Cuts mean more children in care

FUNDING CHALLENGE

Layoffs at Children’s Aid society will hit critical support programs for parents Programs offering on-the-ground support to parents will be gutted as a result of budget cuts to the Hamilton Children’s Aid Society — and that means more kids in foster care, says the agency’s executive director.

Dominic Verticchio says several parent support workers are among the 70 staff members who were laid off this week.

These people work with families to teach parenting skills and family management so more children can stay with their parents instead of being placed permanently in foster homes. The loss of these hands-on positions will deeply affect the Children’s Aid Society’s operations, Verticchio says.

“Frankly, the service is going to be different,” he said. “I do expect more children to go into care.”

The cuts don’t stop there. Verticchio said the agency has also had to reduce foster parent support programs, management positions and non-union staff such as IT personnel.

“It has been virtually everywhere,” he said. “Certainly, the workload on our staff is going to increase. They’re already stretched right now.”

The Hamilton Children’s Aid Society laid off 70 employees this week — 20 per cent of its 375-person workforce — after the province announced changes to the way it funds Children’s Aid Societies.

Previously, Children’s Aid Societies received funding based on projections. If the actual caseload fell short, money must be returned to the province. If the caseload was greater than the projections, agencies would receive more money.

However, that created scenarios where CAS workers were being asked to keep cases open to make it appear that caseloads were larger.

Under the new model, half of the agency’s funding will be based on a three-year average of past caseloads. The remaining half will be based on socioeconomic factors, including low-income families, single parents, and aboriginal children, within a society’s catchment area.

In Hamilton, the new funding model means the CAS will see its 2013-2014 allocation shrink by $2 million to $46 million. The agency also says the province is reducing its allocation by $4.7 million over the next four years.

The Ministry of Children and Youth Services said the province had increased funding to the CAS of Hamilton by more than $8 million between 2003 and 2013 but noted service volumes have decreased.

The cuts also affect the Hamilton Catholic Children’s Aid, says director David Shea.

Its budget has been reduced by 2 per cent, though the agency still hasn’t determined exactly how it will deal with the cuts.

“Our goal is to present our budget to the board by the end of May,” Shea said. “We have to look at it before we can even determine what it means.”

Certainly, the workload on our staff is going to increase. They’re already stretched right now.