Child welfare agencies across the province are reporting an alarming increase in the number of children and teens who need to be placed in hotels, Airbnbs, office buildings and other unlicensed settings because there are no other safe options in their communities.
The number of children in these last-resort placements has nearly tripled since 2021, according to new figures provided to the Star by the agency that represents most of Ontario鈥檚 child welfare agencies.
These figures, which haven鈥檛 previously been made public, shed new light on what child welfare leaders and youth advocates say is a growing crisis that is putting vulnerable kids at risk of further harm.
Between April 2023 and March 2024, there were 339 kids and teens in the care of children鈥檚 welfare agencies living in unlicensed placements. That鈥檚 up from 124 children and youth housed in such settings two years earlier, according to the results of a survey conducted by the Ontario Association of Children鈥檚 Aid Societies (OACAS).
Solomon Owoo, chief executive of the OACAS, said the figures paint a stark picture of a problem that needs immediate attention.
鈥淎 young person not getting the support services they need听鈥 whether it is five children or 1,000听鈥 that should not be happening in this province,鈥 said Owoo, whose association represents 49 child welfare organizations and Indigenous Child and Family Well-Being agencies.
Owoo said many of the young people living in unlicensed settings have complex mental health and developmental needs and are not able to get adequate medical treatment and support in the community. Some families, he said, are relinquishing custody of their children because they can no longer cope, leaving child welfare agencies 鈥渁s the support umbrella鈥 for young people who cannot get help and treatment anywhere else.
Child advocates say the dramatic increase in the number of young people in the care of children鈥檚 aid who are living in unlicensed settings represents a failure in how Ontario cares for kids in crisis.
鈥淭he province has a duty to protect these children, but we鈥檙e saying to them the best we can do is put you in a trailer or an office space or an Airbnb,鈥 said Irwin Elman, who served as Ontario’s Child Advocate from 2008 to 2019.
鈥淭his is a human crisis,鈥 Elman said. 鈥淎nd the response needs to be not an audit so we can count the beans in the budget but a human response 鈥 an emergency response.鈥
In response to questions from the Star, Ontario’s Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services provided a statement saying the ministry is 鈥渞edesigning the child welfare system to focus on high-quality and culturally appropriate services that prioritize safety, protection and the needs of children, youth and families.鈥 The redesign will include 鈥渁 review and audit of the system,鈥 the ministry said, but provided no further details on the scope, goals or timeline of the audit.
The government requires children鈥檚 aid societies to 鈥渆nsure placements are safe, appropriate and meet the child鈥檚 needs,鈥 the statement said.
Earlier this month, placing children and youth in unlicensed settings, stating the practice raises 鈥渟erious concerns about their safety, privacy and comfort.鈥
Owoo told the Star the OACAS is pushing for the investigation to go beyond the child welfare sector and examine why the government听鈥 specifically the children, community and social services ministry and the health ministry听鈥 is unable to provide adequate and timely medical care and support to children with complex needs.
In his announcement, Dub茅 said staff from the ombudsman鈥檚 office have already visited some children and teens 鈥渢o see their living conditions and hear their concerns directly.鈥
Linda Williamson, a spokesperson for the ombudsman鈥檚 office, said they don鈥檛 discuss ongoing investigations, but clarified in an email that the probe will look into systemic issues. 鈥淎nd like all of our systemic investigations, it will follow the evidence,鈥 she said.
Many of the children with complex needs coming into care do not belong in the child welfare system, said Craig Hesman, president of CUPE Local 2286, which represents roughly 350 child protection workers in Windsor and Essex. They are ending up there not because of protection concerns such as abuse or neglect, but because their parents are unable to get adequate treatment and support in the community and reach a crisis point.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e falling through the cracks and ending up with us,鈥 Hesman said.
The OACAS survey, completed by 39 of the organization鈥檚 47 member agencies, found that the number of children and youth requiring high-cost care听鈥 exceeding $200,000 annually听鈥 has risen dramatically over the past three years, roughly doubling from 174 to 354. Brynn Clarke, OACAS鈥檚 communications manager, said in a written statement that in many cases, children and youth requiring high-cost care are those with complex needs and who 鈥渞equire highly specialized, intensive care.鈥
The survey findings also showed that 36 agencies reported providing service to 589 children or youth in the past fiscal year where protection concerns such as abuse or neglect were not present, or were a secondary concern to unmet health needs.
Owoo said these 589 children would likely not have an open child protection file if their primary concerns, such as getting timely mental health treatment or supports for developmental issues, had been met by community organizations.
鈥淲hy was this child dropped at our door? It鈥檚 because Mom doesn鈥檛 get some of the community supports she needs,鈥 Owoo said. 鈥淣ow we are made to get involved 鈥 because help is not available for parents to access.鈥
Owoo said this week he was notified by a leader with Dufferin Child and Family Services in Orangeville that there were no children鈥檚 mental health treatment beds in the region.
鈥淭hat is the kind of access challenges that we are talking about.鈥
A CUPE survey from March of 450 unionized child protection workers from across the province found that most staff believe unlicensed placements, including hotels and makeshift bedrooms in office buildings, cause further harm to vulnerable children, with one worker stating in the anonymous survey they are 鈥渄isgusted and astounded that these living arrangements are even being allowed.鈥
Hesman, the CUPE president, and other unionized workers said the government has known about this problem for years and the response has been 鈥渓acklustre.鈥
He said child protection workers are burned out and demoralized from having to work shifts supervising these children in hotels and Airbnbs, settings they know are inappropriate for young people in crisis.
鈥淥ur members strive to do the best job that they possibly can in the circumstances that they have, but this is not the job they were hired to do,鈥 Hesman said.
鈥淲e as a province have stressed the capacity of parents and families to a breaking point and they can鈥檛 do it anymore,鈥 said Arlette Carrier, a child protection worker in southeastern Ontario and president of CUPE Local 2577. 鈥淪omething needs to happen听鈥 now.鈥
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