid face down on the ground. Restraints are to be used only as a last resort when children pose imminent danger to themselves or others. We will treat such complaints as a matter of priority, as well as [reports] we receive about," Dube said.

The office follows up on all reports by contacting and checking in with injured youth directly. says Dubé.

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From 2021 to 2022, the Secretariat will follow 59 of these cases involving physical restraints. up.

Ombudsman The findings of an ongoing Global News/APTN survey of state child welfare systems found frequent use of restraints, lack of qualified staff, poor living and working conditions, and lack of oversight and accountability. A worrying situation within the operators of private group homes has been clarified.

A Global News/APTN study also found that physical restraints were surprisingly common within group homes in Ontario. In this group home, children under the age of 17 live in shared housing with staff.

Analysis found more than 2,000 reports of physical restraints throughoutstate child welfare systems in his one year.

Confinement rates were highest among privately owned group homes. These types of families account for only 20% of beds in child welfare schemes, but 90% of all restrictions.

Former Ontario children and youth advocate Irwin Ellman, who recently ran for state as an NDP candidate, said the Doug Ford administration would close the provincial advocacy office for children and youth. He said that the "wrong judgment" should be reconsidered.

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Child Abuse in the Child Welfare System. It closed his 2019 and folded into the Ombudsman's office as a cost-cutting measure by the Ford government. The

State Attorney's Office received nearly 2,800 of her calls related to youth seeking help from He 2017 to Her 2018 before the office closed.

The Independent Office also initiated an investigation into the systematic use of restraints that the Office of the Ombudsman had promised to complete. However, in the three years since she oversaw Child Protective Services, the Ombudsman has not made the findings public.

Ombudsman Office communications Her director, Linda Williamson, said the Office would only investigate reports that casualties occurred and would not track all serious incidents involving detention. said not.

"There have been changes to restraint reporting requirements and state-approved methods of restraint," she said. said. “Laws coming into effect next year will require young people to be informed of what constitutes physical restraint, the circumstances under which they may be detained, and when they must report.

They should also make it clear that the Ombudsman's Office can help if they have concerns about their health."

However, Ellman argues that the home care culture "holds young people until they are abandoned at 18." He said that he continues to create a system that

"We have lost the light on the system brought about by the voices of children and young people," he said.

Experts say the use of restraints is psychologically damaging to children and should be greatly reduced or eliminated altogether.

"Bindings are a sign of trouble," Ellman said. “There is no indication that the government is giving much thought, let alone research, to the use of restraints in residential care.”

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