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Due to government cutbacks we were put into the unfortunate predicament of eliminating 31 staff positions (announced on April 19, 2010). We did this with great regret. Positions were cut through both attrition and layoffs, and we have preserved most frontline staff who provide direct service to children and families.
Even with these cuts, we are carrying a $3.8 million deficit into the 2010/2011 fiscal year; and we are projecting an additional $2.7 million deficit if the Ontario government does not recognize the true cost of child welfare services.
These cuts will lead to greater pressure on all departments, but any further staff reduction would undermine our capacity to maintain service standards and manage accountability requirements. Such drastic action is unthinkable; it would prohibit us from meeting our legal and moral responsibility to protect children.
With the loss of these 31 staff members, meeting standards will be challenging. A significant cost is the administrative burden, resulting from new directives and standards introduced over the last three years. We strongly support all accountability and quality assurance measures, but there must be appropriate funding to maintain these standards.
If we are unable to maintain quality services, there will be greater pressure on other community service providers, with increased costs in other areas (such as education, policing, mental health, etc.). These cuts are effectively an indirect downloading of the costs to regional and municipal governments.
The reason we and our colleagues across the province are in this financial crisis is not ‘mismanagement’ of the Societies as suggested by the government, but because the funding framework is inequitable and outdated, and is implemented unevenly, frequently without proper rationale.
We continue to advocate for proper funding to maintain quality child welfare services. If you would like to help, please contact Andrea Maenza.
Wondering about how old your child should be to stay home alone? Or how old your child should be to babysit? Check our Supervision Guidelines.
Every year at 'back to school' time, we receive many inquiries about our Supervision Guidelines. They are available online, feel free to print them -- and share them with your friends and family.
The spring 2009 issue of our newsletter, Community Connections is now online.
Hard copies of the newsletter are available and are currently being distributed throughout Durham Region. If you are able to help distribute some copies (for example, if you have an office or store where we could leave some copies for your staff or the general public) please contact Andrea Maenza, ext. 2364.
We are seeking Treatment Foster Parents to support our work with children in our Mixed Modality Program.
Mixed Modality is seen as a bridge between traditional treatment foster care programs and staff modeled settings. The caregiver and the child are at the centre of the treatment.
Read more...
For more information, please contact the
Treatment Foster Care Program at 905-373-0522 admin@treatmentfostercare.ca
www.treamentfostercare.ca
We are pleased ot announce that we are joining forces with several community partners to form the Durham Economic Downturn Task Force (DEDTF). The Task Force is a multi-sectoral group of leaders from key human service providers covering the fields of social services, health care, police services, education and training. Its mission is to raise awareness, advocate and strategize to support those services, which assist Durham residents during this economic downturn.
For more information please read the press release and the full report, Unraveling Ontario's Social Safety Net, that was presented to area MPPs on February 27, 2009.
Thank you to everyone who has sent us receipts from Boston Pizza. Keep sending them... we are still collectig them.
Boston Pizza will donate 10% of the bill (pre-tax) to the Durham Children's Aid Foundation.
Currently there are three locations participating:
75 Consumers Drive, Whitby
20 Taunton Road East, Whitby
8 Salem Road South, Ajax
Please tell your friends, family and colleagues. If you know someone who has a location where they can post a flyer and help us promote this exciting partnership, let us know and we can send them a poster.
You can mail your receipts to Durham Children's Aid Foundation, 1320 Airport Blvd., Oshawa, Ontario, L1H 7K4.
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