How long can a temporary care and custody agreement last before a society must go to court?

A temporary care and custody agreement is meant to be short-term by design - it's a voluntary alternative to going to court, not a substitute for one indefinitely. Ontario's child protection law limits how long these agreements can run and how many times they can be renewed before the society is expected to bring the matter before the child protection court instead of continuing informally. Because the exact time limits can depend on the child's age and other statutory details, don't rely on a specific number of months without confirming it for your situation - what matters practically is that the agreement has a real end point, not an open-ended one.

If you've signed one of these agreements, ask the society directly, in writing, what the agreement's term is, whether it's being renewed, and what happens if it isn't. If a society appears to be treating an agreement as ongoing well past what you understood its term to be, or is delaying a decision about renewal or a return, that's worth raising with a lawyer promptly, since the society's authority to keep a child in care under a voluntary agreement is not indefinite.