Guidance for difficult situations
Child Protection in Ontario
When a child protection agency becomes involved, knowing your rights is critical. We help parents and guardians respond with clarity, meet requirements, and work toward outcomes that serve their child’s best interests.
- Agency communication
- Court appearances
- Parental plans
- Legal representation
- Safety concerns
- Case timelines
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Protecting children from harm or neglect
When Protection Applies
Understanding child protection cases
Child protection cases involve the Children’s Aid Society and serious claims of neglect or harm. We explain your rights as a parent, the steps involved, and how to respond.
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Court Process
How child protection matters unfold
Child protection cases move fast. We walk you through emergency hearings, supervision orders, and what each stage means for your parental rights and family’s future.
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Your Legal Rights
How to respond and advocate effectively
Parents have rights in child protection investigations. We help you advocate for yourself clearly, respond to allegations thoughtfully, and focus on family reunification where possible.
Focus on the Child
Keeping the child’s best interests central
At every stage, decisions must center on the child’s well-being. We advocate for solutions that respect your rights as a parent while addressing the concerns raised.
Frequently Asked Questions
Answers to common concerns about involvement with child protection services
When can child protection services get involved?
Child protection services intervene when there are concerns about a child’s safety, neglect, or risk of harm. Reports can come from teachers, doctors, neighbors, or family members.
The Children’s Aid Society (CAS) investigates claims and can recommend support services, supervision, or, in serious cases, court intervention to remove children from unsafe environments.
What happens during a child protection investigation?
An investigation typically involves interviews with the child, parents, and sometimes teachers or doctors. CAS assesses the family’s situation to determine whether intervention or services are needed.
The goal is to keep families together whenever possible. However, if risk remains high, CAS can seek court orders for supervision, temporary care, or, in extreme cases, permanent wardship.
Do parents have rights during an investigation?
Yes, parents have rights to be informed of concerns, to legal representation, and to participate in creating safety plans. They also have the right to challenge CAS decisions in court.
Engaging a lawyer early can help you respond properly, protect your rights, and work toward reunifying the family when safe to do so.
Can children be taken without a court order?
In urgent cases, CAS can remove a child without a court order if immediate danger exists. However, they must bring the case before a court within five days for a hearing.
Parents have the right to be present at these hearings and contest the removal. Legal representation is critical to presenting evidence and arguing for the child’s return home.
How long do child protection cases usually last?
Timelines vary depending on risk levels and family cooperation. Cases may resolve in a few months with compliance and improvements, or they may extend longer if serious risks remain.
The primary focus remains the child’s safety and best interests. Courts review progress regularly, and plans are adjusted as circumstances improve or decline.
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Child Protection in Ontario
Child Protection is unlike any other area of family law. The decisions made in the Child Protection context are of similar or even greater in importance and impact to those made in criminal courts. Of note, there is no presumption of innocence, no standard of guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, and the people most affected are innocent children. The amount of anxiety and disruption that families experience when engaged with a children’s aid Society is beyond comparison.
While one mandate of the Children’s Aid Societies is to help and guide parents and families, they are also tasked with investigating and judging families. Depending on the what the Society investigation concludes regarding the safety of your children and your ability to parent, the Society has a number of options.
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In less serious cases, the Society will first attempt to engage with the family on a voluntary basis to improve the wellbeing of the children. In more serious cases, the Society can commence court proceedings. At this point, children are often removed from the family pending the outcome of court proceedings. In the worst-case scenario, children can be permanently removed from their parent’s custody. If your child has been apprehended by the Society, it is crucially important to hire a lawyer immediately as managing the early days following apprehension are critically important.
The lawyers at Nussbaum Law deeply believe that families and parents need strong legal representation throughout every stage of a child protection proceeding. Our lawyers work closely with parents, families, and community members to protect children and to ensure that children remain with their families.
Given the stakes, it is crucial to hire a lawyer as soon as possible once a Children’s Aid Society becomes involved in your family’s life. A parent or family alone against the system is at a massive disadvantage in term of resources, knowledge, and power. The decisions and actions you take will likely have enormous and life changing consequences for you and your children.
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– Barry Nussbaum, JD, MBA, Senior Lawyer
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