The former board of directors of the Children’s Aid Society of the Districts of Sudbury and Manitoulin is denying allegations of financial mismanagement and that child welfare was ‘disregarded.’ The public statement comes after the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services appointed a supervisor late last month to take over the local CAS. CTV News has confirmed the authenticity of the letter, but the board has refused to comment individually, citing confidentiality agreements board members have signed. The ministry said it was appointing Steven Woodman, the former executive director of the Durham Children’s Aid Society, to take over the local CAS. The decision was made “after recent ministry reviews identified concerns about the safety and well-being of children and youth in the society’s care, as well as significant operational and financial mismanagement,” a ministry news release said Aug. 28. However, the former board said in a Sept. 3 statement that the ministry must be “ill-informed of the full history” of challenges in Sudbury. “We categorically reject any suggestion that the board or the society disregarded child safety, acted in bad faith or failed to take seriously its responsibilities to children, youth and families,” the statement said. “Every decision made was driven by a commitment to protect vulnerable children, often in the face of a longstanding and severe shortage of residential resources and services for children and youth with highly complex needs.” The letter said that the board has been “transparent” with the ministry regarding the “very issues now being cited as justification for intervention.” “These discussions included the increasing deficit pressures caused by high-cost complex-needs cases, the lack of appropriate residential capacity in northern Ontario, and the continuing expectation that child welfare resources support young adults beyond the age of 18 because alternative services were unavailable,” the letter said. “The society did not conceal these challenges. The ministry’s Northern Regional Office received regular financial updates and analyses, correspondence, presentations and participated in meetings and requests for assistance. ‘Extensive documentation’ The board also has “extensive documentation, including letters, emails, and records of discussions, demonstrating the ministry’s Northern Regional Office had knowledge of these circumstances …” the letter said. “It is our belief that the minister may have been ill-informed of the full history of those interactions when the decision to appoint a supervisor was made and the ministry ignored repeated requests for information.” Since 2018, the board said it took several measures to deal with budget pressures, including selling its building and reducing staffing “while ensuring children remained safe and supported.” “At every stage, however, the society continued to advise the ministry’s Northern Regional Office that some of its most significant cost drivers were systemic issues that the society could not resolve alone,” the letter said. “Given the seriousness of the allegations and the potential impact on the reputation of the organization and those who served it, we also believe it is important that the extensive documentary record be preserved and that there be an opportunity for a fair, independent and transparent examination of the full history and facts.” The letter ends by saying that “the public deserves a complete understanding of the facts, including the years of dialogue, cooperation, warnings about systemic pressures and requests for support that occurred between the society and the ministry’s Northern Regional Office.” When asked for comment Tuesday, the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services said its original news release “stands as comment.”
