| Ontario Works | Effective Date: March 1, 2022 |
| Topic: Introduction to Ontario Works | Replaces: July 1, 2009 |
| Subject: Children in Need of Protection | Policy No. H.1.5. |
Authority: Child, Youth and Family Services Act, 2017
Duty to report child in need of protection (CYFSA s.125)
125 (1) Despite the provisions of any other Act, if a person, including a person who performs professional or official duties with respect to children, has reasonable grounds to suspect one of the following, the person shall immediately report the suspicion and the information on which it is based to a society:
If you suspect one of the following, you shall forthwith report the suspicion and the information on which it is based to a Children’s Aid Society.
1. The child has suffered physical harm, inflicted by the person having charge of the child or caused by or resulting from that person’s
i. failure to adequately care for, provide for, supervise or protect the child, or
ii. pattern of neglect in caring for, providing for, supervising or protecting the child.
2. There is a risk that the child is likely to suffer physical harm inflicted by the person having charge of the child or caused by or resulting from that person’s,
i. failure to adequately care for, provide for, supervise or protect the child, or
ii. pattern of neglect in caring for, providing for, supervising or protecting the child.
3. The child has been sexually molested or sexually exploited, by the person having charge of the child or by another person where the person having charge of the child knows or should know of the possibility of sexual molestation or sexual exploitation and fails to protect the child.
4. There is a risk that the child is likely to be sexually exploited as described in paragraph 3.
5. The child requires medical treatment to cure, prevent or alleviate physical harm or suffering and the child’s parent or the person having charge of the child does not provide, or refuses, or is unavailable or unable to consent to, the treatment.
6. The child has suffered emotional harm, demonstrated by serious,
i. anxiety,
ii. depression,
iii. withdrawal,
iv. self-destructive or aggressive behaviour, or
v. delayed development
and there are reasonable grounds to believe that the emotional harm suffered by the child results from the actions, failure to act or pattern of neglect on the part of the child’s parent or the person having charge of the child.
7. The child has suffered emotional harm of the kind described in subparagraph i, ii, iii, iv or v of paragraph 6 and the child’s parent or the person having charge of the child does not provide or refuses or is unavailable or unable to consent to, services or treatment to remedy or alleviate the harm.
8. There is a risk that the child is likely to suffer emotional harm of the kind described in subparagraph i, ii, iii, iv or v of paragraph 6 resulting from the actions, failure to act or pattern of neglect on the part of the child’s parent or the person having charge of the child.
9. There is a risk that the child is likely to suffer emotional harm of the kind described in subparagraph i, ii, iii, iv or v of paragraph 6 and that the child’s parent or the person having charge of the child does not provide, or refuses or is unavailable or unable to consent to, services or treatment to prevent the harm.
10. The child suffers from a mental, emotional, or developmental condition that, if not remedied, could seriously impair the child’s development and the child’s parent or the person having charge of the child does not provide, or refuses or is unavailable or unable to consent to, treatment to remedy or alleviate the condition.
11. The child has been abandoned, the child’s parent has died or is unavailable to exercise his or her custodial rights over the child and has not made adequate provision for the child’s care and custody or the child is in a residential placement and the parent refuses or is unable or unwilling to resume the child’s care and custody.
12. The child is less than 12 years old and has killed or seriously injured another person or caused serious damage to another person’s property, and services or treatment are necessary to prevent a recurrence and the child’s parent or the person having charge of the child does not provide or refuses or is unavailable or unable to consent to, those services or treatment.
13. The child is less than 12 years old and has on more than one occasion injured another person or caused loss or damage to another person’s property, with the encouragement of the person having charge of the child or because of that person’s failure or inability to supervise the child adequately.
(2) Ongoing duty to report
A person who has additional reasonable grounds to suspect one of the matters set out in subsection (1) shall make a further report under subsection (1) even if the person has made previous reports with respect to the same child.
(3) Person must report directly
A person who has a duty to report a matter under subsection (1) or (2) shall make the report directly to the society and shall not rely on any other person to report on the person’s behalf
(4) Duty to report does not apply to older children
Subsections (1) and (2) do not apply in respect of a child who is 16 or 17, but a person may make a report under subsection (1) or (2) in respect of a child who is 16 or 17 if either a circumstance or condition described in paragraphs 1 to 11 of subsection (1) or a prescribed circumstance or condition exists.
(5) Offence
A person referred to in subsection (6) is guilty of an offence if,
(a) the person contravenes subsection (1) or (2) by not reporting a suspicion; and
(b) the information on which it was based was obtained in the course of the person’s professional or official duties
(6) Professionals and officials
Subsection (5) applies to every person who performs professional or official duties with respect to children including,
(a) a health care professional, including a physician, nurse, dentist, pharmacist and psychologist;
(b) a teacher, person appointed to a position designated by a board of education as requiring an early childhood educator, school principal, social worker, family counsellor, youth and recreation worker, and operator or employee of a child care centre or home child care agency or provider of licensed child care within the meaning of the Child Care and Early Years Act, 2014;
(c) a religious official;
(d) a mediator and an arbitrator;
(e) a peace officer and a coroner;
(f) a lawyer; and
(g) a service provider and an employee of a service provider.
(9) Penalty
A person convicted of an offence under subsection (5) is liable to a fine of not more than $5,000.
(10) Professional Confidentiality
A professional must report that a child is or may be in need of protection, even when the information is otherwise confidential or privileged. This duty overrides any other provincial statutes, including the Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004, and specifically overrides any provisions that would otherwise prohibit someone from making a disclosure. Only lawyers may not divulge "privileged" information about their clients.
If you suspect child abuse or neglect as defined above, immediately refer the case for investigation to the Children's Aid Society of the Districts of Sudbury & Manitoulin at:
Sudbury Location
319 Lasalle Boulevard, Unit 3
Sudbury, ON
P3A 1W7
Toll Free: 1-877-272-4334
Phone Number: (705) 566-3113
Fax Number: (705) 521-7372