Parental Substance Use and CAS: What Happens in Ontario

If you use alcohol or drugs, or you are in recovery, it is natural to fear that a Children's Aid Society (CAS) will take your children. That fear stops many parents from asking for help, even though early support is often easier than dealing with a court case later.

This article explains in general terms how a child protection case moves, what the CAS has to prove, and what outcomes are possible. It cannot tell you how your own case will turn out, because that depends on the facts. If a CAS has contacted you, speak to a lawyer or duty counsel as soon as you can.

Two ways a CAS can become involved

Not every CAS file ends up in court. The province describes a voluntary agreement as a service plan between a family and a children's aid society. A court case is different. A society starts a child protection court case by serving and filing a Form 8B Application (Child Protection).

People who took part in a provincial review asked for clearer information before signing a voluntary agreement. They also asked for the same access to legal counsel that exists in court proceedings, including for families whose children stay at home or with relatives. If you are asked to sign something, it is reasonable to ask for time to read it and to get advice first.

How a court case starts and the first deadlines

If the CAS takes a child to a place of safety, it must go to court within five days after starting its court case. At that first court date the judge makes a temporary order about who cares for the child.

If you want to oppose any of the CAS claims, you must serve and file an Answer and Plan of Care within thirty days after you receive the application. The court directs parents to the Family Law Forms site for the current versions of the forms.

• A temporary care and custody hearing happens only if you dispute what the CAS is claiming
• Evidence at that hearing is given by Form 14A affidavit, sworn or affirmed true
• Case, settlement and trial management conferences and motions follow, then trial if the matter is not resolved
• The hearings are closed to the public, although select media representatives may attend unless a judge excludes them

Adjournments are allowed only in exceptional circumstances and where they are in the child's best interests, by Form 14B motion. You cannot simply agree with the other side to change a date, and a hearing you miss may go ahead without you.

What the CAS has to prove

At a protection hearing the CAS must prove its claims on the balance of probabilities. It must show the child is in need of protection and that the order it asks for serves the child's best interests. In plain words, the legal question is not simply whether substance use is part of your life. It is whether the CAS can prove the child needs protection and that its proposed order is right for the child.

Before deciding protection, the judge first determines the child's name and age, any First Nations, Métis or Inuit bands and communities connected to the child, and where the child was removed from. 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.

Treatment plans and showing change

How you propose the child will be cared for, and what supports you put in place, are worth thinking through carefully with a lawyer. What carries weight depends on the facts, so ask a lawyer how your history and current situation are likely to be viewed.

• Records showing you attend treatment, counselling or support groups, if you do
• Letters from health care or treatment providers, with your consent to share them
• A realistic plan for who cares for the child while you attend appointments
• Names of family or friends who can help and are willing to speak to the CAS
• Your own notes of dates, calls and visits with the worker

Remember that evidence at the temporary hearing is given by sworn or affirmed affidavit. What you write must be accurate. Also, parents may not share child protection documents or post about the case online, and publishing identifying information about a child, parent, foster parent or family member is prohibited. Keep your court papers private, even when you are upset.

Possible outcomes

Interim society care is limited to up to 12 months per order. Extended society care is the most serious outcome and is the term the Act uses for Crown wardship. If adoption is planned, a person has 30 days after receiving the society's notice of intention to place a child for adoption to apply for an openness order, otherwise the right to apply is lost. That short window is another reason to get advice quickly.

What to do next

If you have been served, the first step is to find out which deadline applies and to speak to someone who can advise you. A parent who wants to oppose the CAS should talk to Legal Aid Ontario's advice and duty counsel at the courthouse for the first court date.

• Write down the date you received the application, because the thirty-day Answer and Plan of Care clock runs from then
• Do not sign a voluntary agreement you do not understand
• Attend every hearing and ask about a Form 14B motion early if you truly cannot
• Gather proof of treatment, supports and a stable plan for the child
• Keep court documents private and stay off social media about the case

Frequently asked questions