Bruce Grey Child & Family Services to End Adult Protective Services Program
BGCFS will end its Adult Protective Services program on March 31, 2025, leaving 160 adults in Grey and Bruce counties in need of support. The Ministry is seeking a new provider.
Bruce Grey Child & Family Services (BGCFS) announced a significant change in its service offerings by discontinuing its Adult Protective Services (APS) program. In a letter dated February 26, 2025, the organization’s Board of Directors stated that the APS program, which has served vulnerable adults with developmental disabilities across Bruce and Grey Counties for many years, will end on March 31, 2025.
The decision leaves the future of APS in Grey and Bruce counties uncertain as the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services searches for another agency to take over the program. According to the letter, BGCFS notified the Ministry on January 27, 2025, that it has decided to focus on its core mandate of child welfare.
The Ministry is now working to identify another agency to assume responsibility for the APS program.
In the interim, BGCFS is working with community partners to develop alternative plans to support the 160 adults who received APS services in 2024. These individuals, described as vulnerable and facing complex challenges, have benefited from a range of services designed to ensure they understand and exercise their rights and can access necessary supports.
APS at BGCFS encompasses a broad array of support services. Adult protective services workers advocated for clients with developmental disabilities by helping them access and maintain community and government-funded services, coordinating case management, and assisting with problem-solving and life skills.
The team also mediated between clients and other service providers, arranged housing, and provided legal, health, financial, and counseling support and even accompanied individuals to appointments.
An additional critical component of the program was its role in preventing abuse or exploitation by ensuring that any concerns were communicated to the appropriate authorities.
In response to inquiries from community stakeholders, Selwyn “Buck” Hicks, Board Chair, clarified that there is no current staffing impact from this decision. All staff members previously assigned to the APS program have been offered other positions within the organization, ensuring employment continuity while BGCFS focuses solely on child welfare.
In the coming weeks, BGCFS will collaborate with local organizations to create interim support plans for APS clients while the province seeks a permanent replacement provider. However, no details have been provided on how long this transition period may last or what alternative services will be available after March 31.
For now, the future of Adult Protective Services in Grey and Bruce remains uncertain, raising concerns about the continued support and advocacy for the adults who rely on this program.
Is this in line with other Chld & Family Service offices throughout the province? Why now? Has there been some funding change? I always thought that calling it "Child & Family" included older individuals who are part of a family? Is this shifting more tax-paid provincial responsibility onto the community and charity? Just calling it "a decision" hardly provides any context for a dramatic change. Just more chaos no one will notice?