CAS Kinship Assessment in Ontario: Home Study Steps Explained

A child you love may not be able to stay with their parents for now, and the Children's Aid Society (CAS) has asked whether you could care for them. Before that happens, the society will usually want to assess you and your home. That can feel like being put under a microscope, especially when you are worried about the child.

This article walks through how a kinship assessment, often called a home study, generally works in Ontario. It also covers how a court case fits in, what funding may be available, and your options if the society says no. It is general information and not advice on your situation.

What a kinship assessment is

A kinship assessment is the society's way of deciding whether a relative, extended family member or community member can safely care for a child. Kinship care means the child lives with someone they already have a connection to, rather than with strangers in a foster home.

Societies must use either the SAFE or the HEART homestudy to assess caregivers, and this is described as including kinship care. Policy directive CW 003-20 took effect on July 7, 2020. In plain terms, this means the assessment is meant to follow a set structure rather than being made up by each worker.

The usual steps

The exact order can differ from one society to another and from one family to another. The steps below show what most people can expect to encounter.

• You tell the society you are willing and able to care for the child, ideally in writing so there is a record.
• A worker explains which assessment applies. It will be either a SAFE or a HEART homestudy.
• You take part in meetings and conversations with the worker, and the worker looks at your home and household.
• You complete the training that goes with the homestudy. SAFE is paired with PRIDE pre-service training, and HEART is paired with SPIRIT, used in their entirety.
• The society decides whether to approve you, and tells you what that approval allows, such as whether you may receive kinship service funding.

Checks and how long it takes

People often ask exactly which checks will be done and how many weeks the process will take. The answer depends on the society, the child's situation and how quickly information is gathered. Anyone who gives you a firm timeline or a full checklist should be asked to put it in writing.

What you can control is how ready you are. Respond to calls promptly, keep appointments, and be honest about anything in your history or household that the worker may learn about anyway. Surprises tend to cause more difficulty than the underlying issue. Our companion article on what relatives are checked for goes into the areas a worker usually looks at.

If there is also a court case

A kinship assessment can happen with or without court involvement. When the society starts a child protection case, it does so by serving and filing a Form 8B Application (Child Protection). If the child was taken to a place of safety, the society must go to court within five days after starting its case. At that first court date the judge makes a temporary order about who cares for the child.

That is why speed can matter. If you are a possible placement, tell the society early, because the judge may be deciding temporary care very soon. A parent who wants to oppose the society's claims must serve and file an Answer and Plan of Care within thirty days after receiving the application. A parent can speak to Legal Aid Ontario's advice and duty counsel at the courthouse for the first court date.

Whether and how a relative can take part in the court case depends on the facts, so it is worth asking a lawyer. The society must prove the child is in need of protection and that the order it seeks serves the child's best interests.

Funding, customary care and other routes

Relatives, extended family or community members who care for a child in need of protection who is not in a society's care may get kinship service funding, both start-up and episodic, but they must be approved by the society to offer kinship service.

For First Nations, Inuk or Métis children, customary care is the care and supervision of the child by a person who is not the parent. Societies must make all reasonable efforts to pursue a customary care plan. The caregiver needs a band or community declaration, a customary care agreement and a home meeting foster care licensing standards. One-time funding is up to $6,000 per child, plus an ongoing subsidy at foster care per diem rates. Funding amounts have changed over time, so confirm current figures with the society.

Some families also use voluntary agreements, which are described as service plans between families and societies. People who took part in the province's review asked for clearer information before signing and for the same access to legal counsel as in court proceedings. Read any agreement carefully and consider getting advice before you sign.

What to do next

• Tell the worker in writing that you are willing to care for the child, and keep a copy.
• Ask which homestudy applies and what training you must complete.
• Ask what the approval would allow, including whether kinship service funding is possible.
• Write down names, dates and what was said at each contact with the society.
• If you are turned down, ask for the reasons and ask what could change the result.
• Speak to a family lawyer if a court case is under way or the decision seems unfair.

Frequently asked questions