Post by Dean Robinson on May 15, 2008 9:23:34 GMT -5
Doing the right thing shouldn't be against the law.
When a 14-year-old girl goes missing and is believed to be in danger, the executive director of the Children's Aid Society shouldn't have to go out on a legal limb to try to find her. Everyone -- the CAS, the police, the media and the law itself -- should be working together to bring her home safe and sound.
But that's not the way the ridiculously inflexible Child and Family Services Act works.
Let's start with the girl.
She is in placement with the CAS. Looks even younger than she is. Likes to hang out on Barton Street and downtown. Gravitates toward "older men" and the "drug culture."
She ran away from a Hamilton home in May. Was on the run for nearly six weeks before Hamilton police issued a media release asking for the public's help to locate her. It included a picture, a description and her name.
There was no mention of her being in care of the CAS.
She was found and moved into a new home in Halton. She ran away again July 18.
This time, police didn't issue a release. It was Halton Police Service's case this time and they didn't ask for the public's help. Hamilton police were actively searching for the teen, since she was likely back in her familiar territory, but this service couldn't issue a media release because technically the case wasn't theirs.
So last Thursday -- after 10 days of futile searching -- Hamilton CAS executive director, Dominic Verticchio, issued his own press release. It included the girl's name, her photo, a description and these words: "The society is worried about her safety and well-being."
Indeed, it was. So much so that Verticchio was putting himself in legal jeopardy by faxing out his one-page plea for help.
He was breaking the law.
"It does fall on my shoulders," he says of that weighty responsibility.
The Ministry of Children and Youth Services wasn't going to take the fall for this. Verticchio had contacted the ministry earlier and told them he wanted to publicly identify the girl. The official response to his request was that he was doing so without the ministry's permission.
There is no provision in the Child and Family Services Act that allows a CAS to disclose information about a child in care. Not even in an emergency.
He did it anyway.
Verticchio was genuinely and legitimately worried that something terrible would happen to this girl. She had demonstrated before that she is likely to put herself in what he calls "high risk situations."
Verticchio recalls doing this only once before, about a year ago, for a 16-year-old runaway.
"Both times we have always been working with the police. Filed a missing-person report. We do it when we believe the risk is so great we need the public's help. I hoped by asking for the public's help it would expedite things."
On Saturday -- less than 48 hours after Verticchio broke the law and sent out his media release -- the girl was found. Unharmed. On the streets of Hamilton. Thanks to tips generated by the media coverage.
So far, nobody has taken Verticchio to task for breaking the law. But they could. The ministry, the parents, even the girl herself could have the CAS executive director charged with breaching the act. No matter what his intentions. No matter the greater good.
There is something seriously wrong here.
Under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, there is a provision that allows the publication ban on youths to be temporarily lifted by a judge under special and extreme circumstances. It happened here just recently when a 16-year-old went into hiding after an arrest warrant was issued for him for first-degree murder. His name and picture were on The Spectator's front page and all over the other news media. Within 48 hours, he turned himself in.
The same legal mechanism should be available under the Child and Family Services Act. So that Children's Aid Society's can do what they are supposed to do and protect kids from harm without fearing the long -- and in this case overreaching -- arm of the law.
When a 14-year-old girl goes missing and is believed to be in danger, the executive director of the Children's Aid Society shouldn't have to go out on a legal limb to try to find her. Everyone -- the CAS, the police, the media and the law itself -- should be working together to bring her home safe and sound.
But that's not the way the ridiculously inflexible Child and Family Services Act works.
Let's start with the girl.
She is in placement with the CAS. Looks even younger than she is. Likes to hang out on Barton Street and downtown. Gravitates toward "older men" and the "drug culture."
She ran away from a Hamilton home in May. Was on the run for nearly six weeks before Hamilton police issued a media release asking for the public's help to locate her. It included a picture, a description and her name.
There was no mention of her being in care of the CAS.
She was found and moved into a new home in Halton. She ran away again July 18.
This time, police didn't issue a release. It was Halton Police Service's case this time and they didn't ask for the public's help. Hamilton police were actively searching for the teen, since she was likely back in her familiar territory, but this service couldn't issue a media release because technically the case wasn't theirs.
So last Thursday -- after 10 days of futile searching -- Hamilton CAS executive director, Dominic Verticchio, issued his own press release. It included the girl's name, her photo, a description and these words: "The society is worried about her safety and well-being."
Indeed, it was. So much so that Verticchio was putting himself in legal jeopardy by faxing out his one-page plea for help.
He was breaking the law.
"It does fall on my shoulders," he says of that weighty responsibility.
The Ministry of Children and Youth Services wasn't going to take the fall for this. Verticchio had contacted the ministry earlier and told them he wanted to publicly identify the girl. The official response to his request was that he was doing so without the ministry's permission.
There is no provision in the Child and Family Services Act that allows a CAS to disclose information about a child in care. Not even in an emergency.
He did it anyway.
Verticchio was genuinely and legitimately worried that something terrible would happen to this girl. She had demonstrated before that she is likely to put herself in what he calls "high risk situations."
Verticchio recalls doing this only once before, about a year ago, for a 16-year-old runaway.
"Both times we have always been working with the police. Filed a missing-person report. We do it when we believe the risk is so great we need the public's help. I hoped by asking for the public's help it would expedite things."
On Saturday -- less than 48 hours after Verticchio broke the law and sent out his media release -- the girl was found. Unharmed. On the streets of Hamilton. Thanks to tips generated by the media coverage.
So far, nobody has taken Verticchio to task for breaking the law. But they could. The ministry, the parents, even the girl herself could have the CAS executive director charged with breaching the act. No matter what his intentions. No matter the greater good.
There is something seriously wrong here.
Under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, there is a provision that allows the publication ban on youths to be temporarily lifted by a judge under special and extreme circumstances. It happened here just recently when a 16-year-old went into hiding after an arrest warrant was issued for him for first-degree murder. His name and picture were on The Spectator's front page and all over the other news media. Within 48 hours, he turned himself in.
The same legal mechanism should be available under the Child and Family Services Act. So that Children's Aid Society's can do what they are supposed to do and protect kids from harm without fearing the long -- and in this case overreaching -- arm of the law.