Latest news with #MichaelParsa
Global News
22-05-2025
- Health
- Global News
Number of kids who died under Ontario's care network reaches new high
A total of 134 children died under the umbrella of Ontario's care network in 2023, according to new data, the highest number since the provincial government began consolidating and tracking the figures. Internal data obtained by Global News using freedom of information laws summarizes and records the number of children who died in care, with an open social work file or a case that had closed within 12 months. Over the three years, between 2020 and 2022, an average of 118 kids were recorded to have died. The number equated to roughly one child every three days. Now, the most recent figures show the number has risen. In 2023, there were 134 deaths for children under Ontario's care network, compared to 121 in 2022, 129 in 2021 and 104 in 2021. Story continues below advertisement The Ford government began tracking the data in its current configuration in 2020. 'It is very concerning,' Ontario Liberal MPP John Fraser told Global News. 'These children are our responsibility, our government's responsibility — that's what we do when someone comes into care, what we used to call a ward of the Crown. It's our duty to make sure that they're safe.' The government data breaks down the ages of the 134 children who died and where they were in the system. Among them, it shows 37 infants aged two months to one year associated with the care network died, along with 35 teenagers and 18 toddlers. Only six of the deaths were for children actively in the care of an agency, and the vast majority — 92 — had an open child protection file. Other deaths related to children who had their child protection file closed within the past 12 months. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy The government did not respond to questions from Global News, nor did it acknowledge a request for an interview with Michael Parsa, Minister of Children, Community and Social Services. Parsa previously called similar data a 'profound tragedy' and said his government would do 'everything we can' to ensure children have support. He did not provide a timeline or target to reduce the figures. Story continues below advertisement The government has been tracking the number of children who have died over the past four years. Global News Fraser said the most concerning part of the data was the number of cases recorded where the cause of death remains unknown. In 2023, 32 per cent of recorded deaths for children associated with care were unknown. Medical deaths were the next largest cause at 25 per cent, followed by accidental at 16 per cent. While the number of unknown deaths is lower in previous years, roughly one-third of all deaths in 2020, 2021 and 2022 were listed as undetermined. 'How do we have such a high number of undetermined reasons?' Fraser said. 'That number seems really high, it's something you have to dive into and look at. You imagine that's someone's child, would that parent be satisfied with an undetermined conclusion? Well, these children, we've said their our children now as a government.' Story continues below advertisement The data captures all deaths, from accidents, suicides or homicides to medical situations. It includes times where neglect could be a factor, as well as situations like car accidents or medical episodes. The government report said that 44 per cent of the deaths in 2022 and 2023 were investigated by Ontario's chief coroner. 1:27 Ontario minister quizzed on high number of deaths for kids associated with care Irwin Elman, who worked as Ontario's advocate for children and youth before the office was dissolved in 2019, previously said tracking the data had already been difficult. 'There is a grey area of a number, but the bottom line for me, when I think about it, was the children,' he said last September. 'They're children who are being cared for, whose responsibility for their welfare was a system we created in Ontario… to make sure that they're loved, cared for, nurtured, have a good life.' Story continues below advertisement The government is in the midst of financially-focused audits of Ontario's children's aid societies. That audit is not directly related to the deaths of children in care but instead reports of waste in the sector. When it announced them, the government pointed out that the number of kids living in care has declined, but the costs have increased. The audits are pencilled in to be completed by the start of summer. Fraser suggested an all-party approach should be taken to the issue of children dying under the care network — calling on the government to collaborate and strike a committee. 'Select committees are not always the solution to everything, but it's a start, it's a beginning,' he said. 'We've had them before, and they point governments in the right direction. I think it is reasonable to say this is too much, and we need to know why this is happening.'
CTV News
16-05-2025
- Health
- CTV News
Ontario boosts autism budget to $779M, advocates question where money is going
Children, Community and Social Services Minister Michael Parsa attends Question Period at Queen's Park in Toronto on Tuesday, May 13, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston TORONTO — Ontario is increasing funding for its autism program to $779 million this year, the government announced in this week's budget, but advocates say it's not yet clear exactly where that money will go. Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy's budget, tabled Thursday, contains two lines on the Ontario Autism Program, including touting the new funding. Children, Community and Social Services Minister Michael Parsa's office has not yet offered details on how the money will be used, but the Ontario Autism Coalition fears it will not all go toward therapy for children. "We're very happy about any increase to the budget," said coalition president Alina Cameron. "It's very welcome and it's needed. But the way it's laid out, it just raises a lot more questions than answers for us." Last year's budget for the program was about $720 million, but Cameron said previous boosts of about $60 million don't seem to have made a huge difference in the wait list. Figures obtained by the autism coalition through a freedom-of-information request show that as of early February, nearly 80,000 children and youth were registered to seek services through the program, but only about 17,650 were in an active agreement for core therapy funds. "The rate of registration is higher than the rate of entry to core clinical services," Cameron said. "We don't really see a big change of services at the user end, based upon these yearly increases. They often just get absorbed into system costs, rather than reaching families." Parsa recently touted in the legislature that more than 45,000 families are receiving "multiple services and supports." The Ontario Autism Program offers an entry-to-school program, urgent response services and some family services, but families often access those as they wait for core clinical services funding, which they can use to pay for key therapy such as applied behaviour analysis, speech-language pathology and occupational therapy. Most families want core services and they are now waiting more than five years from the time they register, Cameron said. "Early intervention is effectively dead in Ontario at this point," she said. NDP autism critic Alexa Gilmour says she wonders how much of the new funding is going to direct supports, since the government has previously indicated the program is adding more staff. "We don't know how much is going to core services, how much is going to administration," she said. "We do know that they're adding more staffing, but the wait list has ballooned." Aside from the long wait to qualify for government funding, Gilmour said, families are reporting difficulty finding available providers even once they have money in hand. "I think that (money) is a drop in the bucket that doesn't close the gap," she said. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 16, 2025. Allison Jones, The Canadian Press
Winnipeg Free Press
16-05-2025
- Health
- Winnipeg Free Press
Ontario boosts autism budget to $779M, advocates question where money is going
TORONTO – Ontario's budget says it is increasing funding for the autism program to $779 million this year, but advocates say it's not yet clear exactly where that money will go. Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy's budget, tabled Thursday, contains two lines on the Ontario Autism Program, including touting the new funding. Children, Community and Social Services Minister Michael Parsa's office has not yet offered details on how the money will be used, but the Ontario Autism Coalition fears it will not all go toward therapy for children. Last year's budget for the program was about $720 million, and autism coalition president Alina Cameron says while any increase in funding is welcome, previous boosts of about $60 million don't seem to have made a huge difference in the wait list. Figures obtained by the autism coalition through a freedom-of-information request show that as of early February, nearly 80,000 children and youth were registered to seek services through the program, but only about 20,000 had signed agreements to get core therapy funds. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. NDP autism critic Alexa Gilmour says she wonders how much of the new funding is going to direct supports and how much is going toward administration, since the government has previously indicated the program is adding more staff. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 16, 2025.
