For immediate release

Services demands continue to rise for Hamilton CAS

HAMILTON, June 21, 2002

The Children’s Aid Society of Hamilton continues to experience a significant increase in demands for services, as well as an increase in the number of children admitted to and remaining in the care of the Society.

According to the Society’s Annual Report, presented today at the 107th Annual General Meeting, the agency conducted 3,109 child investigations in 2001-2002, with 539 of those reports being of an extremely severe nature and warranting immediate child protection intervention. This represents an increase of approximately 432 new investigations from the previous year.

"The rise in caseloads can be attributed to a number of factors, including tougher legislation and stricter reporting requirements introduced in 2000, as well as the growing needs of this community," says Dominic Verticchio, Executive Director of The Children’s Aid Society of Hamilton. "The lack of affordable housing, the high level of poverty in the city, and an increase in domestic violence continue to impact on service demands."

In 2001-2002, the Society received 5,881 requests for service with the After Hours Emergency Service responding to an additional 7,540 calls. Five hundred and seventy six children were in the care of the Society as at March 31, 2002 compared to 514 children in 2001.

Ongoing Protection Services, provided counseling and supports to 1,264 families who were experiencing difficulty with issues relating to parenting and to children who were in need of protection or support due to the home environment.

While the primary mandate of the Society continues to be the protection of children and youth in the Hamilton community, the Society worked in collaboration with a number of community partners in 2001-2002 to support and provide programs that prevent children from coming into care.

With funding from the Supporting Communities Partnership Initiative, the Society launched a program to assist families whose housing conditions have deteriorated to the point where children must be placed in foster care. The program provides homeless families with short-term accommodation, which eliminates the need for children to be separated from their families.

"This temporary measure provides an opportunity for the appropriate community services to assist families in finding suitable living conditions," explained Mr. Verticchio. "The program has maintained 14 families intact."

The CAS and five partner agencies also received funding, under the federal government’s National Homelessness Initiative to launch the Young Parent Wrap Program, which provides pregnant teens and teen parents with access to various services to help them break the cycle of poverty and dependence that can lead to homelessness.

Other highlights for 2001 included the introduction of an Anti-Racism Multicultural Organizational Change initiative to enhance the Society’s ability to respond to the ethnic, racial, religious and cultural diversity of Hamilton’s many communities. With this, the Society is taking another important step that will help it identify and remove any barriers that may have prevented youth and families from using CAS services in the past.

To obtain a copy of The 2001-2002 Annual Report, visit the Society’s website at www.hamiltoncas.com.

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For more information, please contact:
Dianne Pearson
Manager of Communications & Development
905-522-1121 ext. 2110