Welcome to JFCY’s Legal Wiki which provides information about the legal rights of children and youth in Ontario. Click here to download this information from our Publications page. Please contact us if you have any questions or trouble finding the information that you seek. You should speak to a lawyer for legal advice since laws often change.
(x) This symbol indicates additional information that applies if you are First Nations, Inuk or Métis. You should let your CAS worker know if you have Indigenous ancestry, are a member of or self-identify with an Indigenous community or communities.
Why and how you might be taken to a safe place, and what happens in the first few days.
A Children’s Aid Society (CAS) is an organization that makes sure children are safe and protected from harm.
Being “taken to a place of safety” means that you are taken out of your regular home if that environment is harmful to you. The CAS becomes responsible for taking care of you and may mean that they will find a new place for you to live until a judge can decide if you should go home or live somewhere else.
The CAS can only take you to a place of safety up to the age of 16.
If your parent is having difficulty taking care of you, they can ask CAS for help for a short period of time. This is called a “temporary care agreement”. If you are 12 years or older, CAS cannot use a temporary care agreement unless you give your permission.
If you are 16 or 17, and you believe you are in need of protection, you can contact a CAS and ask for help. You can enter into a Voluntary Youth Service Agreement (VYSA) with the CAS. Before you sign a VYSA, you will be given legal advice from the Office of the Children’s Lawyer. (See JFCY’s Leaving Home pamphlet).
Yes, CAS can bring you to a place of safety without your parent’s permission if the CAS thinks that your parent has (or will hurt you in the future) or you are not safe with your parent. In these cases, CAS can take you into care without your permission.
Some examples of behavior by a parent that can lead to you being taken to a place of safety:
A CAS worker will be assigned to you. You always have the right to tell your worker what you want. The CAS worker should listen and consider what you say to them, but you will not always be allowed to get what you want.
If you are taken to a place of safety, the judge can appoint the Office of the Children’s Lawyer (OCL) to be involved in your case. This means that you will either be given an OCL lawyer to represent your views and wishes; and/or that an OCL social worker will prepare a report for the judge on what is in your best interests.
The judge will consider what the OCL lawyer and/or OCL report says and then decide if you have to stay in CAS care or if you can go home. If you don’t want to be in CAS care, you can tell the judge the reasons you don’t want to be taken to a place of safety. Your lawyer can help you to talk to the judge in court or help you to write a letter to the judge.
If you asked the CAS to take you to a place of safety and they said no, you can ask a judge to make an Order for CAS to take you into care. You will need to go to court and explain why you need to be taken to a place of safety. If this is what you want to do you should contact a lawyer who deals with these types of cases for advice.
If you are taken out of your home, the CAS will make sure you are properly cared for and will pick one of these options for where you live:
You may stay in the place that CAS has chosen for you until the judge makes a decision in court about whether you should stay in care. Every case is different. Sometimes you will:
You should talk to your CAS worker and your lawyer to find out what is likely going to happen in your situation.
What will happen after you have been taken to a place of safety, whether there will be a court trial and what your role will be if there is a court trial.
It depends. There will not be a court case if:
There will be a court case if:
You have a right to have your views and wishes considered at every stage of this process.
Within 5 days of taking you to a place of safety, the CAS must start the court case and there will be a temporary decision made by a judge on where you will be placed. After the case starts, it can last for many months.
If you are 12 years or older, you have the right to be told in writing about the court case (called “a notice”) and a right to be in court when the judge is hearing your case. The only time that you are not allowed to get notice or go to court is if the judge decides that you will be emotionally hurt by going to court. If you want to go to court for your case, you should tell your CAS worker and your lawyer.
It depends. The first time your case goes to court the judge will decide whether or not to appoint the Office of the Children’s Lawyer (OCL) to represent your views and wishes. Sometimes you be given an OCL lawyer; and other times you will meet with a social worker from the OCL office and they will prepare a report to give to the judge about your case. If you are 12 years or older, the judge will probably give you a lawyer. If you are younger than 12 years old, you might still get a lawyer.
If you do have an OCL lawyer, their job is to listen to you, protect your rights, and help you participate in your court case. You should tell your lawyer anything that you want the judge to know about.
(x) Will my First Nations, Inuit or Métis community be involved in the case?
The Indigenous community(ies) that you self-identify with must be notified about the court case, even if you don’t live with one of them. The CAS has to ask your Indigenous or community(ies) about other ways to solve the safety concerns of CAS without going to court. If you still end up going to court, the judge must think about your culture, heritage and traditions and make a decision that helps to protect your cultural identity and connection to community. A representative of your Indigenous community can participate in the court case. If you want help getting your Indigenous community involved in your case, call Aboriginal Legal Services or Justice for Children and Youth.
These kinds of court cases are always held in private so that your privacy is protected. Only the people involved have a right to know what is happening in your case. Other than you and your lawyer, the people who can be in court include:
If there is a trial in your court case, it will not happen on the first day your case is in court. On the first court date, the CAS will give the judge a summary of why you were taken into care. The judge will decide where you should live until the next court date.
Before the next court date, the judge will ask the lawyers to get more information (or “evidence”) before making a final decision. The judge will tell everyone to come back to court on a date when all the information is ready. These types of court appearances can happen many times before your case is ready for trial because of the different steps outlined below.
Before a trial there are three types of meetings with a judge that can happen:
In some cases there can be mediation. The judge is not involved in a mediation. The person in charge is a mediator, who is trained in helping people to talk to each other about issues. The mediator will ask your parent and CAS what they want. You or your lawyer can also tell the mediator what you want. The mediator will see if everyone can agree about what should happen in your case.
(x) If you are First Nations, Inuk or Métis, the mediation can involve any special processes that your Indigenous community(ies) has for resolving these kinds of issues.
If you do not agree with what everyone else is suggesting, you must tell your lawyer so that they can try to work out a different solution.
If everyone agrees at mediation, then the lawyers will tell the judge. The judge will usually cancel the trial if everyone agrees.
An Assessment is a report on something that the judge wants to know. For example, the judge may want to know about the way your parents take care of you or how you are feeling emotionally. The person writing the report may ask you some questions. The judge will make sure that the person writing the report is qualified to write this kind of report. You generally have a right to see this report unless the judge feels it would harm you to read it. If you do not agree with something in the report, make sure you tell your lawyer.
A Plan of Care is a document that the CAS and parent(s) use to describe the services that CAS will give to you and your family, this will include where you will live. You have a right to express your views and wishes; and the judge must read this document before making a decision.
If there is a trial in your case, the trial will focus on two different things:
Speaking in court is called “testifying”. Usually you will not have to testify. Testifying can be very stressful, especially for children and young people. Judges usually don’t want children or young people to go through the stress of testifying.
Your lawyer can speak for you by telling the judge where you want to live, why you want to live there, and how you felt when you were living in your home.
The judge will make a decision based on the evidence in Court. The evidence will be about you, your parents, and your home. The judge will decide if your home is safe and your needs are being met. One example of the type of evidence the judge might look at is an assessment (as described in the previous section).
If the judge does not think you need protection, then the judge will let you go home.
If the judge thinks you need protection, then the judge will decide who should take care of you and where you should live. The judge will order one of these things:
If there is a Supervision Order, you may live at home with your parent or in a kinship placement.
If there is a Society Care Order or an Extended Society Care Order, you will usually live in either a foster home, a group home, or a special institution. These places are described in the beginning of this section.
The judge can decide that you can have visits with your family members, this includes your parents and siblings. This is called an “Access Order”.
In making their Access Order decisions, the judge must decide what is in your best interests and will consider whether the relationship between each person and you is beneficial and meaningful to you. If you are over 16, your consent is required for any Access Orders to be made.
If you are in Extended Society Care, then the judge will also consider whether the family relationships will make it hard for you to be adopted by another family.
What happens after a decision has been made about whether you stay in CAS care.
In some situations a new judge can look at your case to see if the first judge made the right decision – this is called an “appeal”. In most situations only the CAS or your parent are allowed to appeal. But in some situations you might also be allowed to appeal. You should talk to your lawyer to see what is allowed in your case.
If the judge makes a Supervision Order, or if the judge puts you in Society Care, then the judge will make the CAS come back to court at a later date to give the judge an update about your situation. After the update from CAS, the judge will decide if you still need protection and where you should live.
If you do not want to be in care anymore you can ask the judge for a “status review.” The judge will look at your situation again to see if anything has changed. If your home is now safe and your parent is able to take care of you properly, the judge can let you go home.
(x) If you are First Nations, Inuk or Métis, a representative from your Indigenous community(ies) must be told about the status review. The representative(s) can also participate in the status review.
The Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) provides unique rights and procedures for young people between the ages of 12 - 17 who are charged with a criminal offence in Canada.
Going to school is a legal requirement for young people between the ages of 6 and 17. The Education Act gives parents and children specific rights in the publicly funded school system.
In Ontario, you can choose where you live when you are 16 years old. The decision to leave is often not easy and can lead to difficulties in getting all your belongings, having enough money to support yourself and attending school.
Become informed about your legal rights when it comes to decisions about your healthcare and mental healthcare treatment. This includes any procedure carried out or prescribed by a health practitioner to diagnose or treat a physical or mental health condition.
The Ontario Human Rights Code protects you from discrimination on many grounds and in many social areas. Specific legal concerns raised by youth identifying in LGBTQI2S communities are about GSAs, Trans and Gender Inclusive Spaces and changing their ID.
You can be given a ticket for breaking a provincial law if you are over the age of 16. Some of the common laws that young people are given tickets for is covered in this section.
Emergency help, criminal court, civil remedy and other supports
In family law, the rights of children are unique. Become informed about going into and being in the care of a Children's Aid Society, when parents can assault you (corporal punishment / spanking exemption to assault), and your right to be heard when your parents are splitting up.
(x) This symbol indicates additional information that applies if you are First Nations, Inuk or Métis. You should let your CAS worker know if you have Indigenous ancestry, are a member of or self-identify with an Indigenous community or communities.
Why and how you might be taken to a safe place, and what happens in the first few days.
A Children’s Aid Society (CAS) is an organization that makes sure children are safe and protected from harm.
Being “taken to a place of safety” means that you are taken out of your regular home if that environment is harmful to you. The CAS becomes responsible for taking care of you and may mean that they will find a new place for you to live until a judge can decide if you should go home or live somewhere else.
The CAS can only take you to a place of safety up to the age of 16.
If your parent is having difficulty taking care of you, they can ask CAS for help for a short period of time. This is called a “temporary care agreement”. If you are 12 years or older, CAS cannot use a temporary care agreement unless you give your permission.
If you are 16 or 17, and you believe you are in need of protection, you can contact a CAS and ask for help. You can enter into a Voluntary Youth Service Agreement (VYSA) with the CAS. Before you sign a VYSA, you will be given legal advice from the Office of the Children’s Lawyer. (See JFCY’s Leaving Home pamphlet).
Yes, CAS can bring you to a place of safety without your parent’s permission if the CAS thinks that your parent has (or will hurt you in the future) or you are not safe with your parent. In these cases, CAS can take you into care without your permission.
Some examples of behavior by a parent that can lead to you being taken to a place of safety:
A CAS worker will be assigned to you. You always have the right to tell your worker what you want. The CAS worker should listen and consider what you say to them, but you will not always be allowed to get what you want.
If you are taken to a place of safety, the judge can appoint the Office of the Children’s Lawyer (OCL) to be involved in your case. This means that you will either be given an OCL lawyer to represent your views and wishes; and/or that an OCL social worker will prepare a report for the judge on what is in your best interests.
The judge will consider what the OCL lawyer and/or OCL report says and then decide if you have to stay in CAS care or if you can go home. If you don’t want to be in CAS care, you can tell the judge the reasons you don’t want to be taken to a place of safety. Your lawyer can help you to talk to the judge in court or help you to write a letter to the judge.
If you asked the CAS to take you to a place of safety and they said no, you can ask a judge to make an Order for CAS to take you into care. You will need to go to court and explain why you need to be taken to a place of safety. If this is what you want to do you should contact a lawyer who deals with these types of cases for advice.
If you are taken out of your home, the CAS will make sure you are properly cared for and will pick one of these options for where you live:
You may stay in the place that CAS has chosen for you until the judge makes a decision in court about whether you should stay in care. Every case is different. Sometimes you will:
You should talk to your CAS worker and your lawyer to find out what is likely going to happen in your situation.
What will happen after you have been taken to a place of safety, whether there will be a court trial and what your role will be if there is a court trial.
It depends. There will not be a court case if:
There will be a court case if:
You have a right to have your views and wishes considered at every stage of this process.
Within 5 days of taking you to a place of safety, the CAS must start the court case and there will be a temporary decision made by a judge on where you will be placed. After the case starts, it can last for many months.
If you are 12 years or older, you have the right to be told in writing about the court case (called “a notice”) and a right to be in court when the judge is hearing your case. The only time that you are not allowed to get notice or go to court is if the judge decides that you will be emotionally hurt by going to court. If you want to go to court for your case, you should tell your CAS worker and your lawyer.
It depends. The first time your case goes to court the judge will decide whether or not to appoint the Office of the Children’s Lawyer (OCL) to represent your views and wishes. Sometimes you be given an OCL lawyer; and other times you will meet with a social worker from the OCL office and they will prepare a report to give to the judge about your case. If you are 12 years or older, the judge will probably give you a lawyer. If you are younger than 12 years old, you might still get a lawyer.
If you do have an OCL lawyer, their job is to listen to you, protect your rights, and help you participate in your court case. You should tell your lawyer anything that you want the judge to know about.
(x) Will my First Nations, Inuit or Métis community be involved in the case?
The Indigenous community(ies) that you self-identify with must be notified about the court case, even if you don’t live with one of them. The CAS has to ask your Indigenous or community(ies) about other ways to solve the safety concerns of CAS without going to court. If you still end up going to court, the judge must think about your culture, heritage and traditions and make a decision that helps to protect your cultural identity and connection to community. A representative of your Indigenous community can participate in the court case. If you want help getting your Indigenous community involved in your case, call Aboriginal Legal Services or Justice for Children and Youth.
These kinds of court cases are always held in private so that your privacy is protected. Only the people involved have a right to know what is happening in your case. Other than you and your lawyer, the people who can be in court include:
If there is a trial in your court case, it will not happen on the first day your case is in court. On the first court date, the CAS will give the judge a summary of why you were taken into care. The judge will decide where you should live until the next court date.
Before the next court date, the judge will ask the lawyers to get more information (or “evidence”) before making a final decision. The judge will tell everyone to come back to court on a date when all the information is ready. These types of court appearances can happen many times before your case is ready for trial because of the different steps outlined below.
Before a trial there are three types of meetings with a judge that can happen:
In some cases there can be mediation. The judge is not involved in a mediation. The person in charge is a mediator, who is trained in helping people to talk to each other about issues. The mediator will ask your parent and CAS what they want. You or your lawyer can also tell the mediator what you want. The mediator will see if everyone can agree about what should happen in your case.
(x) If you are First Nations, Inuk or Métis, the mediation can involve any special processes that your Indigenous community(ies) has for resolving these kinds of issues.
If you do not agree with what everyone else is suggesting, you must tell your lawyer so that they can try to work out a different solution.
If everyone agrees at mediation, then the lawyers will tell the judge. The judge will usually cancel the trial if everyone agrees.
An Assessment is a report on something that the judge wants to know. For example, the judge may want to know about the way your parents take care of you or how you are feeling emotionally. The person writing the report may ask you some questions. The judge will make sure that the person writing the report is qualified to write this kind of report. You generally have a right to see this report unless the judge feels it would harm you to read it. If you do not agree with something in the report, make sure you tell your lawyer.
A Plan of Care is a document that the CAS and parent(s) use to describe the services that CAS will give to you and your family, this will include where you will live. You have a right to express your views and wishes; and the judge must read this document before making a decision.
If there is a trial in your case, the trial will focus on two different things:
Speaking in court is called “testifying”. Usually you will not have to testify. Testifying can be very stressful, especially for children and young people. Judges usually don’t want children or young people to go through the stress of testifying.
Your lawyer can speak for you by telling the judge where you want to live, why you want to live there, and how you felt when you were living in your home.
The judge will make a decision based on the evidence in Court. The evidence will be about you, your parents, and your home. The judge will decide if your home is safe and your needs are being met. One example of the type of evidence the judge might look at is an assessment (as described in the previous section).
If the judge does not think you need protection, then the judge will let you go home.
If the judge thinks you need protection, then the judge will decide who should take care of you and where you should live. The judge will order one of these things:
If there is a Supervision Order, you may live at home with your parent or in a kinship placement.
If there is a Society Care Order or an Extended Society Care Order, you will usually live in either a foster home, a group home, or a special institution. These places are described in the beginning of this section.
The judge can decide that you can have visits with your family members, this includes your parents and siblings. This is called an “Access Order”.
In making their Access Order decisions, the judge must decide what is in your best interests and will consider whether the relationship between each person and you is beneficial and meaningful to you. If you are over 16, your consent is required for any Access Orders to be made.
If you are in Extended Society Care, then the judge will also consider whether the family relationships will make it hard for you to be adopted by another family.
What happens after a decision has been made about whether you stay in CAS care.
In some situations a new judge can look at your case to see if the first judge made the right decision – this is called an “appeal”. In most situations only the CAS or your parent are allowed to appeal. But in some situations you might also be allowed to appeal. You should talk to your lawyer to see what is allowed in your case.
If the judge makes a Supervision Order, or if the judge puts you in Society Care, then the judge will make the CAS come back to court at a later date to give the judge an update about your situation. After the update from CAS, the judge will decide if you still need protection and where you should live.
If you do not want to be in care anymore you can ask the judge for a “status review.” The judge will look at your situation again to see if anything has changed. If your home is now safe and your parent is able to take care of you properly, the judge can let you go home.
(x) If you are First Nations, Inuk or Métis, a representative from your Indigenous community(ies) must be told about the status review. The representative(s) can also participate in the status review.
JFCY's Childhood Arrivals and Support & Advocacy Program (CASA) provides services to young people who arrived in Canada as children and are living in Ontario without immigration status.
Street Youth Legal Services (SYLS) is a program that provides information and services for homeless youth between the ages of 16 - 25. These are some of the common issues that the SYLS lawyer is asked about.
