What Is a Plan of Care in an Ontario CAS Case?

If you are a parent in a Children's Aid Society (CAS) case, you may be told you must file a plan of care. In plain terms, it is your written proposal for how the child will be cared for while the case goes forward and afterward.

This article explains when the plan is due, what it should help the court understand, and how a judge is likely to look at it. It is general information, and a lawyer can help you build a plan that fits your situation.

What a plan of care is for

The court has to decide what should happen to the child. A plan of care, or a plan of supervision, tells the court what you are offering: who would look after the child, where, with what supports, and how any concerns would be addressed. The society files its own plan too, so the judge can compare the options.

A strong plan is specific and realistic. It speaks to the risks the society has raised rather than simply promising that things will be fine.

When the plan must be filed

Rule 33(1) of the Family Law Rules (O. Reg. 114/99) sets a timetable for every child protection case. Measured from the start of the case, the maximum time for service and filing of answers and plans of care is 30 days.

Separately, a party must serve and file its plan of care or supervision at least seven days before a conference, even if that is sooner than the timetable would require.

The court may lengthen a time in the timetable only if the child's best interests require it, and the parties cannot lengthen it by consent. Do not assume a deadline can be moved because everyone agrees.

What to think about including

The Act does not give you a fill-in-the-blanks list here, so ask your lawyer what the court forms and your circumstances call for. It helps to build the plan around the factors the court uses to decide best interests:

• The child's views and wishes, given due weight according to age and maturity.
• The child's physical, mental and emotional needs.
• The child's relationships with family and community.
• Continuity of care, and the risk of harm from removal.

Your plan can also name other people. A temporary order can place the child with another person who consents, under society supervision. A court may also grant custody to a person such as a grandparent, who must consent, if that better serves the child's best interests.

How judges tend to assess a plan

A judge asks whether your plan will keep the child safe. For a temporary placement away from the caregiver, the court needs reasonable grounds to believe there is a risk that the child is likely to suffer harm, and that returning the child, with or without supervision, would not adequately protect them.

If the court is considering removal, it must not order it unless less disruptive alternatives would be inadequate. Before placing a child in society care on a temporary basis, it must consider whether placing the child with a relative or a member of the child's extended family or community is in the child's best interests. For a First Nations, Inuk or Métis child, the court must, unless there is a substantial reason to place the child elsewhere, place the child with extended family if possible.

When a child is removed, the court must order access to the person who had charge of the child unless continued contact would not be in the child's best interests. Your plan can address how contact would work.

What to do next

• Write down the dates in your court papers and count back seven days from any conference.
• List the society's specific concerns and answer each one in your plan.
• Identify relatives or community members who may be willing to help, and ask whether they consent.
• Gather supporting documents, such as letters from service providers.
• Have a lawyer review the plan before you file it.

Frequently asked questions