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Almost a year earlier, Suzanne had quit her job to care full time for Aliah, who is profoundly autistic and has a developmental disability. Suzanne said a lack of support for children with complex health needs in their region made each day a struggle, and the couple worried they soon would run out of money to properly care for their daughter.

Facing bankruptcy and dangerously burned out, Suzanne said she and Bob could no longer cope.

鈥淚鈥檝e given up everything for my child. But it鈥檚 gotten to the point where we can鈥檛 do this by ourselves anymore.鈥�

On a Friday afternoon in late October, Suzanne called her local children鈥檚 aid society and asked the agency to take Aliah away.

Sudbury鈥檚 child welfare agency now has temporary custody of Aliah. Unable to find a live-in centre in the region that could support Aliah鈥檚 complex needs, the agency placed her in Mississauga听鈥� more than 400 kilometres from her family. For the first week, Suzanne said the agency put Aliah in a hotel, with two specialized workers for support, because they had no other options.

In an interview with the Star, the chief executive of Sudbury CAS said the agency stepped in because the family, due to exhaustion and under financial stress, were not able to provide the level of care they wanted for their daughter.听

Elaina Groves, chief executive of the Children鈥檚 Aid Society of the Districts of Sudbury and Manitoulin, said the agency did not remove Aliah but has guardianship of her for six months through a temporary care agreement signed by the family. She said Suzanne and Bob were trying their best but could no longer manage.听

鈥淲e can’t vilify these parents,鈥� Groves said.听鈥淲e need to recognize that the system has been complicit (in this outcome) because of the lack of services. We’ve been complicit in allowing this mom to get to a point where her child is not receiving the level of care that (she) wants to give.鈥�

Typically,听child welfare agencies are not allowed to speak about a specific family but Suzanne granted Sudbury CAS permission to talk about their case. The Star is not using the family’s full names to protect the identity of Aliah.

Earlier this month, New Democrat MPP France G茅linas, who represents Suzanne’s riding of Nickel Belt, spoke about听the family’s experience on the floor of the Ontario legislature.

鈥淎fter exhausting every avenue possible, (the mom) gave up guardianship of her daughter to the children鈥檚 aid,鈥� said G茅linas, adding that the young girl is now 鈥渁 five hours’ drive away from her family.鈥�

鈥淎ll of this should and could have been prevented,鈥� Gelinas said.

Across the province, desperate parents are being told the only way to get treatment for their children with complex needs is to 鈥渁bandon鈥� them into the care of children鈥檚 aid. Child welfare leaders say they are seeing an increase in the number of calls from hospitals and treatment centres after parents refuse to take their child or teen home, citing safety concerns, burnout and a lack of community services.

In the past year,听Ontario child welfare agencies served 589 kids and teens for whom concerns of abuse or neglect were either not present or were secondary to their unmet health needs, according to the organization that represents children鈥檚 aid societies. In Toronto, the city’s largest child welfare agency has 43 kids and teens with complex needs in its care with no child protection concerns.

The Star has spoken with 12 families听who say they have been forced to relinquish their child to CAS听鈥� or are considering this last-resort measure听鈥斕齜ecause they can no longer safely cope at home. Many families say their child has been excluded from live-in treatment facilities because their needs are deemed 鈥渢oo complex.鈥�

Last year, Sudbury CAS was working with 13 families whose children with complex needs were not in need of protection, but who were unable to access services and support, Groves said, adding the goal was to 鈥減revent things from getting worse for these families.鈥� 听

Groves said the intensive live-in treatment and respite services that Suzanne’s family needs do not exist for children in the Sudbury and Manitoulin region, which places parents in听鈥渦ntenable situations.鈥�

She said the agency placed Aliah听鈥渨ith regret鈥� in Mississauga but that it was the only solution and better than a hotel. The agency is working to create an alternative residential solution in its region for Aliah, Groves said.听

鈥淲e did not want this child out of town,鈥� Groves said. 鈥淐hildren should not be separated from parents five hours away.鈥�

In a statement to the Star, the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services said it was unable to comment on individual cases but that the government continues to 鈥渋ncrease funding to support children with special needs.鈥� Spokesperson Subhraj Riar said the ministry, along with the Ministry of Health, is 鈥渨orking together to support easier, more co-ordinated access to services, and more seamless transitions within and across child-serving sectors.鈥�

The ministry did not answer questions about what the government was doing to ensure young children with complex needs are not placed in hotels, or whether it tracks the number of children in CAS care who go out-of-region for placements.听

Suzanne said her heart shattered the day Aliah left.

While she and Bob get regular updates from the Mississauga facility, where staff say Aliah is doing well, the couple doesn鈥檛 have enough money to visit until early next month. Suzanne said they can鈥檛 afford to take time off work and can鈥檛 yet pay for a hotel or for the gas it will take to drive the more than 800-kilometre round trip.

A personal support worker, Suzanne has recently started a new job. She said her goal is to work enough hours to save their family home.

Up until last November, she and Bob juggled their work shifts, including evenings and weekends, so that one of them was always home with Aliah. That month, Suzanne had a mental health crisis that led to police officers escorting her to a local hospital, where she said a doctor told her she was suffering from extreme caregiver burnout.

Aliah was two when she was diagnosed with autism and a developmental disability. She is non-verbal, has challenging behaviours, including throwing food and extreme outbursts, and requires around-the-clock care. During an outburst, Suzanne said Aliah screams, will bite and hit, and is also in danger of hurting herself.

Even when calm and happy, Suzanne said Aliah, who loves to colour, play with water and go on swings, needs help to complete most daily tasks.听听

鈥淚t’s been like having a newborn for eight years.鈥澨�

Aliah is enrolled in public school but often can’t make it through a full day, even with two support workers. Her care needs, Suzanne said, are too high.

鈥淭here鈥檚 just nothing out there for a kid like Aliah,鈥� she said.

Suzanne first contacted G茅linas, the NDP health critic, in November 2018. At that time, Suzanne said the wait time to receive government funding to pay for Aliah’s core autism therapy through the Ontario Autism Program was estimated to be three years.

After being on the wait list for five years, Suzanne said their family got core funding last August and have used it to pay for a behavioural therapist. She said Aliah needed earlier intervention and is angry her daughter languished on a wait list.听

The Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services said it has this year invested an additional $120 million in the Ontario Autism Program, bringing its total investment to more than $720 million, which will 鈥渃ontinue to support the enrolment of children and youth in core clinical services.鈥澨�

In an interview, G茅linas said Suzanne has been a strong advocate for her daughter.

鈥淭he mom tried so, so hard. She gave it 110 per cent for five years.鈥�

G茅linas, the Nickel Belt MPP since听2007, said that while in past years her office helped one or two families of children with complex needs try to access supports, they are now assisting six to eight families at a time.听She said a lack of community health services for children with complex needs in northern regions puts families at risk.

In a statement to the Star, the Health Ministry said the government has since 2018 increased funding for children and youth mental health by over 25 per cent and pointed to a 2023 historic investment in pediatric health care, which includes $44.6 million a year for听鈥渘ew and expanded community-based services.鈥澨齌he investments will expand access across the province,听鈥渋ncluding in Sudbury, Thunder Bay and North Bay,鈥� the ministry said.听

Alina Cameron, who lives near Thunder Bay and is president of the Ontario Autism Coalition, said most people can’t understand the daily struggle of caring for a child with complex health needs and how hard it is to access adequate help and support.听

鈥淵ou have to be completely dedicated to finding those resources and keeping them听鈥� if you live in a geographic region where they are even offered in Ontario,鈥� Cameron said.

She said families with children with the highest needs often struggle the most, especially in northern Ontario, where there are few treatment options and community services. She said she has seen an uptick in the number of families in the autism community turning to child welfare agencies because they have nowhere else to go.

鈥淭hey don’t want to relinquish their children but it’s the only option they are given,鈥� Cameron said. 鈥淭hey’re going to CAS, saying 鈥榟elp us find resources.鈥� But CAS doesn鈥檛 have access to resources either because those resources don鈥檛 exist.鈥�

A few days ago, Suzanne and Bob had a video chat with Aliah. It was the first time they’d seen their daughter in 17听days. They’ve never been away from her for so long. Suzanne said the intensive supports at the Mississauga facility seem to be helping Aliah. Already, they see an improvement in her sign language skills.

Still, Suzanne said, they can’t believe Aliah was placed so far from home 鈥� or that their family had to hit a crisis point to get this level of help. She and Bob are planning to visit Aliah early next month for her birthday.

鈥淚 can’t wait to hug her. I can’t wait to see her, smell her, hear her laugh, her giggles.鈥�

In the spring, the temporary care agreement with Sudbury CAS is scheduled to end. Suzanne said she doesn’t know what will happen when Aliah is back home.

鈥淚 love my daughter, more than anything.鈥�