London-Middlesex Children’s Aid Society slapped with record court costs of $1.4 million 

Excerpts:

The London area’s child-welfare agency has been hit with record court costs of $1.4 million, for failing to protect three boys caught in a marathon trial the judge says was marked by a manipulative mother and a father falsely cast as an abusive monster.

Recordings, text messages and e-mails showed the woman to be erratic, verbally abusive to her sons, often drunk and having at least two extra-marital affairs.

In the middle were the three boys, who boomeranged between the parents. They repeatedly tried to alert the CAS to their mother’s violence, alcoholism and manipulation, only to see the agency side with her.

The judge dismissed the mother’s ever-shifting evidence. The agency, Harper said, tried to squelch any evidence that went against its theory the mother was a victim. A supervisor, responsible for providing lawyers in the case with CAS information, removed 475 pages of notes, records, e-mails and summaries from the file.

 

Our member Susan Longley has written the following letter to Minister of Health and Long-Term Care Deb Matthews, and we encourage all of you to do likewise:

Hi Ms. Matthews:

I am writing out of concern regarding a recently reported scandal involving the London Middlesex CAS. The apparent agency had been involved  with a particular London family over at least a two year period. The family initially came to the agency’s attention due to an extremely acrimonious dispute between the estranged parents over custody of their three children. The case was apparently resolved by a family court judge in the fall of 2013. The decision apparently denied the agency position and determined that the children be placed with father.

Only now do we have the outrageous details involving  the incompetent and disgustingly unprofessional intervention of the London based agency and its stance with the family. In a recent update released and made public today (April 11,2014) have disclosed some repugnant details. I will not go into details but refer you to postings of today in both the Toronto Sun and the London Free Press made by Sun News writer Jane Sims.  Her reporting discusses in detail how that particular London Middlesex agency mishandled the case from beginning to end  The particular judge in making a disposition on legal costs against the London agency ruled against the CAS for over a million dollars. The case was allegedly protracted over a period of almost three years due to various in competencies.

The judge then went on to make a scathing public report condemning The London/Middlesex CAS both  the professional and assumed ideological stance assumed by the London based agency. He also attacked the shabby underhanded dealings with this particular family. The recent free press headlines regarding the agency handling of a three year court case reads like a nightmare.

The complaints involve lack of objectivity,biased advocacy,inaccurate assessments and even destruction of agency records by a supervisor.  All of us concerned about child welfare in this province share the outrage over how this case was allowed to become such a disgrace. I plan to write the London Middlesex CAS board members as well as the Ministry to share the need for further inquiry. A formal Ministry review is obviously required. Something is terribly wrong with the manner in which this case was dealt. The authorities involved certainly must be held accountable. I wrote the following to Jane Sims from the LFP. I have already made my concerns known to OACAS as well as the OAPSW.

This story (in the April 11,2014 LFP) is both repugnant and amazing. Repugnant because it exposes the Ontario child welfare system for what it has become an apparent idealized gender biased agency that has allowed feminist thinking to dominate the narrative. Amazing, because a CAS and the shabby biased work it has invoked on a family has been exposed for all to see,especially If the basic facts of the case as reported are indeed accurate

It is a scathing indictment of the London-Middlesex Children’s Aid Society in particular. The present director must ultimately be held accountable and possibly terminated. The department director on whose watch this case was allowed to unfold should be disciplined severely. The supervisor who allegedly shredded important files and records regarding the case needs to be immediately fired. The social worker involved reprimanded and required to reappointed to a less vulnerable position. Agency names must be provided and those individuals involved reported to OACAS as well as OAPSW. A supervisor could possibly face criminal  charges.

Various community persons and so called advocates were also complicit in supporting the Children’s Aid stance regarding the family and collaborating against the father. Those community persons included police,women’s advocates and school officials all apparently endorsed the mother without question. All those involved need to be individually named identified and confronted. If necessary, reprimanded accordingly. I hope this case provokes a national debate on a shameful and disgraceful ideological practices in child welfare.

Ontario Association of Children’s Aid Societies wake up, take immediate note and review gender biased practices in child welfare agencies throughout the province. Google Misandry and Child Welfare Practices in Ontario. http://f4j-soo.blogspot.ca/2

Thank you for your interest and concern. Please make those involved accountable.

Regards:

Susan Longley