What is the difference between a voluntary services agreement and a temporary care and custody agreement?

Both are voluntary arrangements a parent can enter into with a children's aid society, but they involve very different levels of intervention. A voluntary services agreement is generally about the society providing support and services to a family while the child stays in the parent's own home - things like counselling, parenting support, or connecting a family with community resources - without the child's living arrangement changing at all. A temporary care and custody agreement is a step further: the child actually moves out of the parent's care and into the society's care for a defined period, even though it's still done by agreement rather than court order.

Because the two involve such different levels of disruption to the family, it's worth understanding clearly which one a society is proposing before agreeing to anything - a worker's language can sometimes blur the distinction in conversation. Ask directly whether the child's living arrangement will change, what your ongoing role and access would be, and how either type of agreement can be ended or renewed. Getting legal advice before signing either kind of agreement helps make sure you understand exactly what you're agreeing to.