Toronto, Ontario, Canada (Signal High) —– Ontario has a severe shortage of foster parents, and the “crisis” is just getting worse. Signal High investigates exactly what is happening, and why.
The foster home system in Ontario is withering away. Despite being given more support resources, increased funding, and additional incentives, not to mention expensive recruiting campaigns, people are saying ‘no thanks’ when asked to sign up, and many are leaving the system after short-term involvement. In some communities the number of available placements for children has dropped by more than half since 2020.
This reporter spoke with current foster parents, past foster parents, a group home operator, and other industry experts, and the reasons things are falling apart are not what you would expect.
Important! This adversing space will be donated (totally free of charge) to non-profit and non-governmental organizations, law firms, and others that stand up for the rights of children – that stand up against child protection overreach and bureaucratic malfeasance. Reach out [here].
Some things were consistent throughout every interview: they all enjoyed working with the kids, and got a sense of satisfaction from helping out; they also say that the child welfare system — the authorities themselves — need to be overhauled in a big way.
All say child protection authorities are difficult to work with. Many report their liaisons to be distant, arrogant, threatening, and coercive. The word secretive was used in almost every interview. Social workers are often never around when needed, take days to respond, even in emergencies, and treat foster parents with disdain and disrespect. Some cited a culture of non-disclosure, lack of mental health resources, and a legal system that excludes parents — especially fathers. Children often want to see their parents, especially their dads, but access is deliberately and vindictively withheld by authorities. Many of the participants we spoke to describe an environment of control, exclusion, isolation, and separation. Some foster parents find themselves in the middle of terrible court battles and parenting disputes.
A trusted source in the Ministry of Children Services agreed to interview, on condition of anonymity. They said foster homes tend to last one or two placements, then quit for a myriad of reasons. Some cite financial reasons, others disagreements and broken down relationships with children’s aid societies. According to the source, the Minister is “aware that there are some kids in foster care that shouldn’t be there, but societies [children’s aid societies] just steamroll parents in court.”
“Some societies are very well known for getting [court] orders just because parents don’t want their services,” according to the source. The source reports that staff at the Ministry see an increase in child apprehension whenever more money comes available for child care. “You don’t need to be a genius to figure that one out,” the source said.
Important! This adversing space will be donated (totally free of charge) to non-profit and non-governmental organizations, law firms, and others that stand up for the rights of children – that stand up against child protection overreach and bureaucratic malfeasance. Reach out [here].
The Ontario Association of Children’s Aid Societies (OACAS) is calling the situation a “crisis.” They report a 34% decrease in foster availability since 2020 province-wide. Child protection authorities are putting kids in unlicensed facilities, hotels, offices, and trailers, leaving them with little supervision and no support. This at a time when the salary of child protection authorities has ballooned, now sitting between $85,000 to $120,000 per year. Some managers are drawing even larger salaries, and bonuses, while agency offices are often higher grade than executive banking suites.
It is exactly this alleged malfeasance that the Ford government and the Ontario Ombudsman is investigating. According to public records, the Ministry boosted spending on child welfare by $36.5MM this year, to a total of more than $1.7B per annum. Funding for child protection also went up, by $14MM, following a $76.3MM increase last year. Foster parents receive a mere fraction of what child protection services are paid, while group homes are paid as much as $2,000 per day, per child. The entire system is structured to reward child protection authorities to apprehend children, keep them within the system, isolate the parents, and rip families apart.
Our reliable source went so far as to say that “everyone knows — even the Minister — that some societies are turning a blind eye to abuse and neglect to keep the money coming in.”
Critical incidents surely aren’t helpful either — children dying in custody, physical and emotional abuse, drugs and alcohol abuse, sexual assaults and impropriety … the list goes on. One former foster parent we interviewed left the system because they were distraught over the lack of accountability in the system. They remarked, “It just got to the point for us where we could’t associate with [the children’s aid society in their area] — it was terrible.” Indigenous child welfare agencies are experiencing even more difficulty. It takes months to get police clearances, and many potential foster homes are disqualified for minor reasons.
Important! This adversing space will be donated (totally free of charge) to non-profit and non-governmental organizations, law firms, and others that stand up for the rights of children – that stand up against child protection overreach and bureaucratic malfeasance. Reach out [here].
One couple who left the system were concerned about the imposition of ‘wokeness’, something they are against. Some child protection agencies shun churches and relief organizations because they have religious convictions. Foster parents are expected to follow politically correct (and highly controversial) pronouns, gender expression, dress and deportment that conflicts with their religious views. Most of all, the child protection authorities often refuse to hear concerns from the children in care, and direct them instead to write the Ombudsman.
“Kids are being shipped in and out by the day,” noted one former foster parent. “We don’t get notice, and we don’t have much say … workers are out the door and down the road before the kid gets their shoes off … everything is kept secret, and there is no parental involvement at all.” All participants agreed that the child protection/foster system in Ontario is about control and power. It’s about money, funding models, body counts — never about the kids — never about the families.
This is why people are leaving. This is why the resources are dwindling.
This writer will continue to follow this story, and looks forward to reading the much anticipated provincial audit. People with knowledge of this matter are invited to reach out. Visit signalhigh.news and click Make a Report [direct]. We are especially interested in speaking to children trapped by the system. We are sensitive to your predicament. We respect privacy and protect sources.
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