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  • CAS and "neglect"

    This is sort of a followup to a previous thread on the situation: http://www.ottawadivorce.com/forum/f...unknown-12343/

    Thanks to excellent advice and very practical suggestions received from forum members, the NCP has been able to make some headway with regards with to building a proper case and getting the court process started.

    Question about CAS and their mandate/role: On their website, it says that a CAS investigates whether abuse or neglect has occured and then takes appropriate action. How would "neglect" that warrants CAS involvement be defined?

    Say a child has been doing very poorly in school, and testing has revealed that they he/she has fallen very far behind established developmental milestones for their age - for example, a 10 year old who still can't speak intelligibly and has poor reading and comprehensive ability/skill for their age. If the NCP suspects that the main reason behind such is that the CP has not been parenting the child (ie. assisting the child with recommended home programs, allowing the television, grandparents to "raise" the child, preventing the child from participating in enrichment programs etc.) and that the child direly needs appropriate help and assistance or will continue to fall further behind, is this a situation that the CAS can help with in terms of investigating and intervening to ensure that the child gets the help he/she needs?

  • #2
    CAS helping, yes.

    CAS intervening for access/custody, no - I don't think so yet.

    A couple school years in a row where these issues are known and actively being addressed with CAS' support may just lead there. But the other side will always be given a chance to 'right the ship'.

    Comment


    • #3
      Sounds more like a learning disability to me. At ten a child should have no issues putting sentences together, even without parental intervention. Just being around other kids, teachers and even watching TV would be influential, in that regard. You might consider having a psychologist evaluation done to check for other issues, rather than assume it is a lack of parenting. If you go through the while CAS ordeal and find out later that it is a learning disability then the time wasted to do that could have been better spent getting the kid some help.

      Comment


      • #4
        Thanks Otis and Blink, good points made. The assessment reports do not indicate a learning disability - they don't even mention it as a possibility. The NCP is planning to consult additional professionals to get a better understanding of the issue, but reading through the assessments and discussions with the school point to the child not getting the help, attention and consistency he/she needs in the home environment right now. The NCP is just trying to understand all the available options at this point before deciding on an appropriate course of action.

        Comment


        • #5
          The first thing you should do in a situation like this is imagine that the child is in an intact family with two parents.

          Would the CAS get involved if the child were doing poorly in school and watching too much tv?

          I think not, and so, how do you expect to justify the CAS involvement just because the child has separated parents?

          What is your intent here? It seems you want the CAS to do your work for you, make a pronouncment that the other parent is a bad parent, and take away custody and access.

          That isn't a realistic expectation.

          What you can do is work with the school and get assessments done. Get documentation that the child is fully capable of performing at the level of their peers, but is unable to do so because of lack of support in the home.

          Good luck getting a firm assertion of this. But if you do, then use it to present to the court an application based on the child's best interest for a change in custody and access.

          Comment


          • #6
            If a child is in an intact home and experiencing difficulties in their development and school work, then both parents would (presumably) work together with the school and professionals to help the child.

            And you are right, just because parents are separated does not mean that they cannot cooperate and work together for the best interests of the child.

            However, when one parent refuses to see or admit that the child needs certain types of assistance, is unwilling or unable to permit others to do so nor take on the responsibility, and said parent has sole custody and has every intention of "shutting out" the NCP's attempts to learn about/understand the child's situation and support the child in whatever way possible ... what can the NCP do?

            If it takes raising a flag with an organization like the CAS so that some kind of independant assessment can be made of what kind of home environement the child is living in and what kind of parenting the child is receiving ... well, that has to be better than pushing for assessments and evaluations by the school that the CP won't consent to or simply shrugging shoulders and walking away. As long as the child's difficulties and need for assistance is brought to light and some kind of appropriate support system is put in place, a CAS investigation does not necessarily have to result in taking custody away from the CP or any dramatic change in access ... in my opinion anyway.

            So let's say the NCP rules CAS out for now. What should the NCP do at this point to support the child/help the school support the child, with a CP that's hell-bent on resisting/refusing any involvement from the NCP?

            Comment


            • #7
              I'm not denying you have a point.

              I am saying that bringing in outside services mean you have to present a need that is within their frame of reference.

              I am sure that any CAS worker you told your story to would undertand what you are going through, but you have to be within their perameters of engagement.

              To answer your question, and from experience, you have to work with the school system, have an assessment by the teacher, work with the special needs staff, have it all documented.

              If you want to change some level of custody and access because the other parent is deficient, I'm not saying it isn't true, but I'm saying you need third party documentation. You'll potentially get that working with the school system.

              If the school system is "hellbent" on not working with the NCP, then you have to establish parenting rights with the board. School secretaries are not experts in family law. I've been through that. You have rights as an NCP, but it can be a bugger to assert them. You have to establish your rights with the Board, have that trickle down to the Principal and VP, get them onside (they are generally VERY supportive of getting a problem student to be a "normal" student, they have no reason to work against you) and then work with them through the teacher and special needs support teachers. It can happen. It can take most of the year. It's work. I know. All you can do is your best.

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by Mess View Post

                I am saying that bringing in outside services mean you have to present a need that is within their frame of reference.

                I am sure that any CAS worker you told your story to would undertand what you are going through, but you have to be within their perameters of engagement.
                Understood and agreed. The NCP would like to try to understand what constitutes CAS' frame of reference and parameters of engagement.

                Working with the school system is definitely going to be a priority for the NCP, because, like you pointed out, it's one of the best ways to get the much needed third party documentation. It's also a way to get the child the support needed.

                Again, the NCP just wants to know all of the options available so that the wheels can be set in motion on all these different fronts.

                Comment


                • #9
                  I'm no expert, but I agree w/Blink that it does sound more like a learning disabilty. It could be dyslexia, it could be any number of things. Addressing this at the school level would be a start. They can arrange for assessments to be done to determine whether or not the child should be "identified" as having "x" learning disability/difficulty. Often, a TA (teacher's assistant) will be brought into the classroom to work closely w/the child.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Thanks Hadenough. The assessments already done are clear, it's definitelty not a learning disability. There will be additional evaluations done to be 110% certain, but the situation points overwhelming in the direction to neglect right now rather than any deficiency in the child's learning ability.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Be very VERY careful about tossing accusations of neglect.

                      CAS will intervene on custody/access when the child is in danger. Not doing well in school, not being made to do their home, and being allowed to watch TV/etc are NOT protection issues.

                      If the child is not being fed, is being beaten, is not being given medically necessary care (ie. a kid with asthma being denied their inhaler or something) THEN CAS will get involved on custody issues.

                      Other than that, CAS may offer "assistance" BUT you need to be aware that there are 3? stages of CAS assistance.

                      Stage 1: Voluntary involvement.
                      Stage 2: Court ORDERED involvement
                      Stage 3: Apprehension/Placement

                      Stage 1 is what 95+% of CAS cases would be. They get assessed a "risk" factor that indicates priority. Even "high risk" cases in this case warrant at minimum 1 SCHEDULED visit/month. These are generally closed after 1-6 months. Since it's VOLUNTARY involvement, CAS has no ability to insist on changes. They are there to monitor/guide/offer help. Nothing more.

                      Stage 2 is VERY difficult for CAS to get. This is where the party refuses CAS involvement, and CAS is concerned AND HAS ENOUGH EVIDENCE to get a court order for their involvement.

                      Stage 3 is if the children are placed at risk. This is the "not being fed/beaten/life put at risk" stage. Even then, IF CAS apprehends a child, they MUST get before a judge within 5 days to have their involvement ratified. They are mandated to place the children with family as a first preference, so if you know your ex's household is involved with CAS, you want to make sure that her worker has YOUR contact information.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        NBDad, thanks for the outline, very helpful info!!

                        There won't be any accusations "tossed around" yet. There still needs to be more information gathered to better understand the situation. NCP is just trying to understand options (such as CAS) and possible "ramifications" that of each option/ path of action.

                        Comment

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