About Child Protection
Working together with families and communities to keep children and youth safe and well.
If you feel that a child or youth may be at risk of harm due to abuse or neglect, call us immediately. If you are uncertain … just call. We have trained staff who will listen to your concerns and gather information necessary to determine next steps.
In Simcoe and Muskoka call 1-800-461-4236
You can call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
When to call?
- If you are concerned about a child, youth or family in your community
- If you are struggling to find support to help with the care and safety of your children
- if you are a youth in need to support
What happens when I call?
A Child Protection Worker will listen to your concerns and assess the information received to determine the most appropriate steps to take. We may help to connect families with supports in the community. We will work with families and communities to address any issues that may pose a risk of harm to children/youth. We meet with children/youth, parents and others involved with families to listen to all voices and work collaboratively to make plans to ensure the safety and well being of children and youth.
Why contact us?
We all share a responsibility to protect children from harm.
Section 125 of the CYFSA states that the public, including professionals who work with children, must promptly report any suspicions that a child is, or may be, in need of protection to a children’s aid society (society).
Check out this Ontario Brochure about your Duty to report Child Abuse & Neglect: https://files.ontario.ca/pdf-3/mccss-report-child-abuse-and-neglect-en-2022-03-31.pdf
On January 1, 2018, Ontario raised the age of protection from 16 to 18. A professional, or member of the public, who is concerned that a 16-or 17- year-old is, or may be, in need of protection may, but is not required to, make a report to a CAS.
If you are a 16 or 17 year old and are looking for more information about services we offer:
If you are a youth-serving agency:
Our Service Principles
Services offered by SMFC are guided by our guiding principles. When you receive services from our agency you should expect our approach to follow these principles.
Dress Purple Day
Every October, our agency and other Children’s Aid Societies across the province raise awareness about the important role that individuals and communities play in supporting vulnerable children, youth, and families. On Dress Purple Day, Children’s Aid Societies collaborate with key partners to speak up for every child and youth’s right to safety and well-being in all spaces. Not just physical safety and well-being—children and youth have the right to have their intersectional identity, which includes culture, race, language, sexual orientation, and gender identity, protected and supported in all spaces.
Dress Purple Day also offers an opportunity to remind adults about the important role they play in supporting vulnerable children, youth, and families. This includes every adult’s legal duty to call their local Children’s Aid Society if they have a concern about the safety or well-being of a child or youth.
Provincial classroom prevention resources are available to support teachers to engage in conversations with elementary, middle, and high school students about their right to safety and well-being in all aspects of their lives and their networks of support. The Dress Purple Day Provincial Classroom Resources were developed in response to inquest recommendations for age appropriate, child-rights focused child abuse and neglect prevention materials for students.
The child welfare sector acknowledges that the Dress Purple Campaign has had harmful impacts for Indigenous, African Canadian, and other communities that are marginalized. The campaign’s historical focus on child abuse prevention encouraged reporting to Children’s Aid Societies, which regularly resulted in increased surveillance of these communities by the child welfare system and contributed to the overrepresentation of Indigenous and African Canadian families in the system.
On Dress Purple Day, we celebrate the community that cares for families and share the message that help is available and no one is alone. We raise awareness that agencies providing child welfare services are community organizations that are part of the circle of care that supports the well-being of children, youth, and families. Dress Purple Day offers an opportunity to remind Ontarians that Children’s Aid Societies work together with many other social service providers to help children, youth, and families facing challenges. We are working hard to build partnerships with local cross-sector providers and commit to strengthening families through enhanced community-based prevention and early intervention. This aligns with a key pillar of the Ontario Government’s child welfare redesign initiative focused on strengthened partnerships and prevention and early intervention.
On October 27th, we courage you to:
- Share info on social media
- Dress Purple
- Use the additional resources provided by OACAS:
