2023 Review of the Child, Youth and Family Services Act, 2017 ( CYFSA )
The feedback period for the review has ended. Thank you to everyone who shared input on ways to improve child, youth and family services.
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Overview
The Child, Youth and Family Services Act ( CYFSA or act) is the primary legislation governing child, youth and family services that are provided, funded or licensed by the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services. This includes services such as:
- child welfare
- youth justice services
- secure treatment
- children’s developmental services
- out-of-home care services (also known as residential services)
- community support services (including prevention services, counselling or mental health supports)
- adoption services
Every five years, we are required to formally review the act and publicly report on the findings of the review. The CYFSA was proclaimed in 2018 and the 2023 review is the first review of the legislation.
About the review
The review focuses on 6 key areas:
- Child and youth rights: assessing how rights are respected when receiving services
- First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples: evaluating progress on Indigenous-led models of child and family services and assessing how well services are meeting obligations, such as providing culturally-appropriate services and consultation with communities
- Equity and anti-racism: addressing overrepresentation in services and further embedding equity and anti-racism within the act
- Prevention and community-based care: increasing access to holistic prevention and early intervention services, including a focus on family well-being, community-based care and protection from sexual exploitation
- Quality services: continuing to improve the quality of services, with a particular focus on out-of-home care, youth leaving care and anti-human trafficking
- Accountability: enabling greater accountability through oversight, governance, financial performance, data, outcomes measurement and requirements
During spring and summer 2023, we met with key partners and stakeholders to gather input, including:
- community-based agencies
- service providers
- Indigenous communities and organizations
- youth
- families
- others
Next steps
The survey is closed and we are reviewing your feedback.
Our analysis of your feedback will be compiled into a public report scheduled to be issued in 2024. While we will review all information that we received, it may not be possible to address all the feedback in the public report.
Contact information
If you have any questions or are interested in learning more, we are here to listen and help. You can send an email to the ministry’s Child, Youth and Family Services Act Review Project at CYFSA@ontario.ca.
Related information
- Child, Youth and Family Services Act
- Child welfare redesign
- Child welfare and child protection services
- Ontario Indigenous Children and Youth Strategy
- Ontario’s youth justice system
