Effective January 1, 2025, new police record check requirements will come into effect impacting providers of children’s services under the Child Youth and Family Services Act (the “CYFSA”). Employers in the developmental services sector that work with children and have not already reviewed whether and how these changes may impact them should do so and prepare before the new year.
In Short – What’s Happening?
Providers of children’s services must ensure certain of their employees, students, officers, and directors provide Vulnerable Sector Checks or Broad Record Checks (a new type of record check) every three years, and that they provide offense declarations detailing any new criminal history every year.
Why Have these Changes Been Adopted?
The Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services has said their aim is to improve the safety of children and young persons receiving care and services under the CYFSA.
What Are the Key Changes Being Made?
The amendments make three broad types of changes potentially relevant to developmental service agencies (there are others and more detailed rules as well):
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- Creates a new type of police record check, called a “Broad Record Check”, that is more detailed than a vulnerable sector. This provides more information than a Vulnerable Sector Check does (including information about every contact the person has had with police resulting in a written record, and information about any contact between a person and police related to the Mental Health Act).
- Requires stakeholders who, as a result of their role with the agency, may interact without supervision with a child or young person receiving CYFSA services to provide a current Vulnerable Sector Check every three years. Stakeholders include employees, volunteers, students, contractors, directors, and officers.
- Requires stakeholders providing direct care to children’ receiving licensed children’s residential services to provide a current Broad Record Check every three years. Officers and directors of an agency providing such licensed children’s residential services must do the same, and provide the record to an MCCSS Director.
- Creates a duty for people who must provide record checks to also provide “offense declarations” detailing their current criminal record (with mandatory components set out in the amendments) in certain circumstances, including annual between the three-year police record checks.
- Creates a legal obligation for persons who must provide record checks under the amendments to tell the organization they provide the record check to of any subsequent criminal charges or convictions as soon as possible after such charge or conviction.
- Creates an obligation on organizations receiving record checks under the amendments to implement written policies and procedures on how they will administer this process (with mandatory components), and an obligation to make those documents available to any person who could be required to provide a record check to them.
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When Do These Changes Take Effect?
The new regulatory rules take effect on January 1, 2025. Affected employers must have policies in place regarding these new police record checks by that time. There will then be a 60 day transition period for impacted employees to request the required checks.
It is expected that regional police services will begin offering broad record checks at that time, though there is still very little public information about what the process for obtaining such a check will be or what the cost of doing so will be set at.
Does This Impact Adult Service Providers In the DS Sector?
If an agency does not offer children or youth services, these new rules should not apply. Instead, the Quality Assurance Measures regulation will continue to govern police record checks.
If an agency provides both adult and children and youth services, then they will need to review which roles are subject to which framework for police record checks.
PooranLaw will continue to monitor developments related to these new police record check rules that are relevant to the developmental services sector. In the meantime, if you require legal assistance in determining how these rules may impact your organization, we encourage you to reach out to your regular PooranLaw lawyer, or any member of our team.
Note: This article provides general information only and does not constitute, and should not be relied upon as, legal advice or opinion. PooranLaw Professional Corporation holds the copyright to this article and its contents may not be copied or reproduced in any form, in whole or in part, without the express permission of PooranLaw Professional Corporation.
