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Posted on 03/26/2015 8:57:41 PM PDT by rickmichaels
TORONTO - A former North York daycare operator ordered to pay more than $10,000 for “emotional distress” is considering appealing a judge’s ruling that she “overreacted” by calling the Children’s Aid Society when she was concerned about one of the kids in her care.
The toddler was 10 to 14 months old during the time he spent in Tammy Larabie’s Pony Ave. home daycare, which ended in July 2013.
Larabie said the boy, who cannot be named, appeared to be malnourished and she called CAS on the parents, who were investigated and cleared.
The parents then sued Larabie, 37, in small claims court and won in a February decision.
“Leaving Ms. Larabie’s personal circumstances aside, is there a matter of public interest where the unintended consequences of this decision will mean that a neighbour, daycare worker, teacher may think twice before picking up the phone to call Children’s Aid because they don’t want to see there’s a lawsuit in their mailbox?” lawyer Ari Goldkind said Thursday. He is reviewing the case pro-bono for Larabie to see if there is merit to the appeal.
In his ruling, Deputy Judge Lewis Richardson said Larabie’s call to the CAS was panicked, that the boy was in good health, nothing was found “to suggest that (the child) was in any danger” and there “were no reasonable grounds for the complaint.”
The Ontario Association of Children’s Aid Societies said the ruling is concerning because it could potentially inhibit someone’s ability to phone in reports.
“We would urge people to make those calls (to CAS),” director of communications Caroline Newton said. “We rely absolutely on the public to be the eyes and ears the welfare of children.”
The Child and Family Services Act has clear guidelines for reporting suspected abuse. It states that the “public, including professionals who work with children, must promptly report any suspicions that a child is, or may be in need of protection, to a Children’s Aid Society.”
It also says it is not necessary for a person to be certain a child is or may be in need of protection to make a report to a CAS.
“‘Reasonable grounds’ refers to the information that an average person, using normal and honest judgment, would need in order to decide to report,” the Act says.
In 2013, about 180,000 cases of possible child abuse were reported, about half of those resulting in investigations.
The father of the child, who cannot be named, could not be reached Thursday.
Larabie has been unable to operate her daycare since the ruling for financial reasons, Goldkind said.
An online fundraiser at GoFundMe.com/supporttammy has been set up to offset her legal bills. As of Thursday evening, more than $2,500 had been raised of the $20,000 goal.
Tracy MacCharles, minister of children and youth services, said the Child and Family Services Act has protections for people who report suspected abuse in good faith and with reasonable grounds to do so.
“This was a civil proceeding about a breach of contract where the judge found there to be no reasonable grounds for the complaint against the parents after hearing both sides of the story,” the minister said in a statement. “This case should not dissuade anyone from fulfilling their duty and reporting the abuse or mistreatment of any child.”
Lawyer John Schuman says that in his 15 years of practising family law, he has not heard of a similar ruling.
“CAS can have them prosecuted if they don’t report, if you’re looking after (the) child,” Schuman said. “Right now, the fine’s not that great but it’s waiting for royal ascent to have the fine increased to up to $50,000 and two years imprisonment. If that goes through, that would be a real quagmire for people.”
To all- please ping me to Canadian topics.
Canada Ping!
It would be interesting to know of the background of the parents. Toronto does have an inclination to weigh heavily in favour of minority persons who bring law suits.
Who knows?
Funny, I had exactly the opposite reaction:
Good on the judge for slapping down a nosy parker who had no basis for calling CPS on the family.
I hope this case does put a chill on those who stick their noses in other people’s business. It’s a pity the parents can’t sue the CAS as well.
My wife worked at a daycare for 6 months. In that short time she identified 4 children who had been raped. Including one infant who had blood in her diaper.
Perhaps she should have kept her nose out of it?
The judge in this case found the worker way out of line. Your wife’s situation was completely different, and you know it.
Failed attempt at a strawman.
How many people are falsely accused by busybodies like the woman in question, versus genuine trouble such as what your wife observed?
Lives can be ruined by an accusation of this sort. Even without accusations, problems can arise. I remember being refused the rental of a house because my friend and I were male, and there was a daycare 2 doors down. No suspicion, no reason given other than we were mid-twenties males.
I do hope that the children your wife dealt with were helped, and I hope your family has been able to put the horror behind you.
G_d Bless.
No, you said people should stay out of other people’s business. Crappy things happen to kids sometimes.
The problem is that the lawsuits place a chill on those who should report an issue. This was a case where everything was done right- worker reported a bona fide concern, CAS investigated and found nothing amiss. Lawsuits should be reserved for reports that are motivated by malice.
My stepson broke his arm 3 separate times in 8 months AT SCHOOL.
We picked him up from class and took him to emerg (again...) and once we got him into the system, we were suddenly separated and underwent a 2 hour series of very intrusive interrogations. The lad was more upset about the questions they asked him than the broken arm.
I have little patience for busybodies.
One of the problems is that they have a knack for getting it wrong; good parents are treated like criminals while drug-addled welfare moms get a pass. Every 2-3 years here there is an Inquest into the death of some kid at the hands of their parents and it’s always the same story- social workers were aware of the problems but didn’t intervene. Meanwhile, decent parents have experiences that are similar to yours and often much worse.
The issue at hand in this case is that the worker was put into an impossible situation- compelled by law to file a report, then sued for doing so.
The CAS worker made a few notes and the whole thing was passed over amicably.
Sometimes a little commonsense and less overkill works wonders. Still 10,000 dollars not to be sniffed at.
That’s how it usually happens. Most CAS workers would rather concentrate on serious cases so they try to clear up incidents like that as quickly as possible. Naturally the thousands of cases that are resolved that way never make the news.
Oh no. That’s so terrible. In one day care? four precious babies??? That hurts to know. I just got a new grandson yesterday. I pray for his safety in this world.
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