Letter to Editor (The National Newspaper)

Letter to Editor:

Any time the media contact a Children's Aid Society to ask questions about a child they hide behind section 45 (8) of the Child and Family Services Act which prevents any person from publishing any information which has the effect of identifying a child who is the subject of a child protection proceeding, the child's foster parents or family members. This was put in place for the protection of the child, not for the protection of a child-protection agency.



As tragic as this situation is, the child in question is no longer with us in her physical and legal sense, therefore the child and family services act no longer applies to her case.



Regardless of whether these particular agencies were involved with her or not, does not give these agencies the legal right to refuse to confirm or to deny their involvement. Tax payers put 1.3 Billion dollars a year into child protection in Ontario and deserve to have certain questions answered.



When Jeffrey Baldwin starved to death after being emotionally and physically abused and neglected for years while under the "watch" of the Catholic Children's Aid Society of Toronto, the judge became frustrated by the agency not co-operating with the court in connection with their disclosure of records.



Thousands of foster children in care have records which are still unable to be obtained by them because the agencies refuse to allow them to have copies of their own lives. Does this sound like the practice of an agency who is looking out for the interests of the children who are ordered to live under their authority?



What about the Millions of Serious Occurrence reports in the custody of these agencies and the Ministry of Children and Youth Services? These are reports which provide evidence of abuse and neglect of children under their care. They won't even allow current or former foster kids to access them. They claim it is to protect them from emotional harm since they might read something about themselves which might upset them -- something that these victims remember all too well.



John Dunn
Former Crown Ward
Executive Director
The Foster Care Council of Canada
http://www.afterfostercare.ca