Bill 54 explained in plain English
Right to Care Act (Children 16 Years of Age and Older), 2015
Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Legislative Assembly of Ontario snapshot for 41st Parliament, 1st Session. Representative vote breakdowns appear when the Assembly publishes an Ayes and Nays page for the bill.
Our plain-language take, written for civic education.
Source: By PoliticalData.ca
This bill proposes to amend the Child and Family Services Act to allow 16 and 17-year-old children to request temporary care agreements with children's aid societies and to align the Act with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
This bill, the Right to Care Act (Children 16 Years of Age and Older), 2015, proposes to amend the Child and Family Services Act. It aims to allow children aged 16 or 17 to enter into temporary care agreements with children's aid societies if their current caregiver is temporarily unable to provide adequate care. It also seeks to align the Act with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. The bill specifies conditions and limits on these temporary care agreements for older youth.
- Amends the Child and Family Services Act to permit children aged 16 or 17 to enter into temporary care agreements.
- Adds a purpose to the Child and Family Services Act to recognize services should align with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
- Modifies rules regarding temporary care agreements for children, specifically those aged 16 and 17.
- Changes the conditions under which temporary care agreements can be made and their duration for older children.
- Children aged 16 and 17.
- Children's aid societies.
- Caregivers of children aged 16 and 17.
- The Director appointed under the Child and Family Services Act.
- Children aged 16 or older have the right to request a temporary care agreement with a children's aid society if their current caregiver is temporarily unable to provide adequate care.
- Children's aid societies have an obligation not to refuse a temporary care agreement request from a 16 or 17-year-old if the criteria are met.
- Temporary care agreements for children aged 16 or 17 can be extended for an aggregate of 24 months.
- The Act will recognize that services provided under it should be in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
- The Act comes into force six months after it receives Royal Assent.
- The bill states that nothing in section 29 prevents a person who is otherwise entitled to basic financial assistance under the Ontario Works Act, 1997, or income support under the Ontario Disability Support Program Act, 1997, from receiving that support or assistance.
- The bill does not specify what constitutes 'adequate care' by a caregiver.
- The bill does not detail the process for a 'Director's written approval' for extending temporary care agreements beyond the specified limits.
- The bill does not define the exact criteria for a 'society having jurisdiction where the child resides'.
This bill amends the Child and Family Services Act. It adds a new purpose to the Act to recognize that services should be provided in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. It also makes changes to Section 29 of the Act, which deals with temporary care agreements.
Source: Explanatory Note, Section 1, Section 2(1), Section 2(5), Section 6
This section is amended to allow temporary care agreements to be made for children who are 16 years of age or older. New subsections are added that outline the conditions for such agreements, including that the child must request it and that the society must not refuse if the caregiver is temporarily unable to provide adequate care. It also modifies the age limits and duration for temporary care agreements.
Source: Section 2(1), 2(2), 2(3), 2(4), 2(5)
This section is amended to add a new purpose to the Act, which is to recognize that services provided under the Act should be in line with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Source: Section 1
Generated using AI from official bill text. Not legal advice. It is written by PoliticalData.ca for civic education, automatically checked and spot-reviewed before publishing.
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Vote Summary
This bill is still active. We only show vote counts after the legislature publishes a recorded division.
No published representative vote breakdown
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Official sources
Status, sponsor, votes, and timeline on this page are drawn from these official legislative sources and public records. Each summary above is attributed to its own source.
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