2024–2025 Services delivered: alternative dispute resolution
Component: child welfare - community and prevention supports
Legislation: Child, Youth and Family Services Act, 2017 (CYFSA)
Service objectives
To provide alternative dispute resolution (ADR) to society staff and families whose children are or may be in need of protection that will assist in resolving any issue related to the child or a plan for the child’s care; and/or prevent or reduce court involvement.
Service description
The intent of the ADR program is to improve outcomes for children who are or may be in need of protection and their families by offering a strengths-based, inclusive and collaborative approach to resolving child protection issues or disputes. It encourages the involvement and support of the family, extended family and the community in the planning and decision-making processes for children.
The use of ADR is set out in the Child, Youth and Family Services Act, 2017 as follows
- if a child is or may be in need of protection, a children’s aid society shall consider whether a prescribed method of ADR could assist in resolving any issue related to the child or a plan for the child’s care (section 17(1))
- As well, there are provisions in the Act for adjournment to allow for ADR to proceed
- the court, at any time during a proceeding, and with the consent of the parties, may adjourn the proceeding to permit the parties to utilize a prescribed method of ADR to attempt to resolve the issues in dispute (section 95)
- On applications to vary or terminate an openness order before or after an adoption, the court may, with the consent of the parties, adjourn the proceeding to permit the parties to utilize a prescribed method of ADR to attempt to resolve any disputes related to the proceeding (sections 198(8) and 207(9))
Program/service features
(The Program/services contracted by the ministry will reflect the following features)
- Further to Directive CW 005-06, the type of ADR provided must be one of the following methods
Child protection mediation (CPM)
- A process where child protection workers and the family (including the child where appropriate) and any other person putting forward or proposing to participate in a plan for the child, work together with the aid of a trained and impartial child protection mediator who has no decision-making power
- Must be facilitated by a child protection mediator who is on the provincial roster
Family group conferencing (FGC)
- A process that brings together the family (including the child where appropriate), the child’s extended family and community, child protection workers, and service providers to develop a plan that addresses the protection concerns identified
- Must be facilitated by a family group conferencing coordinator who is on the provincial roster
- Indigenous approaches to alternative dispute resolution (IAADR)
- Traditional methods of dispute resolution, including circle processes, which have been established by First Nations communities or Indigenous organizations
- Must be facilitated by a person who is recognized by the First Nations community with whom the child is affiliated or by an Indigenous organization, as qualified to engage in Indigenous Approaches to ADR, as set out in the policy directive
Other methods
- Must be assessed and approved by the executive director of the children’s aid society involved
- Must be facilitated by a person who meets all the qualifications outlined in the policy directive, including
- completion of a post-secondary degree or diploma in the social service or children’s services or equivalent
- experience in the social service or children’s services; and three satisfactory professional references
- All facilitators providing ADR services must be impartial with no decision-making power. Facilitators must comply with the applicable provisions of Ontario Regulation 155/18 under the Child, Youth and Family Services Act, 2017 and as it relates to confidentiality of and access to records and information, and have a satisfactory criminal record check completed within the last three years.
Program goals
Services will be
- effective and responsive to individual, family and community strengths and needs
- accountable to the individual, family and community
- sensitive to the social, linguistic and cultural diversity of families and communities, including Indigenous and Francophone families and communities
- staffed by individuals with the appropriate range of skills and abilities necessary to respond effectively to the needs of adults, children and their families
- provided by facilitators who have the experience and qualifications as outlined in the ministry policy directive
- based on the individual's assessed needs, preferences and available individual, agency, community and contracted ministry resources
Ministry expectations
The transfer payment recipient will coordinate access and payment to ADR facilitators who have the experience and qualifications for delivering a prescribed method of ADR as set out in the policy directive. The transfer payment recipient will
- Have the organizational infrastructure and capacity to coordinate and/or deliver ADR services
- Establish a process to expedite payment to individuals or other entities providing direct ADR services
- Establish a process for and ensure consistent practices in working with societies and the office of the Children’s Lawyer
- Provide information and promote the full spectrum of ADR services available in the community to societies and to families and children involved with societies
- Participate in local and provincial forums, including community consultations and decision-making processes, to inform how best to deliver ADR services in the community; and
- Where applicable, record and track the use of ADR services as set out in the ministry’s reporting requirements in the policy directive
Reporting requirements
- The transfer payment recipient is expected to monitor and evaluate program performance and to confirm that program objectives and deliverables are being met. On an interim and final basis, the transfer payment recipient will submit reports on financial and service data through Transfer Payment Ontario (TPON)
- The transfer payment recipient will provide a narrative report for the program to the ministry as part of their final report, using the template provided by the ministry.
- The following service data will be reported on at an interim and final basis in TPON. Please refer to your final agreement for report back due dates and targets.
Service Data Name | Definition |
---|---|
# of new case post society CPM | Number of new case referrals post society court involvement for Child Protection Mediation (CPM) |
# of new case post society IAADR | Number of new case referrals post society court involvement for Indigenous Approaches to ADR (IAADR) |
# of new case post society Other | Number of new case referrals post society court involvement for other types of ADR |
# of new case pre society IAADR | Number of new case referrals pre society court involvement for Indigenous Approaches to ADR (IAADR) |
# of new case pre society other | Number of new case referrals pre society court involvement for other types of ADR |
# of new case pre society for CPM | Number of new case referrals pre society court involvement for Child Protection Mediation (CPM) |
# of new case for CPM for youth leaving care | Number of new case referrals for Child Protection Mediation (CPM) to support youth leaving care |
# of new case pre society for FGC | Number of new case referrals pre society court involvement for Family Group Conferencing (FGC) |
# of new case for TPC for Youth leaving care | Number of new case referrals for transitional planning conference (TPC) to support youth leaving care |
# of new case for IAADR for youth leaving care | Number of new case referrals for Indigenous Approaches to ADR (IAADR) to support youth leaving care |
# of children 0-5 | Number of children served ages 0-5. |
# of children 0-5: ADR completed full resolution | Number of children served ages 0-5 where a referral reached full resolution |
# of children 0-5: ADR completed no resolution | Number of children served ages 0-5 where a referral reached no resolution |
# of children 0-5: ADR completed partial resolution | Number of children served ages 0-5 where a referral reached partial resolution |
# of children 16+ | Number of children served ages 16+ |
# of children 16+: ADR completed full resolution | Number of children served ages 16+ where a referral reached full resolution |
# of children 16+: ADR completed no resolution | Number of children served ages 16+ where a referral reached no resolution |
# of children 16+: ADR completed partial resolution | Number of children served ages 16+ where a referral reached partial resolution |
# of children 6-15 | Number of children served ages 6-15 |
# of children 6-15: ADR completed full resolution | Number of children served ages 6-15 where a referral reached full resolution |
# of children 6-15: ADR completed no resolution | Number of children served ages 6-15 where a referral reached no resolution |
# of children 15-18; ADR completed for YLC | Number of children served ages 15-18 where a referral resulted in a completed conference to support formal transition planning for youth leaving care |
# of youth 19-22; ADR completed for YLC | Number of youth served ages 19-22 where a referral resulted in a completed conference to support formal transition planning for youth leaving care |
# of new referrals | Number of new referrals made to the program for ADR (ADR includes CPM, FGC, TPC, IAADR) |
# of referral terminated by society prior to service initiation | Number of referrals terminated by the society (when the society feels ADR or method is no longer appropriate) prior to service initiation |
# of referrals terminated by ADR practitioner following service initiation | Number of referrals terminated by ADR practitioner (if the practitioner deems ADR to be not appropriate) following service initiation |
# of referrals terminated by ADR practitioner prior to service initiation | Number of referrals terminated by ADR practitioner (if the practitioner deems ADR to be not appropriate) prior to service initiation |
# of referrals terminated by family following service initiation | Number of referrals terminated by family (when the family chooses to not move forward) following service initiation |
# of referrals terminated by society following service initiation | Number of referrals terminated by the society (when the society feels ADR or method is no longer appropriate) following service initiation |
# of referrals terminated following service initiation | Number of referrals terminated following service initiation. Following ADR referral, and following the society Intake Meeting, and some intervention but before the ADR meeting, the referral is ended |
# of referral terminated by family prior to service initiation | Number of referrals terminated by family (when the family chooses to not move forward) prior to service initiation |
# of referral terminated full resolution | Number of terminated referrals that reached full resolution of issues achieved |
# of referral terminated no resolution | Number of terminated referrals that reached no resolution of issues |
# of referral terminated partial resolution | Number of terminated referrals that reached partial resolution of issues achieved |
# of referral terminated prior to service initiation | Number of referrals terminated prior to service initiation. Following ADR referral, but prior to the society Intake Meeting, the referral is ended |
# of referrals carried over | Number of referrals carried forward from the previous year |
# of referrals completed following meeting | Number of referrals completed following ADR meeting. Referral initiated and intervention results in completed ADR meeting |
# of referrals completed following meeting full resolution | Number of referrals completed following ADR meeting that achieved full resolution |
# of referrals completed following meeting no resolution | Number of referrals completed following ADR meeting that resulted in no resolution of issues |
# of referrals completed following meeting partial resolution | Number of referrals completed following ADR meeting that achieved partial resolution of issues |
# of referrals completed resolved other | Number of completed referrals involving the resolution issues involving “other”. |
# of referrals completed resolved VYSA | Number of completed referrals involving the resolution of issues related to a Voluntary Youth Service Agreement (VYSA). |
# of referrals completed resolved access | Number of completed referrals involving the resolution of access issues. |
# of referrals completed resolved communication | Number of completed referrals involving the resolution of issues related to poor communication between worker and parents. |
# of referrals completed resolved extended society care | Number of completed referrals involving the resolution of issues related to extended society care orders/reviews. |
# of referrals completed resolved long term care | Number of completed referrals involving the resolution of long term care issues. |
# of referrals completed resolved openness | Number of completed referrals involving the resolution of issues related to openness. |
# of referrals completed resolved parent/teen | Number of completed referrals involving the resolution of parent/teen conflict issues |
# of referrals completed resolved parenting plans | Number of completed referrals involving the resolution of conflict with creating parenting plans. |
# of referrals completed resolved placement | Number of completed referrals involving the resolution of placement issues. |
# of referrals completed resolved society/parent | Number of completed referrals involving the resolution of foster parents/society/parent issues. |
# of referrals completed resolved supervision orders | Number of completed referrals involving the resolution of issues related to supervision orders. |
# of referrals completed resolved temp care agreement | Number of completed referrals involving the resolution of issues related to the expiration of a temporary care agreement |
# of referrals completed resolved time in care | Number of completed referrals involving the resolution of issues related to the length of time in care and conditions for return. |
# of referrals completed resolved youth transitioning out of care | Number of completed referrals involving the resolution of issues related to youth transitioning out of care. |
# of new case post society FGC | Number of new case referrals post society court involvement for Family Group Conferencing (FGC) |
Alternative Dispute Resolution: Ministry-funded agency expenditures | Total ministry-funded expenses for the transfer payment recipient to administer and/or deliver this service in the reporting year (cumulative). |