My heart fell when I read  Who Oversees Children’s Aid Socieites ^[1] – by Ontario, Canada’s child welfare ombudsman, André Marin. He has been the ombudsman for his province for five years. In all that time he’s received 2,587 complaints – from people he was unable to help.

It seems the government wants to give people a place to complain and a glimmer of hope, but then doesn’t give the ombudsman any power to effectually change anything for anyone. The ombudsman’s office then becomes a sounding board for those dismayed by the pain and injustice of their encounters with child welfare workers, and that takes the pressure off the CPS caseworkers and social workers.

It is like having a steam valve on a pressure cooker. But that’s all it is. By going to an ombudsman we’re helping the CPS agents by not bothering them with our grief and complaints!

André Marin reports, “We are powerless to investigate these cases, but we keep a record of them and refer people elsewhere for help if we can.” So he can’t even investigate? He just keeps a record and hands out referrals to more people who can’t investigate or help in any way?

I wonder if anyone has ever gone to an ombudsman and received real help. If you have done so, and feel helped, and feel that your issues were resolved, please leave a comment and let us know!

From the article, it seems that André Marin believes his situation of being powerless to help is unique to his province. He says that “every other province in Canada allows its ombudsman to oversee child protection.”

I often have felt equally powerless to help people with this website, and can appreciate André Marin’s frustration with the government of his province. I am unable to help people individually – because there are many thousands who need help and only one of me. I created a website with ideas for working on a case with legal documents and strategies, but have to realize that not every parent is equipped to work the plan. I can only hope that many will and that they’ll find ideas here that will help them along their way.

I’ve never thought the ombudsman offices were effective. Please correct me if you know of any success stories in using their services! I believe that parents need to realize that the people who can be most effective in creating positive change . . . is their own selves. Nobody else understands the case as well. Nobody is more motivated to do something about it. Nobody would be able to produce better legal declarations or responses to the social worker lies and deceits. We all need to toughen up and study the law, and be the answer to our own problems.

Similar Posts:

• Canada: Ontario’s Child Welfare Ombudsman Speaks Out ^[2]
• Change is needed… ^[3]
• Contacting Your State Legislator For Help ^[4]
• Arizona: CPS Social Workers, Attorney, and Law Enforcement Agents Must Face a Jury Over Coerced Forced Entry ^[5]
• Do You Still Think America Is The Best Nation In The World? ^[6]