The minister in charge of a series of financially-focused audits into Ontario’s child welfare system says the probes were delayed when some agencies asked for more time, but is promising they’re weeks away from release.
Minister of Children, Community and Social Services Michael Parsa told Global News the audits, which were initially due to be published in the spring, had been pushed back at the request of children’s aid societies.
“Some societies needed a bit more time to be able to provide that information and we happily allowed that to happen because the intent is to find ways to improve the system and support for the children and youth in care,” he said.
“We went into this with an open mind and we said the intent is, as I said, to look at ways to improve services, supports for the children and youth that are receiving care in the province. That open mind has allowed us to be able to have a third party come in and look at the way those services are being rendered, and provide some feedback as to how else we can improve.”
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The investigations of 37 children’s aid organizations in the province were announced last fall after a push for efficiencies in the sector by Premier Doug Ford.
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The suggestion of audits was first raised by the premier during the summer of 2024 at a news conference, with details following months later.
Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles suggested that the announcement had sent staff scrambling and could be part of the reason for the delay.
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“I think just like everything else this government does, they make an announcement, they don’t think about it, they have no plan, they have no strategy,” she said. “And then everybody scrambles and the work doesn’t get done or it gets done badly. That’s not how you run a government.”
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Unveiling the audit plan last October, government officials focused on financial indicators like salaries, real estate portfolios and deficits.
At the time, they pointed out that, over the past decade, there has been a 49-per cent decrease in open protection cases, a 30-per cent decrease in children in care and a 51-per cent decrease in investigations that get transferred to ongoing service.
It’s not yet clear what the audits will show, although the government has promised to make their findings public.
Parsa said he was open to making changes if the audits recommend them.
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“Feedback that we get back from a third party will allow us to be able to review every information from every side,” he said. “Again, the intent will never change: if there is a decision that needs to be made to better protect children and youth in care, we will take that.”
The minister said he hoped to make the results public in “weeks” rather than months.
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
