Child protection law is a specialized aspect of family law. The province of Ontario has laws that protect children from harm including abuse and neglect. Children who have been denied proper parental care can be apprehended by the State (through its agency, the Children's Aid Society (CAS)) and brought to a place of safety (usually foster care). The State has a legitimate interest in ensuring that children are not harmed in their parent's care. The State, in its exercise of its parens patriae powers, can remove children from their families and permanently cut the children's ties from their families.
Ontario child protection law is designed to prevent state intervention unless an independent judge is satisfied that such intervention is warranted.
Children have the right to be raised by their families but they also have the right to be protected from neglect, abuse, maltreatment or other parental misconduct.
Lack of proper parental care includes neglect, abuse, abandonment, substance abuse/dependence, mental and/or physical incapacity to care for the child, failure to send child to school or doctor, failure to provide necessities for the child. The CAS can also apprehend a child as a result of the death of a caregiver.
A parent may be charged criminally for assaulting or neglecting the child and also be subject to a child protection proceeding for termination of the parent's rights on a temporary or permanent basis. Losing custody of a child to the State (government) as a result of lack of proper parental care is a serious issue.
At Manafa Law Office, we fully respect these values but we also believe in the parent's right to a rigorous defense to prevent overreaching by CAS workers and to ensure that the procedures are fair.
For over 20 years, we have been staunch advocates for parents in the child welfare system. We have been providing quality legal representation to parents whose children have been taken away by the Children's Aid Society (CAS). In child protection proceedings, the CAS charges the parents with some form of inadequacy, misconduct or unfitness in raising their children.
Parents have the right to the care and custody of their children without the awesome and coercive power of the State. However, this right may be limited or lost when their level of child care falls below the minimum standard of care for child rearing. When the CAS seeks to remove the children from their families due to alleged parental unfitness, it must prove its case in a court of law.
Poverty is the leading cause of the intervention of the State in a child protection case. Most of the parents accused of abuse or neglect of their children are living in abject poverty and are also members of the minority groups.
It is possible for a CAS worker to make decisions based on stereotypes or unwarranted assumptions rather than on actual facts or the actual qualities and characteristics of the individual parent.
As lawyers for parents in child protection cases, we assist our clients in overcoming the stereotypes, the assumptions and the false expectations that overwhelm them. We challenge these stereotypes and assumptions of the child protection system by bringing out the best in our clients: their admirable qualities, strengths, abilities, capabilities, talents etc. We emphasize the qualities, talents and the successes in their lives not their failures. We bring out the strength of each particular client. We assist our clients to tell their counter stories of happiness, successes, strength and achievements. We humanize them. We get to know each client and his or her needs.
We advocate for families threatened by State intervention (through the CAS) with temporary or permanent loss of their parental rights. We will not advise our clients to accept a result that does not conform to his or her preferences, when those preferences could be achieved through rigorous advocacy.
In most cases, the CAS simply seeks to assist the family in raising their children safely and will develop a plan of care that will allow children to remain with their families. We work with the families to ensure compliance of the terms of the plan of care. We also believe that a plan of care cannot be a "one size fits all". It must be crafted with a proper understanding of the parents' needs and it must adequately address those needs.
Where children are temporarily removed to foster care, we assist our client to work with the CAS to overcome the problem that led to the apprehension of the children and ensure a safe and quick return of the children.
We assist the CAS in identifying the proper issues that should be addressed and ensure that the plan of care meets the parents' needs. We ensure that parents complete the services designed to make them better parents.
We can assist the parents in negotiating a voluntary service agreement with the CAS so that they can work cooperatively with the family in addressing the issues without resort to the courts.
We also demand a careful investigation of the circumstances that led to the apprehension of the children. We are vigilant to prevent overreaching. Sometimes, the efforts of the CAS workers may be well meaning but deeply flawed investigative efforts and unfair procedures are used. We believe that children should not be wrested from their families based on flawed investigation or unfair procedures.
We believe that parents have the right to raise their children and that children have the right to be raised by their families, except when the conditions at home are such that the children deserve to be removed. We believe in the rights of poor and vulnerable families and their children to be protected by the rule of law. We are devoted to serving the parents' interests. When parents have done nothing to justify State intervention in their family's life, we fight to ensure their rights are upheld.
Our services include the following:
If you are looking for an experienced Toronto Child Abuse lawyer, please do not hesitate to contact us today. We represent both mothers and fathers.
