In a child protection status review involving eight children, the court considered whether the children should remain in the care of the Children’s Aid Society pending trial and whether certain children required independent legal representation.
Applying the Child and Family Services Act, the court determined that three of the older children should receive legal representation under s. 38, while younger children were too young to meaningfully instruct counsel.
The court found that the Society established ongoing protection concerns including inadequate supervision, poor school attendance, domestic violence exposure, and the caregiver’s inability to manage the children’s needs.
Proposed placements with family members and the return of several children to the mother’s care were rejected due to insufficient information and unresolved risk factors.
All children were ordered to remain in the Society’s care on an interim basis with access arrangements for family members.
