Brian Achiel D'Hondt

A child protection application by the Windsor-Essex Children's Aid Society seeking Crown wardship without access for a child with significant developmental delays and special needs.

The mother, who has cognitive limitations and intellectual disability, sought to have the child placed in her care subject to supervision.

The court found the child in need of protection and determined that Crown wardship was in the child's best interests, rejecting the mother's plan as inadequate given the child's sophisticated parenting needs and the mother's demonstrated inability to engage with services and retain parenting skills despite multiple opportunities and support.

The paternal grandparents sought custody of a four-year-old child who had lived with a non-family member caregiver since three months of age.

The child's parents were unable or unwilling to provide care.

The grandparents sought to unite the child with her two brothers, who were already in their custody, and to raise her within their Muslim faith and cultural traditions.

The non-family caregiver sought to maintain custody, emphasizing the child's four years of continuous, stable care and attachment.

The court applied the best interests of the child analysis under the Child and Family Services Act and determined that maintaining the status quo with the non-family caregiver was in the child's best interests, while providing generous access to the grandparents.