Post by watchdog on Jan 17, 2008 16:53:07 GMT -5
Ontario CAS workers say red tape hurting children
Toronto - Workers in Children’s Aid Societies (CAS) across Ontario are asking the province to cut their workload, reduce red tape and make it easier to do their basic job of helping children.
”The Harris government has created a serious crisis in the CAS sector,” says Leah Casselman, president of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU/NUPGE).
“It’s up to the government to meet with the unions and the employers now and straighten this mess out.”
A coalition including OPSEU and Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) members working at CAS offices across Ontario will be holding events Oct. 26 as part of a campaign to bring attention to severe workload issues faced by child welfare workers in Ontario.
“Sixty to seventy per cent of our work time is tied up with paperwork and red tape”, said Linda Aho, an employee of the Sudbury CAS and chair of OPSEU’s CAS sector.
“We want to spend our time helping children, but we can’t. There are simply not enough workers to do the work there is to do. It is not simply a question of more money. Few people want to go into this field of work right now because the workload is just so horrendous,” Aho said.
$50 million deficit
Collectively, the 54 Children’s Aid Societies across Ontario have a deficit of more than $50 million, and the government is forcing CAS employers to address this shortfall themselves. The workers are asking for the government to:
• Re-Instate the Comprehensive Review of the Funding Formula that was promised three years ago when the Tories implemented it.
• Work with the Employers and the Unions to develop realistic workload guidelines, as was recommended by the Coroners’ Inquests.
Toronto - Workers in Children’s Aid Societies (CAS) across Ontario are asking the province to cut their workload, reduce red tape and make it easier to do their basic job of helping children.
”The Harris government has created a serious crisis in the CAS sector,” says Leah Casselman, president of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU/NUPGE).
“It’s up to the government to meet with the unions and the employers now and straighten this mess out.”
A coalition including OPSEU and Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) members working at CAS offices across Ontario will be holding events Oct. 26 as part of a campaign to bring attention to severe workload issues faced by child welfare workers in Ontario.
“Sixty to seventy per cent of our work time is tied up with paperwork and red tape”, said Linda Aho, an employee of the Sudbury CAS and chair of OPSEU’s CAS sector.
“We want to spend our time helping children, but we can’t. There are simply not enough workers to do the work there is to do. It is not simply a question of more money. Few people want to go into this field of work right now because the workload is just so horrendous,” Aho said.
$50 million deficit
Collectively, the 54 Children’s Aid Societies across Ontario have a deficit of more than $50 million, and the government is forcing CAS employers to address this shortfall themselves. The workers are asking for the government to:
• Re-Instate the Comprehensive Review of the Funding Formula that was promised three years ago when the Tories implemented it.
• Work with the Employers and the Unions to develop realistic workload guidelines, as was recommended by the Coroners’ Inquests.