S K v. Children’s Aid Society of Oxford County, 2025 CFSRB 15

CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES REVIEW BOARD

BETWEEN:

S K Applicant

-and-

Children’s Aid Society of Oxford County Respondent

DECISION

Adjudicator: Tamara Jordan Date: February 11, 2025 Citation: 2025 CFSRB 15 Indexed As: SK v Children’s Aid Society of Oxford County (CYFSA s.120)

OVERVIEW

1This is an Application filed with the Child and Family Services Review Board (“CFSRB”) under section 120 of the Child, Youth and Family Services Act, 2017, S.O. 2017, c.14, Sched.1 (the “Act”).

ISSUE

2The issue is:

a. Is the Application eligible for review by the CFSRB?

RESULT

3The CFSRB finds that the Application is not eligible for review.

ANALYSIS

4The Applicant identifies himself as a “step-parent” to a child (the “Child”) named in the Application. However, other information provided by the Applicant attached to the Application identifies that he is the former partner of a parent of the Child.

5The Applicant complains that he was not heard related to a “time matter” and why he has not received an answer related to “records” and concerns about safety.

6At section 6 of the Application (where an applicant checks boxes to identify why they are applying to the CFSRB), the Applicant alleges that the Respondent did not give him a chance to be heard when he raised his concerns or when decisions that affected his interests were made, and the Respondent did not follow its complaint review process or timelines.

7It is unclear from the information included with the Application whether the Applicant was seeking or receiving services from the Respondent.

8The Applicant filed an earlier application to the CFSRB in file CA22-0110. In the CFSRB’s interim decision dated December 13, 2022, related to that application (“CFSRB’s December 2022 Interim Decision”), the CFSRB found, among other things, that the Applicant was the ex-partner of someone who had, along with her children, received services from the Respondent. The CFSRB also found that the Applicant did not have status of a parent under subsection 2(2) of the Act.

The Applicant is not a “Parent”

9Under subsection 120(4)4 of the Act, the CFSRB may review allegations that a society has failed to comply with subsection 15(2) of the Act. Subsection 15(2) of the Act sets out that service providers, such as a society, “shall ensure that children and young persons and their parents have an opportunity 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”.

10For an applicant to have their complaints reviewed under subsection 120(4)4 of the Act, they must be a “parent” within the meaning of the Act. The definition of a parent under subsection 2(2) of the Act, includes: “(a) the person who has legal custody of the child; or (b) if more than one person has lawful custody of the child, all of the persons who have lawful custody of the child, excluding any person who is unavailable or unable to act, as the context requires”.

11In this case, the information provided by the Applicant as part of his current Application and the CFSRB’s findings in the CFSRB’s December 2022 Interim Decision indicate that the Applicant does not have legal custody of the Child and is therefore, not a “parent” with the meaning of subsection 2(2) of the Act.

12Thus, as the Applicant is not a parent, the CFSRB may not review his complaints that he was not heard when he raised his concerns or when decisions that affected his interests were made.

The Applicant has Not Made a Formal Complaint to the Respondent

13Subsection 119(1) of the Act states that a “person may make a complaint to a society relating to a service sought or received by that person from the society in accordance with the regulations”.

14Section 56 of Ontario Regulation 156/18 (“Regulation”) specifies that a complaint under subsection 119(1) of the Act must be made by completing a form entitled, “Formal Complaint to a Society’s Internal Complaints Review Panel (ICRP)” and that this form is available on a website of the Government of Ontario.

15Subsection 120(1) of the Act allows an applicant to make certain complaints directly to the CFSRB, or before a society’s formal complaint review procedure is completed. However, when an applicant alleges that a “society did not follow its complaint review process or timelines”, the applicant must first demonstrate that they made a complaint to the society using the appropriate form described above.

16In this Application, the Applicant indicated in paragraph 6 that he was also applying to the CFSRB because the Respondent “did not follow its complaint review process or timelines”. As part of paragraph 7 of the Application, the Applicant notes that he has complained in writing to the Respondent.

17The Applicant filed with his Application a copy of a May 4, 2022 letter from the Respondent with a Notice to Cease and Desist that stated in part:

…I further understand that you have been in direct contact with the Society’s Executive Director, Tina Diamond, and Director of Service, Giselle Lutfallah, and that they have both provided you with the opportunity and information to pursue an internal complaints process, as well as the complaints process for the Child and Family Service Review Board, and encouraged you to follow those avenues for resolution.

Despite being provided with the above noted complaints procedures, since October 14, 2021, on a daily basis, you have sent multiple emails to the Society's employees, including to the Executive Director, the Director or Services, Service Managers and Administrative staff. The Society considers your barrage of daily emails and phone calls to be unnecessary, unproductive, and have reached the point or being harassing.

This letter serves as Notice to you to stop all emails to the Society staff, related to your complaint. If you wish to pursue any complaint further, please do so through the complaints procedure that you have been previously provided. For your ease and convenience, I again enclose information regarding the complaints procedure process.

18The Applicant did not attach a copy of any complaint filed with the Respondent in the format required by the Regulation or provide any information that shows that he pursued the internal complaints process with the Respondent, as required by the Regulation.

19For these reasons, the Application is ineligible for review by the CFSRB.

ORDER

20The Application is dismissed.

CONFIDENTIALITY ORDER

21Pursuant 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.