English - Ontario Association of Children's Aid Societies

Differential
Response:
The method of service delivery for child protection workers
in Ontario that provides clear standards and guidelines to determine
the kind of support and service needed to keep children safe and
families healthy in situations
involving child maltreatment. The
model assesses eligibility for service, We cannot be surprised when hard times come
safety and risk, while allowing for
to us. We have to know how to face problems and
greater engagement with families. get through them. We can’t lose our way when
A revised set of child protection
we have worries; we have to keep ourselves calm
standards and established aids
and steady. We can’t let ourselves get scared or
to decision-making give child
down. We need our energy to solve the problems,
protection workers clear guidelines not to get too down about them.
to complete a thorough assessment
- Elder from Tuktoyaktuk, 2007
of what each child and family
requires.
Using this model will lead to a more collaborative a holistic service approach that will
strengthen families and keep children safe.
SERVICES
KINSHIP POLICY
Kinship Service (Out of Care) and Kinship Care
(In care) have been formalized as two options when
considering permanent or long-term homes for
children and youth in need of protection. Ontario’s
child welfare agencies will be turning to extended
family (kin) or members of the child’s community
to provide safe, nurturing, alternate living
arrangements for children and young people at risk
Kinship, n.
Kinship is “any living arrangement in which a
relative or someone else who has an emotional
bond to the child/youth takes primary
responsibility to rear the child/youth.”
of neglect or abuse. This approach builds on existing family and community relationships
and facilitates easier and more frequent contact with birth parents.
Kinship Service:
Kinship Care:
This occurs when it has been determined that a child who is in need
of protection will live with relatives or other kin. The CAS does not
assume legal custody of or responsibility for the child, and the
Kinship Service providers are not approved as foster parents;
however, the Kinship Service provider must undergo a safety
assessment. The child does not have “in care” status.
This occurs when the child is brought into care as the result of a
Temporary Care Agreement (TCA) or determination by the court,
and the child is placed with relatives or other kin. The kinship care
providers are approved as though they were foster parents. The child
has “in care” status.
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