Can extended family apply to keep a child out of society care through a kinship or customary care arrangement?

Yes. Where a children's aid society is considering removing a child or is already involved, extended family - grandparents, aunts, uncles, or others with a real relationship to the child - can come forward and ask to have the child placed with them instead of in the society's own care, often called a kinship or customary care arrangement. Societies are generally expected to consider a suitable family placement before an unrelated one, since keeping a child within their existing family and community connections is usually seen as better for the child where it can be done safely.

This isn't a separate application to a family court in the way a parenting case is - it's typically arranged directly with the society, sometimes formalized through its own agreement, though it can also come up within a child protection court proceeding if the matter goes that far. A family member interested in this route should contact the society directly and early, ask what's required to be assessed as a placement, and get legal advice about their own rights and any conditions attached to the arrangement, since kinship care can come with its own terms about supervision, reporting, or duration.