MANITOULIN—Next spring, the Manitoulin Island office of the Children’s Aid Society of the Districts of Sudbury and Manitoulin (CAS) will be closing its doors and transferring 25 percent of its caseload to Kina Gbezhgomi Child and Family Services, which oversees the child welfare of Manitoulin’s seven First Nations and their band members in the Manitoulin and Sudbury Districts.
Collette Prevost, executive director of the CAS, explained that Island staff received their layoff notices almost two weeks ago and have until October 20 to decide if they will accept the layoff or invoke their “bumping rights” as per the CAS collective agreement and take a transfer to the Sudbury office.
“We are anticipating a transfer of child welfare services to Kina Gbezhgomi some time after the spring, between the months of April and June,” Ms. Prevost said. “The (Little Current) office will be closed completely with the layoff effective in mid-June.” While there will no longer be a Manitoulin office, CAS still has jurisdiction for non-First Nation families on the Island who will see services via remote access through a small staff that will be reintroduced, but these employees will likely work from home or from the office of a CAS community partner organization. These details have yet to be ironed out.
The Island office, located in Little Current, is the workplace for 18 unionized staff members and three supervisors, Ms. Prevost explained.
If there is any confusion about which organization to call, whether it’s the CAS or Kina Gbezhgomi, don’t worry, she said. It will operate the same way, by calling a number that leads you to a direct intake service which will then be managed from Sudbury or Wikwemikong, depending on which organization it is. But if the incorrect agency is called, it’s okay, Ms. Prevost said, the intake worker will take care of it and refer the call to the appropriate place.
“There will still be services on Manitoulin, specific to Manitoulin Island,” she added.
“This is really a good news story,” Ms. Prevost said, “not in terms of layoffs, no, but we’ve been working towards this for many, many years. It’s good news for the First Nations of Manitoulin.”
