The board of directors of Brant Family and Children’s Services intends to resign Friday, saying provincial underfunding has “put the safety of our community’s vulnerable children at risk.”In turn, the Ontario government said it would appoint a supervisor to manage the agency. The move by the board’s 11 members to resign en masse comes after several years of warnings from the Brantford-based children’s aid society. It said cuts and underfunding were affecting operations, resulting in pay freezes, reduced on-call pay for social workers and the layoff of 26 staff.“The primary responsibility of Brant FACS is to protect children in the community,” Paul Whittam, president of the agency’s board, said in a press release Tuesday. “The board takes this responsibility very seriously and we believe that government underfunding has put the safety of our community’s vulnerable children at risk. It is no longer possible to fulfil our mandate.”The board includes a doctor, police officer, school board superintendent, educators and a band council representative from the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation.“The provincial government has refused to provide the funding necessary to confirm for the board that Brant FACS can ensure the safety of our community’s vulnerable children,” read the release. Read more:‘We have a system in crisis,’ says Brant children’s aid society after cuts lead to 26 workers being laid offOntario government slashes funding to children’s aid societiesFor years, child advocate Irwin Elman has been a voice for the voiceless. That voice has now been silenced“The deficit incurred by the agency over the past two years is the direct result of imposed government decisions, directives and underfunding. The model used to determine Brant FACS funding was arbitrarily changed, which further added significant financial stress to an already unbearabl ...
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