2010-2011 Annual Report - Children`s Aid Society of Algoma

Children’s Aid Society of Algoma
Société de l’aide à l’enfance d’Algoma
Annual Report
2010-2011
Child Welfare across Ontario continued to evolve
thanks to the hard work of the Commission to
Promote Sustainable Child Welfare. Efficiencies
were gained through the realignment of child
welfare services in many geographic areas. As
well, the Commission developed a new funding
model based on population and weighting factors
that will finally address the funding inequities that caused significant
instability across our sector and continued to exist for far too long.
However, despite these positive efforts, child welfare continued to remain
in a holding pattern as the Ministry of Children and Youth Services
deliberated on the Commission’s recommendations.
Our Society has continued to embrace the key strategies identified by the
Commission related to developing efficiencies through shared services,
community engagement, and continuing to develop a service-delivery
system that sets measurable standards and tracks the performance of our
organization. We believe that these changes will ultimately create a better
child welfare system and that is why we have embraced the direction of
the Commission as one of the Strategic Goals for our Society, which states:
The Society will meet its statutory obligation to deliver
child welfare services and will do so in a fiscally
responsible, sustainable, and accountable manner.
Algoma continued to partner with Kawartha CAS and Superior Children’s
Center on shared Technology services. Algoma and Kawartha have been
able to leverage licensing and hardware requirements, which resulted in
significant cost-savings for both agencies. Similarly, the Superior Children’s
Center has been able to purchase Technology services from our Society
well below market rate, creating a “win-win” for both organizations. As
well, all three organizations continue to have larger negotiating power
given our pooled resources.
Our Society also placed a major emphasis on developing a deficit-reduction
plan that would be able to reduce expenditures while still meeting our
child welfare statutory obligations. One of the main cost drivers for our
Society was the significant number of children placed outside the district in
group care. Through strong engagement with our community partners, we
were able to find creative ways to reduce our group care by 33% this past
year. Our partnership with Algoma Family Services has allowed children to
remain in local foster treatment homes rather than leave the district.
Similarly, Community Living Algoma has been able to strengthen supports
to families, which helped reduce family breakdown and the need for child
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welfare involvement.
The closing of our Family Preservation and Intervention programs have also
created a greater reliance on our community partners to provide family
supports to many of our high-risk families. Our joint partnership with Algoma
Public Health, which allows for a High Risk Infant Nurse to provide dedicated
services to high-risk protection families, has helped to maintain children at
home and connect parents to a variety of other collateral services. Similarly,
Nog-Da-Win-Da-Min has been able to create strong family prevention
programs on each First Nation community within our jurisdiction, which has
had a significant impact on mitigating risk and maintaining children within
their family and community. Through these kinds of community
partnerships, we were successful in reducing our children in care by 20% this
past year.
Accountability has continued to be a priority for the Society according to the
measures that have been set out in our Balanced Scorecard. We continued
to exceed provincial averages in areas where there are provincial
comparisons, such as Crown Ward Reviews (2005-2009 average: Algoma
95.6%/provincial average 76.6%*). We are also excited to be the first child
welfare organization to be involved in an individual data review through the
Canadian Incidence Study being conducted by McGill University, examining
the incidence of reported child abuse and neglect in Canada. This will
provide our Society with excellent comparative data for our service planning
internally and with collaterals. The Commission’s work on accountability over
the next year will certainly help to guide child welfare services towards
common outcomes that clearly demonstrate a positive effect for the children
involved with Societies.
Our Society has continued to work with Nog-Da-Win-Da-Min and our First
Nation communities to build Nog-Da-Win-Da-Min’s capacity for becoming a
designated child welfare agency. Nog-Da-Win-Da-Min’s foster home
program has become a critical resource for our Society, and we will be
looking at how we can expand our partnership with Nog related to the
delivery of service to Aboriginal children and families over the next year.
In closing, I would like to thank our Board of Directors for their strong
leadership, and our dedicated staff who have been able to engage our
community partners in keeping children from coming into care when
possible, as well as finding ways to keep children from having to leave our
communities for services. As well, I would like to
thank all of our foster parents for the incredible work
that they continue to do with our children while
they are in care. It has been through these collective
Jim Baraniuk
efforts that we have been able to achieve such
Executive
Director
positive results this past year.
*2010 Provincial numbers not available.
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The 2010/11 fiscal year required the Board of
Directors to balance its responsibilities related
to ensuring that the Children’s Aid Society of
Algoma continued to have the capacity to
protect children within a limited funding
allocation that was 4% lower than the
previous year’s approval. The Society was required to submit a
deficit-reduction plan to the Ministry of Children and Youth Services
to reduce its expenditures and control its deficit, even though its
cost-per-unit expenditures remained one of the lowest in the north.
The Society was successful in reducing controllable costs by $1.5M,
which included the elimination of our Family Preservation and
Diversion From Care Programs. In March 2011, the Ministry
approved additional year-end funding, which further reduced the
deficit, and the Society actually experienced a small surplus at year
end. We remain optimistic that the Ministry will implement the new
funding formula being recommended by the Child Welfare
Commission. This will finally create fair and equitable funding for
child welfare regardless of where you are located in the province of
Ontario.
Last year, the Society aligned its Strategic Goals with the Ministry of
Children and Youth Services’ Strategic Framework entitled Realizing
Potential: Our Children, Our Youth, Our Future. The Society’s
commitment to engagement with key stakeholders such as Algoma
Family Services, around common outcomes related to returning
children who were in outside group care to Algoma, contributed to
the Society’s reduction in group care costs by 33% this past year.
Similarly, our engagement with collaterals around developing
resiliency in families and increasing supports to kin caregivers, have
helped to reduce children in care by 20% this past year. The
Society’s significant reliance on kinship out-of-care actually
prevented a 25% increase in children in care if these families had
not come forward.
Our Board also continues to have a
representative on the Algoma Governance Committee of the
Ministry’s Local Service System Management Table. This forum
allows local children’s services organizations to discuss the common
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issues experienced in our communities and develop possible
strategies and solutions to bring more services to those families
and children who are most in need across the District of Algoma.
The Society’s Strategic goal of ensuring every youth in the Society’s
care will graduate from secondary school and have the
opportunity to enter post-secondary training has continued to
remain a priority for our organization. Research has shown that
there is a direct correlation between school success and positive,
long-term outcomes for children. We have received excellent
cooperation from our School Boards around developing programs
for our children in care that focus on student success. Our Board
continues to provide support each year through the Education
Assistance Fund. Youths who wish to pursue post-secondary
education are provided with the financial assistance to realize their
dreams. This year, ten bursaries were awarded through the Fund
to six youths who are returning to post-secondary and four who
will be starting in September. We also had five youths who
graduated from post-secondary institutions this past year.
Finally, we continue to engage with our First Nations communities
and Nog-Da-Win-Da-Min in the ongoing planning for child welfare
services across the North Shore. We are excited about the
opportunity to work with Nog-Da-Win-Da-Min towards obtaining
their child welfare designation, and the Board of Directors is
committed to assisting them in whatever capacity is required in
order for them to achieve this goal.
David Kirk - President
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Statement of Operations and Changes in Fund Balances
B
for the Year Ending March 31, 2011
Child
Welfare
Revenue:
Province of Ontario
Other
Amortization of Deferred Capital Contributions
Total Revenue
Expenses:
Salaries
Employee benefits
Boarding rate payments
Building occupancy
Clients' personal needs
Emergency assistance
Health services
Office
Program
Promotion and publicity
Purchased services - case related
Purchased services - non-case related
Replacements
Technology
Training and recruitment
Transportation
Miscellaneous
Amortization of capital assets
Interest on long-term liabilities
Scholarships/Crown Ward Trust Funds
Total Expenses
Excess (deficiency) of revenue over expenses,
before under noted
Unrealized loss on interest rate swap agreement
Prior years deficit increase
Excess (deficiency) of revenue over expenses
$
20,624,050
989,887
21,613,937
Prep
paration for
Inde
ependence
&
Othe
er Programs
$
Operating
Fund
211,586 $ 20,835,636
76,625
1,066,512
288,211
21,902,148
Capital
Fund
$
Trust
Fund
- $ 197,354 $ 21,032,990
153,920
1,220,432
59,520
59,520
59,520
351,274
22,312,942
9,595,577
2,360,127
5,727,266
328,032
594,813
371,243
258,948
14,555
19,214
306,571
35,569
233,380
117,995
806,313
60,747
112,021
20,942,371
97,854
17,871
4,167
22,754
42,549
4,370
189,565
9,693,431
2,377,998
5,727,266
328,032
594,813
371,243
258,948
18,722
19,214
329,325
35,569
275,929
117,995
810,683
60,747
112,021
21,131,936
281,699
281,699
111,034
22
53,462
164,518
9,693,431
2,377,998
5,727,266
328,032
594,813
371,243
258,948
129,756
19,214
329,325
35,591
275,929
117,995
810,683
60,747
281,699
112,021
53,462
21,578,153
671,566
(6,251)
(62,635)
602,680
98,646
770,212
(6,251)
(62,635)
701,326
(222,179)
(222,179)
186,756
186,756
734,789
(6,251)
(62,635)
665,903
98,646
Note: Complete audited financial statements are available upon request through the Children's Aid Society of Algoma's Accounting Department at 191 Northern Avenue East
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Total
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Children and Families Assisted by the Society
Investigations and Protection Services
1500
149
1300
6
143
4
127
1100
123
900
1
2
700
500
498
300
100
138
154
Inquiries
2010/11
483
Reports
Received
Not
Investigated
Cases
Opened
For Investigation
Ongoing
Protection
Cases
Open at
Year End
2009/10
282
277
New
Investigations on
Ongoing
Protection
Cases
20
09
20
/10
10
/11
Other Child Welfare Services
2010/11
19
1
Children Placed on Adoption
Post Adoption Services Opened
8
2009/10
17
27
Caring for Children
...living arrangements for children in care on March 31, 2011
2010/11
Foster Homes — Regular, Specialized, & Treatment
138
Adoption Homes — Subsidized
43
Contracted Group Care
35
Special Arrangements — Independence, ECM
18
Other Societies
11
In Other Placements — Free Home/Adoption Probation
23
Total Children in Living Arrangements
268
2009/10
176
41
42
16
9
22
306
Kinship Services
120
100
80
103
0
11
0
11
74
60
82
62
40
20
0
Home studies
Completed
2010/11
# of Kin
Families
# of
children
placed
with Kin
Families
2009/10
9
20
09
20
/10
10
/11
Officers
President ............................................................................................. David Kirk
1st Vice President .................................................................. Mike McFarling
2nd Vice President .............................................................. Rosanne Biocchi
Secretary ............................................................................... Toni Nanne-Little
Treasurer .................................................................................Christine Pascall
Directors
David Court*
Belinda Kistemaker
Wes Moore
Carla Fairbrother
Michel Lavergne
Sheila Ucci
Donna Hilsinger
Ola Meawasige
Daniel Wood-Salomon*
*Resigned During the Year
Native Representatives
Maureen McLeod
Luanne Povey
Honorary Members
Line Bégin
Chris Budau*
*Deceased March 2011
Gilles Bégin
Joe Budau
Betty Bryant
Doug Strong
Executive Director ............................................ Jim Baraniuk
Director of Services ................................. Tracy Willoughby
Director of Residential Resources ................. Trina Colizza
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The purpose of the
Children’s Aid Society is to
protect the children of
Algoma and promote their
well-being in a manner that
reflects community
standards and the spirit of
related legislation, while
making the most efficient
use of community and
Society resources.
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ADMINISTRATION/
RESIDENTIAL SERVICES
191 Northern Ave., E.
Sault Ste. Marie, ON
P6B 4H8
Tel: (705) 949-0162
Fax: (705) 949-4747
PROTECTION SERVICES
405 Queen Street E.
Sault Ste. Marie, ON
P6A 1Z5
Tel: (705) 949-0162
Fax: (705) 541-9872
THE FAMILY
CONNECTION
93 Pilgrim Street
Sault Ste. Marie, ON
P6A 3A6
Tel: (705) 949-0162
Fax: (705) 949-1023
LEGAL SERVICES
405 Queen Street East
Sault Ste. Marie, ON
P6A 1Z5
Tel: (705) 949-0162
Fax: (705) 541-9616
EAST ALGOMA
Elliot Lake
29 Manitoba Road
Elliot Lake, ON P5A 2A7
Tel: (705) 848-8000
Fax: (705) 848-5145
EAST ALGOMA
Blind River
9 Lawton Street
Blind River, ON P0R 1B0
Tel: (705) 356-1464
Fax: (705) 356-0773
NORTH ALGOMA
Wawa
31 Algoma Street
Wawa, ON
P0S 1K0
Tel: (705) 856-2960
Fax: (705) 856-7379
NORTH ALGOMA
Hornepayne
8 - 2nd Street, Apt. 7
Hornepayne, ON
P0M 1Z0
Tel: (807) 868-2624
Fax: (807) 868-9961
Children’s Aid Society of Algoma
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