Can a Relative or Family Friend Care for a Child Instead of CAS in Ontario?

If a Children's Aid Society (CAS) has become involved with a child you care about, you may be wondering whether you can step in. Grandparents, aunts, uncles and close family friends often want to know if the child can live with them instead of going into foster care.

The law gives kin a real place in the process, but it is not automatic. There are rules about who counts, how the society checks a home, and what kind of order can follow. This article explains the general picture in Ontario. Your own situation will depend on the facts, so a lawyer can help you apply it.

The court must think about kin first

Before a court places a child in society care, it must consider placing the child with a relative, a neighbour, or another member of the child's community or extended family. That placement would be under supervision and with the person's consent.

Two points matter here. The person has to agree, and the court has to consider the option. It does not have to choose it. The Act also says the court cannot remove a child from the person who had charge of them unless less disruptive alternatives would be inadequate to protect the child.

Who counts as a relative, extended family or community member

The Act defines a relative as the child's grandparent, great-uncle, great-aunt, uncle or aunt, including through a spousal relationship or adoption. Extended family is wider and means persons related to the child, including through a spousal relationship or adoption.

You do not need to be related. A member of the child's community includes a person who has a beneficial and meaningful relationship with the child or a family member, and a person with ethnic, cultural or creedal ties in common with the child or a family member. A non-relative can qualify for placement on this basis.

Stronger rules for First Nations, Inuk and Métis children

For a First Nations, Inuk or Métis child, the court must place the child with a member of the child's extended family if possible. If that is not possible, it must place the child with a family of the same Indigenous group, unless there is a substantial reason to place the child elsewhere.

For these children, extended family also includes members of their bands and communities. Before the kin placement steps begin, the society must consult each of the child's bands and communities about the placement.

How the society assesses a kin home

For a planned placement with a relative or a member of the child's extended family or community, the society must check that the caregiver can provide a safe home. This includes interviewing the caregiver, meeting the child privately, assessing the home, identifying every adult aged 18 or older living there, and reviewing records. It also includes a search of the Child Protection Fast Track Information System within seven days after consent is obtained. If the child is already in society care, the assessment may follow a different route, so ask the society which one applies to you.

Different rules apply in some situations. If the child is already living with the relative, the society must complete its evaluation within seven days of learning of the placement, with the same record checks. If the relative lives in another society's area, the society can refer all or part of the assessment to that society, and if the relative lives outside Ontario it can ask that jurisdiction's child welfare authority for help.

Because every adult in the home is identified and checked, it helps to be open early about who lives with you. Current amendments to the regulation can change details, so confirm the current text with a lawyer.

Kinship care, supervision and custody orders

These terms are easy to mix up. The Ontario government describes kinship care as a form of foster care in which a child in the care of a children's aid society is placed with a relative or member of the child's community. A placement under supervision is different: the child is not in society care, and the court can set reasonable terms and conditions on the caregiver and others.

A third path is a custody order under section 102 of the CYFSA. Instead of a section 101 order, the court can grant custody to one or more persons other than a foster parent, with their consent. Such an order, and any access order made with it, is deemed to be a parenting order or contact order under section 28 of the Children's Law Reform Act.

• It ends the child protection case, and any later request to change it must be made under different legislation.
• It cannot be granted to a foster parent of the child, and it cannot be made if a Divorce Act decision-making order exists or if it would conflict with a superior court order.
• On a status review, the court can vary or end the original order, make a new section 101 order, or make a section 102 custody order.

What to do next

• Tell the society, in writing if you can, that you are willing to care for the child and why you are a safe option.
• Be ready for a home assessment, a private meeting with the child and record checks for every adult in your home.
• Think about who lives with you or visits often, and be open about it.
• Write down your relationship with the child and the family, and your plan for daily care.
• Ask the society whether the child's band or community has been consulted, if the child is First Nations, Inuk or Métis.
• Get legal advice before agreeing to a long-term arrangement, signing court documents, or applying for custody.

A lawyer can explain which route fits your situation, what each means for your rights and the parents' rights, and how to prepare for court. If you disagree with a society decision, you can complain to the society, ask the Child and Family Services Review Board to review it, or complain to the Ontario Ombudsman.

Frequently asked questions