Application and Hearing Process

After receiving your application, the Board will take the following steps:

Notify the children’s aid society of the application

The Board is required to notify the appropriate children’s aid society that the application has been filed with the Board. The Board will send a copy of the application to them.

Determine if the application is eligible for review

The Board will decide if the application is eligible for review within 7 days of receiving it. This decision will be communicated to the applicant in writing.

If the application is eligible for review, the children’s aid society will be asked to submit a summary reply to the application to the Board, with a copy to the applicant. In the summary reply, the children’s aid society will inform the Board of its position regarding the complaint.

Review the children’s aid society response to the application

The Board will review the children’s aid society’s summary reply. The Board will notify the applicant and the society if the complaint will proceed to an oral hearing within 20 days from the decision on eligibility.

Issue a decision in writing without a hearing

After reviewing the application and the summary reply from the children’s aid society, the Board may chose to render a final written decision at this stage.  The decision will be sent within 20 days from the date of the decision on eligibility.

Hold a Pre-Hearing/Settlement Facilitation Conference

If the Board decides to proceed to an oral hearing, a pre-hearing conference with the applicant and children’s aid society will be scheduled within 14 days of this decision.  It will be scheduled for a full day and will be held in person by one Board member.  The parties will be contacted to ask for their availability.  The Board will do its best to accommodate the parties in setting a pre-hearing date. 

At the pre-hearing, the Board will offer the parties to participate in settlement facilitation discussions (mediation).  Settlement facilitation is an opportunity for the parties to have an open discussion and to try to resolve the issues with the support of a neutral facilitator.  If the parties agree to enter into settlement discussions and the matter is resolved, the file will be closed and no hearing will be scheduled.  For more information about the settlement facilitation conference, please click on the settlement facilitation icon on the left side of the page.  If the parties do not agree to participate in settlement discussions or if there is no agreement reached, the pre-hearing will take place and a hearing will be scheduled. 

At the pre-hearing conference, the Board member will:

• Clarify the issues to be discussed at the hearing;
• Review the evidence to be presented and the witnesses to be called at the hearing; and
• Select dates for the hearing.

Pre-hearing conferences are conducted in private.

The Board will send a summary of the pre-hearing discussions to the parties following the pre-hearing conference.

A panel of up to 3 Board Members will hold a hearing to review the applicant’s complaint within 20 days after the pre-hearing is held.  The hearing date will be determined after consulting with the parties if their availability was not provided at the pre-hearing.  The Board will do its best to accommodate the parties in setting a hearing date within the required timeframe.

The applicant and children’s aid society will each have an opportunity to present evidence, call witnesses on their behalf and make submissions. Parties may be represented by counsel.

The applicant will be able to ask the children's aid society's witnesses questions.  The children's aid society will also be able to ask the applicant and his/her witnesses questions.  The Board may also have questions.

The applicant will present his/her evidence first followed by the children’s aid society.

The duration of a hearing will vary from case to case. In some instances, the Board may need to hold a hearing first to determine if it has jurisdiction to hear the complaint on the merits.

All hearings take place in private. The Board will make every effort to schedule a hearing in a location that is convenient to all parties.

Issue a Decision

The Board will issue a decision within 10 days after a hearing.

The written decision will include a summary of facts and reasons for decision.

The Board may dismiss the application or make the following orders, where appropriate:

• Order the children’s aid society to proceed with the complaint made by the applicant in accordance with the complaint review procedure established by regulation;
• Order the children’s aid society to provide a response to the applicant within a period of time specified by the Board;
• Order the children’s aid society to comply with the complaint review procedure established by regulation or with any other requirements under the Child and Family Services Act;
• Order the children’s aid society to provide written reasons for a decision to an applicant.

If the applicant has already had his/her complaint heard by the children’s aid society’s Internal Complaint Review Panel, the Board, in addition to the orders above, may:

• Order that a notice of disagreement be added to the applicant’s file;
• Redirect a matter to the society for further review;
• Confirm the decision of a children’s aid society’s Internal Complaint Review Panel.