Peel Children’s Aid facing a $2.1 million deficit

The Ministry of Children and Youth Services’ recent announcement of CASs 2009/2010 funding leaves Peel Children’s Aid $2.1 million short of the necessary money to provide services to vulnerable children in Peel Region.

This funding allocation is $1.4 million less than they received last year, according to a news release issued last week by Peel CAS.

“We are finding that despite our many efforts at managing our costs and operating in an efficient manner, this reduction will seriously impact our ability to provide the required services to children and families in Peel,” commented Peel Children’s Aid Board President Dan Labrecque.

The Board approved a $50,167,956 expenditure plan for 2009/2010, representing an increase of 2.2 per cent over last year’s costs.

“In developing this plan, we wanted to ensure that we could meet our duty to protect children while being fiscally responsible and conservative,” said Executive Director Paul Zarnke. “The small increase in our 2009/2010 expenditure plan can be attributed entirely to salaries and benefits, which make up 60 per cent of our costs.”

“Knowing that Ontario is facing difficult economic times, our agency, prior to submitting this year’s budget, had conducted a critical review of our costs and reduced expenditures by more than $1 million,” Zarnke explained.

Upon receiving news of their 2009/2010 allocation from the Ministry in late June, Peel CAS undertook another critical review of their costs, narrowing them by another $1.1 million. This included reducing 7.5 staff positions. This left them with a projected deficit of $2.1 million.

“This process was not taken lightly and our decision to cut staff positions will have consequences,” Zarnke added, “including increased pressure on staff and higher workloads.”

“To reduce our budget by another $2.1 million, we would need to cut 24 more positions, seriously impeding our ability to meet the mandated duties required of Children’s Aid Societies outlined in the Child Family Services Act,” Labrecque observed.

Last year, Peel Children’s Aid received more than 11,400 calls about children in need of protection, conducted more than 4,500 investigations, worked with more than 5,800 families and provided care for more than 700 children. The growing poverty levels in Peel means increasing number of families are under stress. The number of children living in poverty in Peel is steadily increasing. Between 1997 and 2005 the number grew by 51 per cent; the highest rate of increase in the GTA.

“At Peel Children’s Aid, we are first-hand observers to what joblessness, underemployment, lack of educational opportunities and hopelessness do to a family, Zarnke said. “This frustration that can lead to despair, alcohol and substance abuse, violence in the home or violence in the community. Our role is to ensure the safety and well being of the 330,000 children in our community.”

“It is the role of the Ministry to honour its obligation and reasonably fund the true costs of child protection in the Region of Peel,” he added.

“We are a fiscally responsible agency providing quality and cost effective services to children and families in Peel and need adequate funding to keep children safe and promote their well-being as well as keeping families together,” Labrecque said.

Children’s Aid Societies recognize that re-structuring of the system is needed and welcome the Ministry’s Commission to Promote Sustainable CASs, however, urge that cuts not be made in advance of any study by the Commission particularly in the face of a recession that negatively affects vulnerable children and threatens agencies’ ability to provide vital services.