RESOLVING SYSTEMIC AND NON-SYSTEMIC PROBLEMS IN CHILD PROTECTION SERVICES, Part 8

By Ray Ferris (This piece is one of a series Ray will write here.)

LAWYERS

Since the enactment of the Child, Family and Community Services Act the use of lawyers has dramatically increased. Now that proper training in the act has become uncommon, the social workers rely on legal advice for every function.

Interviews with clients have become so adversarial that they are often conducted with counsel present. This intimidates clients to the point where they feel they too must have an advocate present. It should be obvious that the legal profession and the courts have a very old tradition of being adversarial. It is also well known that the more adversarial the culture, the more financial benefit goes to lawyers, so they have little incentive to negotiate.

AYN'S APPREHENSION WAS UNREASONABLE - WILL THE MINISTER LISTEN?

In June 2011, MCFD’s decision to apprehend Ayn was the result of under-investigation. I believe it was over-reaction rather than over-investigation. Sending out the child protection team was standard procedure following an RCMP involvement in a child-search. However, when social workers arrive unannounced with document in hand, requesting a parent’s signature to a voluntary surrender of a child, without engaging in a sincere discussion of the challenges of parenting an autistic child, and in this specific case, the reasonable explanation for the child’s wandering from home, and possibly as well, asking how the Ministry could actually facilitate Derek’s job of caring for three children, two of whom are autistic, then the MCFD action was flagrantly unreasonable, illogical, unfounded, groundless, senseless and irrational.

PAINFUL BULLETS OF FACT

Aime (mommy) and Ayn

On the day that Ayn was born in 2001 and Derek saw her for the first time, his heart was hers.

On June 16, 2011 Derek Hoare experienced the unthinkable shock of learning that his nine year old daughter Ayn had been removed from her school by the Ministry of Children and Family Services (MCFD).

He is not accused of harming her. In fact his life has been dedicated to nurturing and understanding her. Ayn is autistic.

Derek was informed that the action to remove his daughter from his care was designed to ease his load of responsibility but in fact it created an intolerable burden.