This Notice of Information Practices describes:

• the practices of the Children’s Aid Society of London and Middlesex (CASLM) specific to the collection, use, disclosure, and retention of the personal information of service recipients, and
• provides guidance to service recipients concerning privacy practices and procedures.

 CHILD WELFARE MANDATE

• Within Ontario, Children’s Aid Societies (CAS) have the exclusive mandate to provide child protection services under the authority of the Child, Youth, and Family Services Act (CYFSA), 2017. CASLM works to promote the best interests, protection, and well-being of children and youth. Every CAS in the province is responsible for their specific jurisdiction, and at times CASLM may be required to work with another CAS and community collaterals to fulfill our mandate.

   

  WHAT IS Child Protection Information Network (CPIN)?

  CPIN is a provincial information management system used by CASs to store information needed to deliver child protection services, pursuant to sections 281 and 311 of the CYFSA. This is currently the primary method for case documentation used within the Ontario Child Welfare System and the system that has been used by CASLM since November of 2018. Access to this data base is restricted and can only be issued to authorized staff working under the authority of a CAS or the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services (MCCSS).

  CPIN contains information about families and children who receive child protection services within

  Ontario. It also contains information about caregivers and those who seek to provide care to children in need, such as kinship and customary care providers, foster parents, adoptive parents, volunteers, and members of a child’s extended family.

  PERSONAL INFORMATION WE COLLECT AND HOW WE MAY USE AND DISCLOSE IT

  We collect the information we need to carry out our mandate. CASLM has a written policy about Privacy, Confidentiality & Personal Information of Service Recipients, which is posted on our website page. Our practices related to collection, use, and disclosure (sharing) of personal information have been developed in accordance with Ontario law(s).

  In general, CASLM uses the information collected to carry out our mandate and functions as permitted within the CYFSA, 2017 including:

• receiving reports of suspected maltreatment, abuse, and requests for services,
• confirming service recipient identity,
• collecting identity based data and other administrative tasks,
• investigating allegations that children and youth may be in need of protection and, where necessary, protecting them,
• providing services to families for protecting children and youth or for the prevention of circumstances requiring the protection of children and youth,
• responding to or initiating legal proceedings,
• providing care for children and youth in our care and under our supervision,
• assessing and approving homes for children and youth we may need to provide care to,
• adoption planning, as needed,

• planning and managing services and business operations,
• conducting risk management, error management, and quality improvement activities,
• collecting service recipient feedback,
• responding to service complaints,
• participating in research (subject to applicable rules),
• reporting to the government as required by law,
• aiding in a law enforcement investigation.
• allowing for the analysis, administration, and management of CASLM,
• complying with legal and regulatory requirements, and
• fulfilling other purposes permitted or required by law.

   

  Other Children’s Aid Societies

  CASLM will share and receive information with other CAS’s when required to better protect children. Information collected by one CAS may be provided to other CASs when the other CAS needs to know the information to provide mandated child protection services.

   

  Community Service Providers

  Community Service Providers are persons or organizations with whom we may have shared responsibility for the delivery of services to children and families. When collaboration in service may be beneficial and necessary, we share and collect only the information required to support the protection of children and youth within the scope of our mandate and function. Otherwise, communication is limited to what you permit through consent.

   

  Other Third Parties include requests for information from third parties such as the police, government agencies, and people involved in court cases with our service recipients. We only give personal information about service recipients to third parties if:

• we have the individual’s consent,
• there is a court order, search warrant, or urgent demand for records requiring disclosure that falls within the scope of permitted disclosure without consent, or
• we are legally permitted or required to provide the information.

   

  If you have questions about this, please speak with your Worker or submit a question to [email protected] .

   

  Education and Research

  The CASLM:

• in partnership with educational institutions provides field placement practicums for social worker students, child and youth worker students, and other students engaged in studies that support the work of child welfare such as doctors and lawyers, and

• agrees to participate in sound and ethically based research subject to applicable regulations.

   

  As is the case with CASLM staff, if students and researchers are provided access to your private information, they are sworn to an oath of confidentiality that they are held to. Your consent will be sought when required.

  Your Choice and Who Decides

  We will seek your permission to collect, use, and disclose your personal information but your choice to say no may be subject to some limits. For example, we do not need consent to fulfill our primary role as a child protection agency, to protect children, where we are required by law to collect, use, and disclose personal information. We do not require consent to meet our child protection obligations or to share your personal information to keep you or someone else safe (it’s called to assess, eliminate, or reduce a risk of serious harm).

  When we request your permission, you may choose to say yes or no. If you say yes, you may change your mind at any time. Once you say no, we will no longer collect or share your information unless you say so or we required by law to proceed without your consent.

  When there is a right to provide or refuse consent, you may make your own decisions if it is determined that you are capable. This involves understanding the information needed to decide whether or not to consent and appreciating the reasonably foreseeable consequences of providing or withholding your consent. You may be capable of making some informed privacy decisions and not others.

  If you are not capable, a substitute decision-maker can make information decisions on your behalf. Who can act as a substitute decision-maker, and what they are permitted to do, is also set out in law.

  For children and youth, there is no legal age when you become able to make your own decisions about your personal information. If you are determined to be capable, you can make your own decisions.

  However, if you are under the age of 16, there are some additional rules to know.

• If you are not capable, your parent(s) or other official guardian will make decisions for you as your substitute decision-maker.
• If you are capable, you will make your own decisions.
• If you are capable, your parent(s) or guardian will also be allowed to make some decisions about your personal information service records. But they will not be able to make decisions about any records about treatment or counseling to which you alone consented.
• If you are capable, and your decisions about your personal information conflict with that of your parents or guardian, then your decision will be followed by the CAS.

We encourage you to contact your Worker with any questions, or to learn more about privacy and your family. Alternatively, you may submit a question to [email protected] .