A New Way to Support Families
In recent years, York Region CAS has launched several initiatives to implement a practice framework that better supports children, youth, and their families. These initiatives place an emphasis on prevention, child well-being, and safety while working in collaboration with community resources.
York CAS has adopted “Signs of Safety” as our practice framework across all service levels, including at telephone screening. Our goal is to keep children and youth safe and help families stay together.
This framework is used from the very first point of contact at the initial phone call. It’s designed to engage supports early, better understand individuals’ and families’ situations, and formulate goals that promote both safety and stability.
What is Signs of Safety?
Signs of Safety is a model that helps to provide a balanced approach while assessing child safety concerns. It puts children, families, and their support network at the centre of the conversation. It encourages all involved, including those reporting the initial concerns to look three pillars:
- What are we worried about? (harm and risks)
- What’s working well? (supportive adults, protective actions)
- What needs to happen to keep the children and youth safe?
By focusing on these pillars, we make sure we’re not just identifying worries but also seeing the safety that might already exist in the child’s life.
How This Affects Referrals
When someone calls CAS to report a concern, it is important that CAS fully understand the worries and have a full view of the situation so that we can assess the need for child welfare intervention. The screener who takes the initial phone call will ask a variety of questions to assess the frequency of the reported abuse, its severity, and its impact on the child. These questions allow us to determine if a child/youth is at risk of harm or has been harmed, eligibility for service, as well as determine the level of response and response time.
During the initial call to CAS, using the Signs of Safety framework, we’ll ask about the concerning or worrisome adult behaviour reported. We need to understand how serious the behaviour is, how often it occurs, and how it impacts the child or youth.
Engaging in a meaningful conversation with referral sources and asking thoughtful questions help us gather the full picture to objectively assess each situation thoroughly.
Some of the questions we may ask:
- What specific behaviours or incidents concern you?
- How often do they happen, and how severe are they?
- Who else is helping keep the child or youth safe?
We also explore cultural background and identity, knowing that parenting styles and family dynamics are deeply influenced by culture, beliefs, and community values. Understanding a family’s cultural background helps us better engage families and link them to culturally appropriate community-based services.
Overrepresentation in the Child Welfare System
Many groups have concerns about being reported to a Children’s Aid Society due to stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination.
Indigenous and African Canadian children are overrepresented in Ontario’s child welfare system — a result of both historical and ongoing impacts of colonization, slavery, and systemic racism.
This overrepresentation often begins at the referral stage, influenced by racial and ethnic bias. It’s important to reflect on how personal or systemic biases may affect the decision to contact a Children’s Aid Society and consider whether that call helps or harms the family’s situation.
Understanding Through Scaling
To help everyone understand the level of risk or safety, we sometimes use scaling questions. For example:
“On a scale of 0 to 10, how safe do you think the child is right now?”
By using the safety scale, it makes it easier for us to understand what the referent is thinking and the extent of their worries. We can ask further questions and assess the referent’s perspective on the situation.
Next Steps: What Happens After a Call
Once we’ve gathered enough information, if we feel that a child welfare response is required, we will collect the family’s identifying information and document this is all within our internal database. An intake worker will then be assigned to the family to complete an assessment of the concerns. Our standard response time is within 7 days; however, some concerns warrant a more immediate response, and in those cases a worker will respond within 12 hours.
In some cases, we may decide that while there may be concerns, it does not meet eligibility for service. In such situations, we document the call with no direct contact with the family, and in others, we may provide what is referred to as a community link service whereby the family is contacted via telephone and provide with community-based service for assistance.
Working Together for Children and Youth Safety
Sometimes, we reconnect with the person who made the referral to clarify concerns or gather more insight. Often, they can also point to supports the family already has — which is just as important as identifying risks.
We believe child safety is everyone’s responsibility. Whether you’re a teacher, healthcare worker, neighbour, or coach, your role matters. Together, we can build a stronger, more connected support system for children and families.
Conclusions
Signs of Safety is helping York Region CAS transform how we serve families by asking more purposeful questions, building collaborative working relationships, and understanding the specific worrisome actions that put children and youth’s safety at risk. By exploring the existing strengths and safety factors and working with community partners, we are working towards increasing child safety while keeping families supported and together, where possible.
References
Turnell, A., & Edwards, S. (1999). Signs of Safety: A solution and safety-oriented approach to child protection casework. New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
Stacey Lombardy and Jennifer Rojas (2024), How the Signs of Safety Framework is Reshaping Intake Practices. York Region CAS
Ontario Human Rights Commission. (2018). Interrupted childhoods: Over-representation of Indigenous and Black children in Ontario child welfare. Retrieved from https://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/interrupted-childhoods
Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services. (2020). Child welfare redesign strategy. Government of Ontario. Retrieved from https://www.ontario.ca/page/child-welfare-redesign
