CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES REVIEW BOARD
BETWEEN:
MT and CB Applicants
-and-
The Children's Aid Society of the City of Guelph and the County of Wellington Respondent
DECISION
Adjudicator: Tracy Foster
Indexed as: MT and CB v The Children’s Aid Society of the City of Guelph and the County of Wellington (CYFSA s.120)
OVERVIEW
1This is an Application filed under section 120 of the Child, Youth and Family Services Act, 2017, S.O. 2017, c.14, Sched.1, (the “Act”).
2The child in the Application (“the Child”) is related to one of the Applicants. The Applicants are seeking kinship placement of the Child.
3This decision explains why the Application is not eligible for review by the CFSRB.
ISSUE
4The issue is:
- Is the Application eligible for review by the CFSRB?
RESULT
5The CFSRB finds that the Application is not eligible for review.
ANALYSIS
6In section 6 of the Application, where an applicant identifies why they have applied to the CFSRB, the Applicants checked off the following boxes:
The Society failed to respond to your complaint to the ICRP within 7 days
The Society failed to comply with its ICRP process
The Society did not provide you with an opportunity to be heard and represented when decisions affecting your interests were made and to be heard when you expressed concerns about the services you are receiving
The CFSRB can only review whether a society followed its complaint review process or timelines when the complaint is on the required form
7Two of the three boxes checked under section 7 of the Application refer to the Society’s Formal Internal Review Complaints Review Panel (“ICRP”).
8Section 56 of Ontario Regulation 156/18 General Matters Under the Authority of the Minister (the “Regulation”) states:
A complaint to a society under subsection 119(1) of the Act must be made in the form entitled “Formal Complaint to a Society’s Internal Complaints Review Panel (ICRP)” and dated 2020/11, available on a website of the Government of Ontario.
9Subsection 119(2) of the Act requires that a complaint to a children’s aid society be made in the format set out in the Regulation. This includes filing a specific “Formal Complaint to a Society’s Internal Complaints Review Panel (ICRP)” form.
10The CFSRB can only review a complaint dealing with an ICRP only when the complaint is on the required form. The Applicants did not file or provide information to support that they made a formal ICRP complaint to the Respondent on the form required by the Regulation.
11As such, the CFSRB lacks the jurisdiction to review whether the Respondent followed its complaint process or timelines.
The CFSRB Cannot Review a Non-Parent’s Complaints about Not Being Heard
12The third box checked by the Applicants relate to the right to be heard, Section 120(4)4 of the Act.
13Section 120(4)4 defines complaints that the CFSRB may review: “Allegations that the society has failed to comply with subsection 15 (2).” Subsection 15(2) of the Act limits the right to be heard to “children and young persons and their parents.”
14The Applicants are not the Child’s parent. As such, the CFSRB does not have the jurisdiction to review the Applicants’ complaints about not being heard by the Respondent.
ORDER
6The Application is dismissed.
CONFIDENTIALITY ORDER
7Pursuant to Rules 9.3 and 9.4 of the CFSRB’s Rules of Procedure, parties and their representatives must not use, share, discuss or disclose any CFSRB documents or decisions, or any other documents or information provided or used in this Application, with anyone including through the media or online. The CFSRB prohibits the use of any of this information for any purpose outside of the CFSRB’s proceedings, except with an order of the Court or the CFSRB, as appropriate.
Tracy Foster
Tracy Foster
Member