Right to complain

Right to complain

October 31, 2019

31 October 2019

When a woman complained to us about how she and her family were treated by a children’s aid society, we first advised her to contact her caseworker and raise the issue through the society’s internal process.

Issue: Children’s aid society; Complaint process

When a woman complained to us about how she and her family were treated by a children’s aid society, we first advised her to contact her caseworker and raise the issue through the society’s internal process. She returned in frustration, saying the caseworker told her the agency has a three-step complaint process and would not give her the requisite form.

Our staff spoke with the caseworker and explained that the law provides complainants the right to initiate a formal complaint at any time, without having to go through any other steps. The woman was contacted by the director of the agency, and was able to pursue her complaint.

Learn more about the Children and Youth Unit which answers questions and takes complaints about child protection services.
Read about how we helped other people in our Selected cases.