Page 33 - OSCA Ethical Guidelines - 2009.pdf

Appendix A
Appendices
Appendix A: Appendix B: Appendix C: Appendix D: Appendix E:
Appendix F:
The Child and Family Services Amendment Act
Ethical Standards for the Teaching Profession
Age-based Legal Milestones
Professional Misconduct, Ontario College of Teachers
Professional Advisory, Professional Misconduct Related to Sexual Abuse and Sexual Misconduct, Ontario College of Teachers
The Student Protection Act
In May of 1999, the government of Ontario passed Bill 6, the Child and Family Services Amendment Act. This legislation has significance for all teachers because it lowers the threshold for reporting children suffering abuse
or at risk of suffering abuse. It contains an ongoing requirement to report, requires teachers to report directly to the Children’s Aid Society, and provides fines for failure to report.
Summary of the Changes
An abbreviated summary of the amendments of the Child and Family Services Act:
1. Requires that any person, including
professionals, has a duty to report if they have reasonable grounds to suspect any one or more of a number of criteria.
2. Creates an ongoing duty to report, where there are additional grounds to suspect that the child is in need of
protection, even where a report has already been made.
3. Creates a duty to report the matter personally, rather than relying on another to report the matter.
4. Expands the offence provision and liability to cover all failures to report when a child is in need of protection, instead of only instances where abuse is suspected.
Duties and Responsibilities
of Teachers
1. Teachers must make themselves aware and knowledgeable of existing Board policies and procedures regarding responsibilities under the Child and Family Services Act.
2. If a teacher has reasonable grounds to suspect that a student is suffering abuse or at risk of suffering
abuse, the teacher has a duty and responsibility to report personally to
the Children’s Aid Society. The Act requires that an individual has an obligation to report personally.
3. If a teacher has additional reasonable grounds to suspect that a student is suffering abuse or at risk of suffering abuse, the teacher has a duty and responsibility to make further reports personally to the Children’s Aid Society.
4. Responsibility to report to the Children’s Aid Society regarding students who are suffering abuse or at risk of suffering abuse based upon reasonable grounds, applies to every person who performs professional
or official duties with respect to children.
5. Failure to report suspicion of abuse to a Children’s Aid Society could result in a fine.
For complete information on the Child and Family Services Amendment Act, please refer to: www.casmt.on.ca.
The Child and Family Services Amendment Act
OSCA Ethical Guidelines for Ontario School Counsellors 2010 • www.osca.ca ■ 33