CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES REVIEW BOARD
BETWEEN:
VD
Applicant
-and-
Children’s Aid Society of Toronto
Respondent
DECISION
Adjudicator: Jay Sengupta Date: December 29, 2017 Citation: 2017 CFSRB 34 Indexed as: VD v Children's Aid Society of Toronto (CFSA s.68)
APPEARANCES
VD, Applicant
Self-represented
Children’s Aid Society of Toronto, Respondent
Caroline Handelman, Counsel
Introduction
[1]
Introduction
This is an application under s. 68.1(4) 5 of the Child and Family Services Act, R.S.O. 1990 c. C.11 (“Act”). The Applicant alleges that the Society did not provide her with reasons for decisions affecting her interest; specifically regarding a kinship assessment related to her grandchild.
2The Board must decide whether the Society met its obligations to provide the Applicant with reasons for decisions concerning the issue noted above.
3During the hearing into this application, the Board heard from the Applicant on her own behalf and [name], Supervisor of Kinship Services at the Respondent Society. For the reasons that follow, the Board finds that the Society met its obligation to provide the Applicant with reasons with respect to the concerns she outlined regarding the kinship assessment related to her grandchild.
the law
[4]
The Law
The relevant sections of the Act are as follows:
s. 2(2) Service providers shall ensure,
(a) that children and their parents have an opportunity where appropriate to be heard and represented when decisions affecting their interests are made and to be heard when they have concerns about the services they are receiving; and
(b) that decisions affecting the interests and rights of children and their parents are made according to clear, consistent criteria and are subject to procedural safeguards.
s. 68.1(1) If a complaint in respect of a service sought or received from a society relates to a matter described in subsection (4), the person who sought or received the service may,
(a) decide not to make the complaint to the society under section 68 and make the complaint directly to the Board under this section; or
(b) where the person first makes the complaint to the society under section 68, submit the complaint to the Board before the society’s complaint review procedure is completed
(2) If a person submits a complaint to the Board under clause (1) (b) after having brought the complaint to the society under section 68, the Board shall give the society notice of that fact and the society may terminate or stay its review, as it considers appropriate.
(3) A complaint to the Board under this section shall be made in accordance with the regulations.
(4) The following matters may be reviewed by the Board under this section:
Allegations that the society has refused to proceed with a complaint made by the complainant under subsection 68 (1) as required under subsection 68 (2).
Allegations that the society has failed to respond to the complainant’s complaint within the timeframe required by regulation.
Allegations that the society has failed to comply with the complaint review procedure or with any other procedural requirements under this Act relating to the review of complaints.
Allegations that the society has failed to comply with clause 2 (2) (a).
Allegations that the society has failed to provide the complainant with reasons for a decision that affects the complainant’s interests.
Such other matters as may be prescribed.
(5) Upon receipt of a complaint under this section, the Board shall conduct a review of the matter.
(6) Subsections 68 (7), (8) and (9) apply with necessary modification to a review of a complaint made under this section.
(7) After reviewing the complaint, the Board may,
(a) order the society to proceed with the complaint made by the complainant in accordance with the complaint review procedure established by regulation;
(b) order the society to provide a response to the complainant within a period specified by the Board;
(c) order the society to comply with the complaint review procedure established by regulation or with any other requirements under this Act;
(d) order the society to provide written reasons for a decision to a complainant;
(e) dismiss the complaint; or
(f) make such other order as may be prescribed.
(8) The Board shall not conduct a review of a complaint under this section if the subject of the complaint,
(a) is an issue that has been decided by the court or is before the court; or
(b) is subject to another decision-making process under this Act or the Labour Relations Act, 1995.
ANALYSIS
[5]
Analysis
Although the Applicant brought her application under paragraph 3 of s.68.1(4), the application was deemed eligible to proceed under s.68.1(4)5. Under paragraph 5, the Board has authority to determine whether the Applicant was given reasons for decisions made that affected her interests, specifically the decisions made by the Respondent Society in conducting the kinship assessment of the Applicant and in ultimately taking the position that it could not recommend the plan put forward by the Applicant to care for her grandson.
6The “right to reasons” under the Act, means a right to a meaningful explanation about decisions that affect the applicant’s interests. In JG v Windsor-Essex Children’s Aid Society, 2013 CFSRB 8 at para. 8, the Board held that:
With respect to s. 68.1(4)5, what constitutes sufficient reasons is a matter to be