Domestic Violence and CAS Involvement for Victims in Ontario

If you have experienced abuse, a call or visit from a Children's Aid Society because your children saw or heard it can feel deeply unfair. Many survivors fear that asking for help will cost them their children, and that is a reasonable fear to want answered.

This article explains how a protection case moves through the court process, what the society must prove, and practical ways to show that you are protecting your children. How a society or judge views your particular circumstances depends on the facts, so legal advice early on is important.

Why the society may be involved

Why a society becomes involved depends on the facts of your situation, and a lawyer can help you understand how that applies to you. Involvement does not by itself mean a court case will follow. Some families are offered a voluntary agreement, which is a service plan between the family and the society.

If you are asked to sign one, ask for clear information first. Participants in a provincial review of child welfare law asked for clearer information before signing and for the same legal counsel access as in court proceedings, including for families who stay at home or with relatives.

If the society goes to court

A society starts a child protection court case 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, and the judge makes a temporary order about who cares for the child at that first court date.

At a protection hearing, the society must prove its claims on the balance of probabilities. It must prove the child is in need of protection and that the order it seeks serves the child's best interests. If the child is not found to be in need of protection, the case ends and the child returns to the person who had care before.

Showing you are protecting your children

If you oppose the society's claims, you must serve and file an Answer and Plan of Care within thirty days after receiving the application. What to put in your plan depends on your circumstances, so it is worth confirming with a lawyer. The court directs parents to the Family Law Forms site for current versions of the forms.

Evidence at a temporary hearing is given by Form 14A affidavit, sworn or affirmed true. A survivor's affidavit can describe the violence honestly while showing the steps taken to protect the children. Which steps matter most depends on your circumstances, but they generally fall into a few categories.

• Safety steps, such as police reports, safety planning and protective orders you have sought, with copies kept somewhere safe
• Support steps, such as counselling, shelter or community services you have used
• Parenting steps, such as keeping children in school, attending medical appointments and maintaining routines
• Cooperation with the society, such as returning calls and attending meetings, noted with dates

Where relatives might care for children while you stabilize your situation, note that relatives or community members caring for a child in need of protection who is not in society care may be eligible for kinship service funding, but must be approved by the society to offer kinship service. Ask the society about this before making informal arrangements.

Safety and confidentiality in the process

Child protection hearings are closed to the public, though select media representatives may attend unless a judge excludes them. Publishing identifying information about a child, parent, foster parent or family member is prohibited, and parents may not share child protection documents or post about the case online. Even when you want to speak out, it is worth asking a lawyer what you can safely say and to whom.

Missing court can seriously harm your position. Adjournments are allowed only in exceptional circumstances and where in the child's best interests, by Form 14B motion, and a missed hearing may proceed without you. If attending creates a safety concern, tell your lawyer or duty counsel as early as possible so the issue can be raised properly.

What to do next

• Make a safety plan and keep key documents, such as police and medical records, somewhere secure.
• Record the date you received any court papers and count thirty days for your response.
• Ask for any agreement to be explained in plain language before you sign.
• For your first court date, speak to Legal Aid Ontario's advice and duty counsel at the courthouse.
• Keep a dated record of your contact with the society and of steps taken for your children.
• Do not share court documents or post online about the case.
• Speak with a family lawyer about both the child protection case and any family court issues.

Frequently asked questions