CONGRATULATIONS, Liz Prashad! Your Chapters gift card is on its way. Honourable mentions (and cards) also go out to Jacqueline Brooks, Intake Services & After Hours Supervisor, and Julie Wilkie, Lindsay Intake Services Team for their creative and thoughtful submissions. Well done, everybody!  

KHCAS Staff Teddi Pappas

Joan Conrad

Director of Accountability & Management Services

KHCAS staff and management are proud of our programs to help parents and guardians develop the skills they need to keep their children safe. In 2010-2011 we aim to enhance these services by adding staff.   

The Family Preservation Program will have additional staff who will work with families both in our access center and in families' own homes to teach and reinforce the skills families require to address protection concerns. Through this approach more children-at-risk will be able to remain safely within their families.

Following OACAS' province-wide public education campaign, KHCAS is developing a local, mini 'I Am Your Children's Aid' campaign featuring KHCAS staff, former clients, foster parents and volunteers; Look for their faces and stories; coming soon to a wall near you.

A big thank you to Christine, Sonja & Brian, Linda, Mickey & Harry, Patty, Michelle and Dave for sharing their stories with us and helping the community to better understand the work we do.

During the day we had the opportunity to experience first-hand, some of the barriers faced by people with various disabilities, and to discuss how we could be more supportive. Kawartha-Haliburton Staff and Board members attended the planning and found the experience very beneficial. Click to see a news article and pictures of the day.     

Susan Redhead, our Manager of Human Resources, will now take the information we learned at the planning day and develop an action plan for making our services more accessible.  

With the passing of the Building Families and Supporting Youth to Be Successful Act, 2011 (formerly Bill 176),which removes access orders as a barrier for adoptions, we expect to see a continued drop in the number of Crown Wards in care as they move into permanent families under adoption orders. This will require the gradual shifting of resources to support this initiative.  

Over the past three years the number of children who are wards of the Crown dropped by over 35% at Kawartha-Haliburton Children's Aid Society, significantly more than at other CASs in the Province. Under the new legislation we expect to see similar or greater reductions.

This year, the files of youth with developmental disabilities will transfer to the Ministry of Community and Social Services when these youth reach 18 years of age.  

In the past youth with developmental issues were in a sort of "limbo" between the age of 18 and 21 as transfers were organized and funding was put in place. The new policy adds more stability to the lives of young people with developmental disabilities during this critical period and makes the transitional planning process more relevant and effective.

Local Agencies Identify Isses with Planning for Children with Disabilities  

An issues paper prepared the Developmental Service Network's Children's Services Committee lists numerous issues related to serving children with diabilities. The paper calls for greater service coordination for these children and increased community understanding. For a copy of the issues paper please go to the Resources section of our website.