County CAS gets $1M cash advance

Author: Maija Hoggett

Date: Nov 05, 2009

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A $1-million cash advance from the Ontario government only means the Simcoe County Children's Aid Society will run out of funds in February rather than November, according to Simcoe-Grey MPP Jim Wilson.
This week the local Children's Aid Society (CAS) received a $1-million cash advance, money Wilson said "they would have received in the new year."
The Simcoe County CAS deficit is over $5 million this year.
Wilson said the cash advance isn't new money and doesn't address the CAS's deficit problem. If the CAS doesn't get new money or a new way to address the deficit, they'll be out of money in February, he said.
He said Children's Aid Societies should be one of the government's top priorities.
The local CAS is one of 36 across the province to file for a Section 14 review, which means it hasn't been able to balance its mandate to protect children with the funding received from the province. There are 51 Children's Aid Societies in the province.
"It's a systemic issue, it's not a problem with one Children's Aid Society," said Sue Dale, Simcoe County CAS communications co-ordinator. "The challenge for the government is how they're going to deal with the larger systemic issue of child protection services in the province. Unfortunately the protection and well-being of children is not a cost-effective thing to do."
In past years, if a CAS had a deficit, there was opportunity to talk with the Ontario government about ways to mitigate it.
Earlier this year, the Ontario government said it wouldn't be able to support the societies with the year-end funding that was available in the past.
The Simcoe County agency has already trimmed spending.
Dale said they are a little slower in replacing staff that have left. Mileage, stationary and building repairs are also target areas to reduce costs.
"We're targeting areas that would have no impact on services to children," said Dale.
"At this point we have no intention of laying off staff."
Moving ahead, Dale said the Simcoe CAS is optimistic.