I am a youth in care directly affected by the decisions being made about funding for Children’s Aid Societies (CAS) in Ontario. As someone who knows firsthand the lifeline these services provide, proposals to cut funding feel like a step backward for the wellbeing and future of vulnerable children and teens like me.

Children’s Aid Societies exist to protect, serve, and support young people who cannot safely remain at home due to abuse, neglect, family instability, or other serious circumstances. These agencies, overseen by the Ontario Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services, provide essential services including:

• Safe foster and kinship placements
• Counseling and mental health supports
• Educational advocacy
• Life skills and transition planning for youth aging out of care

These supports are not optional. They are critical. They help break cycles of trauma and adversity and give us a real chance at stability, education, and independence.

Across Ontario, tens of thousands of young people rely on Children’s Aid Societies every year. Research consistently shows that when youth in care receive stable, consistent support, they are less likely to experience homelessness, more likely to complete their education, and more likely to achieve long-term stability.

Funding cuts mean:

• Higher caseloads for workers
• Slower responses to urgent situations
• Fewer resources for youth transitioning to adulthood
• Greater instability for children already facing uncertainty

Reducing funding does not solve systemic problems, it deepens them.

Instead of cuts, we need smarter, stronger investment. We need a provincial commitment to maintain and enhance child welfare services so that every vulnerable child in Ontario has a fair chance at a safe and prosperous future.

I urge policymakers to reconsider any reductions in funding and to stand with youth in care in protecting these essential services.

Protecting funding means protecting futures.

Please sign this petition to demand that Ontario maintain and strengthen its investment in Children’s Aid Societies.