See Exhibit B

As the accused in the Family Service data breach, and the mother of the young boy who took an independent walk, some may be wondering,

“So what happens when a possible child protection concern arises, while the child protection agency is the complainant in a high-profile criminal court proceeding against the parents?”

The answer, out-sourcing to a sister agency. Luckily (sort of), the problems with child welfare are systemic so knowing that absolutely nothing had changed, systemically, in the child welfare business, I had some idea of the fight I was up against. It hadn’t even been a year since the last time the agency withdrew from court.

So a child welfare investigation goes something like this;

A report/referral is kind of like a criminal charge. Though they don’t tell you this, everything you say can and will be used against you in family court.

Say you’ve had previous reports/referrals, malicious or not, the agency is mandated to perform a full investigation. A full child protection investigation, they say, will require you to sign consent forms that allow the agency to engage the family’s service providers.

But what if you know you are not a protection concern to your children? Do you have a right to remain silent, as you would with a criminal charge? The answer is unequivocally no. But you still don’t have to sign consents. No one can force you to sign anything. But if you refuse to sign, there is a good chance they will take you to family court. If you are up for the fight, here are some things to know;

Immediately, at the first sign of any involvement with a child protection agency, start collecting documentation about your children. It needs to be current and ideally from professionals. If the police were involved, do a Freedom of Information request promptly as it can take up to 30 days to get the police notes. This will become the evidence in your sworn affidavit, should the agency take you to court first. If you are served with a child protection application and/or motion, you need to file a response and swear an affidavit if you plan to dispute the case. This must be done before the first court appearance. If a motion has been filed, it is important to remember that a motion is different from the application. The motion will set out interim conditions, until the application is decided on. A motion can be disputed, but the time frame for doing that can be extremely limited.

During my last involvement with a child protection agency in October and November of this year, I was served a motion only seven days before its hearing. Since responding materials need to be served four days before the hearing/appearance, it left me only three days to complete and serve my affidavit. Even my lawyer told me I was unlikely to win but on Nov. 17 2016, the agency withdrew its motion and application and we were awarded legal costs in the amount of $750. Against all odds, I was able to prove my children were not in need of protection. Improbable, but not impossible.

Child protection work is important, hard and usually thankless work. It takes a very strong person to do it, and an almost super-human ability to be good at it. The problems with child welfare in Ontario are largely systemic, in that statistically driven guidelines can actually hurt the very unique children and families out there. It is important for parents to remember that they are the best advocates for their children, even when oppressive systems disagree. There is only one argument to ever make in a child protection matter, and that is what is in the best interest of your child.

Kelley Denham