COMPLAINT PROCEDURE
If you believe you have a complaint about the services you have received from the Society, then we would like to know. This organization tries hard to offer the best possible service to families, children and youth in our community. If there is a problem or a difference of opinion, we want to do our best to work it out.
If you are not a client of the Society but have a complaint, call the office and ask for the Director of Services responsible for complaints. He/she will put you in touch with the appropriate staff member to hear your concern. The
full internal review process may then be available to you.
If you are a client of the Society, please make sure you have first told your worker the problem and have given him/her a chance to work out the matter with you.
Our goal is to listen and talk with you so we can satisfy your concerns as early as possible in the complaint process. The goal of this procedure is to ensure your concerns are listened to in a fair manner and that reasonable efforts are made to find a resolution.
STEP 1
TALK TO A SUPERVISOR
Ask your worker for the name of his/her supervisor. Contact the supervisor with your concerns. It would be a good idea to ask for a meeting so that you can discuss the matter in person. You can bring one person to support you at the meeting, as well as one represen-tative of your Band or Indigenous community. Come prepared to give a clear explanation of the problem. The supervisor will want to thoroughly understand the issue so that he/she can try to find a solution. You will hear back from the supervisor within seven days and a letter will be sent to you with his/her response.
STEP 2
TALK TO A DIRECTOR OF SERVICES
If you are not satisfied with the response of the supervisor, ask for an appointment with their Director of Services. He/she is highly skilled in settling differences of opinion and has no direct connection with the handling of your case. Again, he/she will want to know what your complaint is so that a solution can be found. You will hear back within seven days with a letter that states the outcome of your discussion.
STEP 3
INTERNAL COMPLAINTS REVIEW PANEL
If you are not satisfied with the response from a Director of Services, you may request a hearing from the Society’s Internal Complaints Review Panel. This request must be made in writing to the Executive Director. The Executive Director will arrange for you to present your complaint to the Internal Complaints Review Panel. The Executive Director will provide the Panel with a written summary of your complaint and the efforts made to resolve the matter. You will receive a copy of the summary. The Internal Complaints Review Panel will determine if Agency policies and procedures were properly followed and will reach a solution to your concern, if possible. You will receive a letter within seven days of the meeting giving the response of the Internal Complaints Review Panel. If a solution has not been found, then options for further review of your complaint outside of the Society will be provided.
CHILD & FAMILY SERVICES
REVIEW BOARD (CFSRB)
You may ask the Child and Family Services Review Board to review your complaint if the complaint meets one of the following criteria:
You claim that our agency has:
- Refused to proceed with a complaint,
- Failed to respond to your complaint within the required timeframe,
- Failed to comply with the complaint procedure outlined on this page, or in the attached brochure,
- Not given you an opportunity to be heard regarding a decision affecting your interests or concerns about the services you received,
- Failed to provide you with the reasons for a decision that affects your interests.
You may also contact the Child and Family Services Review Board if you believe there are inaccuracies in your file at our agency. A complaint about file accuracy can only be made after it has been heard by the agency’s Internal Complaints Review Panel.
Your request for a review at the Child and Family Services Review Board must be made in writing on the prescribed form available through the Child and Family Services Review Board.
CHILD & FAMILY SERVICES REVIEW BOARD
1075 Bay Street, 7th Floor, Toronto, ON M5S 2B1
(416) 327-4673 or 1-888-728-8823
TTY: (416) 327-9247 | Fax: (416) 327-0558 www.cfsrb.ca
PROVINCIAL ADVOCATE FOR CHILDREN & YOUTH (PACY)
Anyone who has a concern about a child or a group
of children receiving services from a CAS, or about a children’s residence where the young person has been placed by a CAS, may request an investigation if the issue remains unsolved after existing complaint procedures have been exhausted.
The Provincial Advocate cannot begin an investigation until the complaint has already been addressed through the Children’s Aid Society’s internal complaint process or through the Child & Family Services Review Board (CFSRB).
Following the completion of every investigation, the Provincial Advocate will release a public report outlining his findings and recommendations for the Minister, the CAS or the residential licensee.
You may contact the Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth at/ Vous pouvez joindre le Bureau de l’intervenant provincial en faveur des enfants et des jeunes aux coordonnées suivantes:
ONTARIO PROVINCIAL ADVOCATE FOR CHILDREN & YOUTH
401 Bay Street, Suite 2200
Toronto, ON M7A 0A6
(416) 325-5669 or 1-800-263-2841
TTY: (416) 325-2648
Fax / Télécopier/ (416) 325-5681
advocacy@provincialadvocate.on.ca
