Ottawa CAS Members Oppose Youth Oversight

The Ottawa Children's Aid Society, through their legal counsel, claims to only have 55 voting members overseeing their agency, 17 of which are on the Board of Directors leaving just 38 select members of the community who oversee the decisions, actions and inactions of the Board of Directors and the agency.

John Dunn, a local citizen and former foster child himself, attempted to communicate with the existing members of the Society as permitted under section 307 of Ontario's Corporations Act, to ask them to call a meeting and vote in favor of giving kids and youth in care a stronger voice and independent oversight of their Society through granting them the same rights regular members of the Society share, minus voting rights.

The Society refused to furnish the list of the members as required under the Act resulting in charges being laid against the Society.

After more than fifteen months of resolution discussions between Dunn and the Children's Aid Society of Ottawa a resolution was reached and his letter of advocacy was eventually sent to the members.

Of the 55 members, only 1 responded in favour of strengthening the voices and independent oversight of the Society by the children and youth who receive life altering services from them.

The purpose of this advocacy effort is to fill the oversight gap left by the Ministry of Children and Youth Services refusing to give Ontario's Ombudsman, Andre Marin oversight of CAS's across the province, something he has been very vocal and active on.

More information on the charges, including images of the charging documents can be found at the following URL.

http://www.afterfostercare.ca/enforcement.html


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John Dunn
Executive Director
The Foster Care Council of Canada
613-228-2178
johndunn@afterfostercare.ca
http://www.afterfostercare.ca
NEWS: http://www.fostercarenews.blogspot.com