I figured I better get on wifi and say hello to everyone. My net will be hooked up by Xmas eve. I miss being online daily. I have finally finished the move up the hill and I should be all settled in by Christmas.
thanks for stopping by and I will be online again in a few days to catch up on the news of the day and what is happening with the CAS's in this province.
I continue to do daily advocacy and it seems that family court even goes on during the Christmas rush. Families are burdened and stressed by the Children's Aid Society and the holidays are hurting families that cannot afford to feed their children,put toys under the Xmas tree if they even have one. Crooked judges, and corrupt police in our city prevails and I hope, key word hope that the new Chief of Police can deal with our citys corruption. The issue is not to fine and jail panhandlers,peddlers and street buskers in our city of hamilton, the issue is to deal with is why are they on the street.They have families they have to care for etc...this seems like an evening ramble but I have made my point. Shape up new POLICE Chief....our city is counting on you!!
Thank you for your support!!
We are here to protect Children and Families from the Children's Aid Society!!
Friday, December 04, 2009
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
hmmmm funding woes eh?
http://news.therecord.com/News/Local/article/631482
Local rally planned over child-welfare funding
BY BRIAN CALDWELL, RECORD STAFF
KITCHENER – Local officials are discouraged, but not surprised, by word from Premier Dalton McGuinty that there won’t be any new money for struggling child-welfare agencies.
“It’s the same thing he’s been saying all along,” said Tom Howard of Local 258 of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union, which represents about 500 workers at Family and Children’s Services of Waterloo Region.
McGuinty said Wednesday that funding for agencies has more than tripled in the last 10 years, with his government increasing spending by 30 per cent during a period when caseloads only climbed by one per cent.
But Howard and Peter Ringrose, executive director of the local agency, said that math totally ignores major, legislated changes to the system that have increased costs dramatically regardless of caseloads.
“There is so much more to the picture than just making the comparisons that McGuinty is making,” Ringrose said.
Children’s aid societies in Ontario are collectively facing a $67-million shortfall, with some laying off staff and others warning of closures unless the province covers their deficits.
Ringrose said the local shortfall for the fiscal year ending in March is projected at about $900,000 on a $44.7-million budget and there is nowhere left to trim.
“We’ve made the reductions we can in good faith,” he said. “We can’t go any further.”
To call attention to the standoff, the union is planning a rally Friday starting at 12:15 p.m. at Kitchener City Hall.
Other protests are being staged across the province to coincide with National Child Day.
bcaldwell@therecord.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Children suffer amid money woes at Ont. Children's Aid
Last Updated: Wednesday, November 18, 2009 | 6:53 PM ET
The Canadian Press
Children are at risk of being left in abusive homes and are facing higher suicide rates in at least one part of northern Ontario as Children's Aid Societies in the province run out of money, critics charged Wednesday.
"Eighty people have attempted suicide — the youth of James Bay — in the last year alone, 11 of whom were successful," NDP critic Gilles Bisson said in the legislature.
"We cannot continue going this way. We can't keep on going to funeral after funeral on the James Bay because of [the government's] inability to deal with this."
Bisson said afterward the severity of the crisis took him aback when he visited Moosonee and Moose Factory last week.
"We've always had problems with suicide with those communities, but it's epidemic," he said. "We haven't got time to play around with this.
"We need to make sure that we put the resources in place so that when a child cries for help, that child gets somebody to sit with them and is able to make them safe."
Some Children's Aid Societies in Ontario have started laying off staff and warned they could go bankrupt in the face of a $67-million shortfall.
The Payukotayno James and Hudson Bay Family Services office in northern Ontario has sent layoff notices to its 120 staff and said the office will close on the week of Dec. 16 unless it receives operating funds.
Layoffs begin
York Region Children's Aid Society, just north of Toronto, issued layoff notices to 18 staff on Nov. 10, while Kenora-Patricia Child and Family Services is also issuing layoff notices and will run out of operating funds in the third week of December.
Children's Aid Societies in several other areas face funding shortfalls and they're contemplating cuts to core services, including abuse-prevention programs and court-ordered visits to children in foster and residential care.
CAS spokesman Marcelo Gomez-Wiuckstern said the agencies are mandated by law to provide a certain level of service and, to avoid breaking those laws, must close when those standards cannot be met.
"Agencies know too well what it means for children [when they fail to provide services]," he said. "Without the proper funds to deliver that level of service, children are put at risk."
While Gomez-Wiuckstern agrees that the current funding models aren't working, he's frustrated with the lack of action by the government, noting a promised commission to deal with the issue has yet to get off the ground.
"There's no time to waste, there are agencies that are cutting back on the services now," he said.
Premier Dalton McGuinty wouldn't commit to new money Wednesday, saying his government has increased funds by 30 per cent while the caseload has only gone up by one per cent, on average.
"I would argue [there's been] a dramatic increase in overall funding, but to be fair to some of the Children's Aid Societies, that may not be balanced right across the province," McGuinty said.
"It may be that the one in the north is experiencing much heavier demand than some in the south, for example, and if that's the case we may have to reorganize the funding so it's better-suited to what's happening on the front lines."
Solutions will take time, says minister
Minister of Children and Youth Services Laurel Broten said dealing with the funding shortfalls at Children's Aid was one of her top priorities, but added that such complex and long-standing issues would take some time.
"We will not put kids at risk, but we must — because of our desire to protect Ontario's kids — find a way to ensure that Children's Aid Societies can operate in a sustainable fashion," she said.
Agencies in northern Ontario have received some of the largest cuts and are facing a collective shortfall of $16.9 million, according to CAS.
Bisson said Payukotayno needs $3.7 million to provide basic services, partly because it covers such a large area that one visit to one child could cost thousands of dollars in airfare.
He also rejected the notion that the agencies would simply have to do more with less because of the government's record $25-billion deficit, pointing to the billions spent to bail out General Motors and Chrysler, and reports of money being wasted on the eHealth scandal and an $81-million power plant for a casino in Windsor.
"You've got kids that are in crisis, you've got kids that are attempting suicide. Why? Because nobody's listening to them," he said. "They are crying out for help and there's no ability to be able to respond."
Local rally planned over child-welfare funding
BY BRIAN CALDWELL, RECORD STAFF
KITCHENER – Local officials are discouraged, but not surprised, by word from Premier Dalton McGuinty that there won’t be any new money for struggling child-welfare agencies.
“It’s the same thing he’s been saying all along,” said Tom Howard of Local 258 of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union, which represents about 500 workers at Family and Children’s Services of Waterloo Region.
McGuinty said Wednesday that funding for agencies has more than tripled in the last 10 years, with his government increasing spending by 30 per cent during a period when caseloads only climbed by one per cent.
But Howard and Peter Ringrose, executive director of the local agency, said that math totally ignores major, legislated changes to the system that have increased costs dramatically regardless of caseloads.
“There is so much more to the picture than just making the comparisons that McGuinty is making,” Ringrose said.
Children’s aid societies in Ontario are collectively facing a $67-million shortfall, with some laying off staff and others warning of closures unless the province covers their deficits.
Ringrose said the local shortfall for the fiscal year ending in March is projected at about $900,000 on a $44.7-million budget and there is nowhere left to trim.
“We’ve made the reductions we can in good faith,” he said. “We can’t go any further.”
To call attention to the standoff, the union is planning a rally Friday starting at 12:15 p.m. at Kitchener City Hall.
Other protests are being staged across the province to coincide with National Child Day.
bcaldwell@therecord.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Children suffer amid money woes at Ont. Children's Aid
Last Updated: Wednesday, November 18, 2009 | 6:53 PM ET
The Canadian Press
Children are at risk of being left in abusive homes and are facing higher suicide rates in at least one part of northern Ontario as Children's Aid Societies in the province run out of money, critics charged Wednesday.
"Eighty people have attempted suicide — the youth of James Bay — in the last year alone, 11 of whom were successful," NDP critic Gilles Bisson said in the legislature.
"We cannot continue going this way. We can't keep on going to funeral after funeral on the James Bay because of [the government's] inability to deal with this."
Bisson said afterward the severity of the crisis took him aback when he visited Moosonee and Moose Factory last week.
"We've always had problems with suicide with those communities, but it's epidemic," he said. "We haven't got time to play around with this.
"We need to make sure that we put the resources in place so that when a child cries for help, that child gets somebody to sit with them and is able to make them safe."
Some Children's Aid Societies in Ontario have started laying off staff and warned they could go bankrupt in the face of a $67-million shortfall.
The Payukotayno James and Hudson Bay Family Services office in northern Ontario has sent layoff notices to its 120 staff and said the office will close on the week of Dec. 16 unless it receives operating funds.
Layoffs begin
York Region Children's Aid Society, just north of Toronto, issued layoff notices to 18 staff on Nov. 10, while Kenora-Patricia Child and Family Services is also issuing layoff notices and will run out of operating funds in the third week of December.
Children's Aid Societies in several other areas face funding shortfalls and they're contemplating cuts to core services, including abuse-prevention programs and court-ordered visits to children in foster and residential care.
CAS spokesman Marcelo Gomez-Wiuckstern said the agencies are mandated by law to provide a certain level of service and, to avoid breaking those laws, must close when those standards cannot be met.
"Agencies know too well what it means for children [when they fail to provide services]," he said. "Without the proper funds to deliver that level of service, children are put at risk."
While Gomez-Wiuckstern agrees that the current funding models aren't working, he's frustrated with the lack of action by the government, noting a promised commission to deal with the issue has yet to get off the ground.
"There's no time to waste, there are agencies that are cutting back on the services now," he said.
Premier Dalton McGuinty wouldn't commit to new money Wednesday, saying his government has increased funds by 30 per cent while the caseload has only gone up by one per cent, on average.
"I would argue [there's been] a dramatic increase in overall funding, but to be fair to some of the Children's Aid Societies, that may not be balanced right across the province," McGuinty said.
"It may be that the one in the north is experiencing much heavier demand than some in the south, for example, and if that's the case we may have to reorganize the funding so it's better-suited to what's happening on the front lines."
Solutions will take time, says minister
Minister of Children and Youth Services Laurel Broten said dealing with the funding shortfalls at Children's Aid was one of her top priorities, but added that such complex and long-standing issues would take some time.
"We will not put kids at risk, but we must — because of our desire to protect Ontario's kids — find a way to ensure that Children's Aid Societies can operate in a sustainable fashion," she said.
Agencies in northern Ontario have received some of the largest cuts and are facing a collective shortfall of $16.9 million, according to CAS.
Bisson said Payukotayno needs $3.7 million to provide basic services, partly because it covers such a large area that one visit to one child could cost thousands of dollars in airfare.
He also rejected the notion that the agencies would simply have to do more with less because of the government's record $25-billion deficit, pointing to the billions spent to bail out General Motors and Chrysler, and reports of money being wasted on the eHealth scandal and an $81-million power plant for a casino in Windsor.
"You've got kids that are in crisis, you've got kids that are attempting suicide. Why? Because nobody's listening to them," he said. "They are crying out for help and there's no ability to be able to respond."
Monday, November 16, 2009
November 16, 2009 DAY 1700
November 16, 2009 DAY 1700
Well it has been a busy two weeks.
We are dealing with a lot of advocacy issues and are coming across a lot of injustices in this community of Hamilton.
I think about you both everyday Vinny and Paige, and I was going through my diary since March 24, 2005 this evening and it was both sad and weird to reflect back on all the years and days that I have been writing.
I figured I would update my blog, say hello and let you know what is happening.
We are in the middle of a major home move. We are moving our home up to the mountain. I won’t post the address here but all I can say is that it is a great place to relax and hide out from the stresses of advocacy and strife.
We are looking for a second hand store to sell some things on both Kijiji and in the store. I am hoping we find something soon.
Grandpa/Dad’s birthday is today he is 67 years old. Happy Birthday ED!!
It should take us about a month to move completely into the house and I want to have it all decorated and ready for Christmas. I want to get decorate the front of the house and the inside as well.
I hope you are both doing well and I will write again more often.
I tend to forget with the daily life stresses and things that happen daily.
I have to go the Children’s Aid Society office to support a friend tomorrow.
We are getting the U Haul van tomorrow as well and we are keeping it until Thursday so that will empty out the house and leave the office here and then we do the garages and back yard stuff.
It will be hard to leave here as we have lived and rented this home since May of 2000. That is almost 10 years here.
I have a lot of memories here and a lot of tears and hard work as well.
I will post on the blog more regularly as I want to update everyone on a few of the issues we are dealing with regarding the justice system and their failures for single mothers that are being victimized by both their perpetrator and the system.... the immigration problems and its relationship with Poverty.
We are here to help children and families from the Children's Aid Society.
Thank you for your support!!
Well it has been a busy two weeks.
We are dealing with a lot of advocacy issues and are coming across a lot of injustices in this community of Hamilton.
I think about you both everyday Vinny and Paige, and I was going through my diary since March 24, 2005 this evening and it was both sad and weird to reflect back on all the years and days that I have been writing.
I figured I would update my blog, say hello and let you know what is happening.
We are in the middle of a major home move. We are moving our home up to the mountain. I won’t post the address here but all I can say is that it is a great place to relax and hide out from the stresses of advocacy and strife.
We are looking for a second hand store to sell some things on both Kijiji and in the store. I am hoping we find something soon.
Grandpa/Dad’s birthday is today he is 67 years old. Happy Birthday ED!!
It should take us about a month to move completely into the house and I want to have it all decorated and ready for Christmas. I want to get decorate the front of the house and the inside as well.
I hope you are both doing well and I will write again more often.
I tend to forget with the daily life stresses and things that happen daily.
I have to go the Children’s Aid Society office to support a friend tomorrow.
We are getting the U Haul van tomorrow as well and we are keeping it until Thursday so that will empty out the house and leave the office here and then we do the garages and back yard stuff.
It will be hard to leave here as we have lived and rented this home since May of 2000. That is almost 10 years here.
I have a lot of memories here and a lot of tears and hard work as well.
I will post on the blog more regularly as I want to update everyone on a few of the issues we are dealing with regarding the justice system and their failures for single mothers that are being victimized by both their perpetrator and the system.... the immigration problems and its relationship with Poverty.
We are here to help children and families from the Children's Aid Society.
Thank you for your support!!
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