Andrew A. Sudano

The appellant father appealed a decision ordering ongoing and retroactive child support for an adult child with severe disabilities.

The appellate court upheld the finding that the child qualified for support under s. 31 of the Family Law Act because her participation in an adapted educational program constituted full-time education in light of her medical limitations.

The court also upheld the retroactive support award based on the father’s blameworthy conduct in failing to disclose income increases, consistent with the principles in DBS v. SRG.

However, the court held that the impact of the adult child’s Ontario Disability Support Program benefits on the quantum of support had not been properly analyzed and required further evidentiary consideration.

That issue was remitted to the Ontario Court of Justice for determination while the remainder of the appeal was dismissed.

This is a child protection application under Part III of the Child and Family Services Act.

The Children's Aid Society sought an order making the child a crown ward for adoption purposes.

The mother sought return of the child on a supervision order or, alternatively, crown wardship with access.

The child had been in continuous care of the society since November 2010 following apprehension due to inadequate parenting and safety concerns.

The mother had agreed to a finding that the child was in need of protection.

The court found that the mother had significant intellectual and adaptive functioning deficits that prevented her from reading and responding appropriately to the child's cues, demonstrated poor judgment regarding child safety, missed a substantial portion of access visits, exhibited housing instability, and lacked meaningful support systems.

The court concluded that a supervision order was not in the child's best interests and that crown wardship with access could not be ordered as the mother failed to establish that access would be beneficial and meaningful to the child or that it would not impair the child's future opportunities for adoption.