Office of the Ontario Ombudsman Assumes Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth Role

Today, the Office of the Ontario Ombudsman has assumed all the investigative functions of the Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth. The Ontario government explains that this “is a crucial step towards building a better child protection system. These changes, set out in the Restoring Trust, Transparency and Accountability Act, 2018 introduced last fall, will bring greater oversight and provide better support for children in care.”

“We want Ontario’s most vulnerable children and youth to thrive and be supported in reaching their potential,” said Lisa MacLeod, Minister of Children, Community and Social Services. “We must strengthen oversight and hold service providers accountable when young people are not getting the services they need.”

The media release explains that the Ombudsman’s office is now responsible for:

• investigations related to children and youth receiving services from children’s aid societies or residential licensees
• address complaints using the office’s early resolution and investigations mechanisms.

The Ombudsman must also be notified of the death or of serious bodily harm to children or youth who have received services from a children’s aid society.

Staff from the office of the Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth will be transferred to the Ombudsman’s office to help ensure quality service and appropriate resources for investigations.

Three youth roundtables will be created and report directly to the Minister.

Children and youth will be able to use the same telephone number to reach the Ombudsman that previously connected them to the Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth.