/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/gta/2020/11/12/culture-of-fear-at-york-region-childrens-aid-society-hurt-ability-to-help-clients-report-confirms/jill_dunlop.jpg)
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According to the overwhelming results of a third-party review of the children’s welfare organization.
The report, released on Friday afternoon, said employees were so affected by the negative workplace that staff at all levels described high levels of stress, emotional breakdowns, mental health issues, panic attacks, trauma.
The report also states that the workplace culture at York CAS has had a “negative impact on the quality of customer service.”
The 46-page report, released on Friday afternoon, was commissioned by the Ministry of Childhood, Community and Social Services in late July to investigate allegations of racism, bullying and harassment involving York CAS executives.
The allegations, first reported in Star, came to light after the union launched an internal investigation to address a “culture of despair” and “racism” at an organization whose mandate is to help children. . The ministry said it first became aware of the problems in May when it received an anonymous complaint.
The workplace assessment, conducted by brokerage firm Agree Inc., found that York CAS was plagued by leadership that is described in the report as “autocratic”, “oppressive”, “punitive” and “abusive”.
“The feedback Agree Inc. has received from staff at all levels paints the picture of an organization in which staff experienced an autocratic, deficit-based culture of fear that targeted dissent and allowed oppressive behavior. “, the report states.
“Based on its findings, Agree Inc. recommended that a new direction and leadership approach must be put in place quickly and that action must be taken to build commitment to a better workplace culture that is respectful, healthy. and collaborative “.
In 2018-19, York CAS provided services to 5,000 families and more than 10,000 children and young people. In the same period, the company carried out more than 4,000 child protection investigations.
The consultants reiterated that the report was not a “factual finding” but noted that “virtually all staff perceived and experienced the YRCAS workplace in this way and that this lived experience must be taken seriously and dealt with quickly” .
Tahir Shafiq, chairman of the board, announced in September that current chief executive Nancy French would be taking medical leave shortly after the investigation began. A few weeks later COO Aleem Punja was also put on leave, according to sources.
In a statement posted on his website on Friday, Shafiq said the agency is committed to moving forward:
“We care about our people and are committed to doing everything possible to ensure a truly healthy, inclusive and positive work environment and organizational culture. The review process will help our organization identify and immediately address the serious concerns raised, ”said Shafiq.
He said the agency’s goal now will be to review the ministry’s recommendations and develop a comprehensive work plan, which will be posted on the agency’s website.
As part of their three-month survey, investigators said they spoke to 59 focus groups that included more than 160 participants, conducted 17 individual interviews, and received written comments from current and former staff for a total of 43 responses and more than 175 pages of feedback.
Among the testimonials in the report:
- “The CEO and COO’s approach has been described as aggressive, punitive, oppressive and, at times, abusive,” the report said. “The culture was characterized by fear and intimidation with all levels of staff, sometimes extending to customers and community partners. Many stories were told of “public” accusations, shame and humiliation (eg, identifying individual staff at a meeting), along with covert, overt and direct forms of behavior described as both harassment and bullying.
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- Decisions were micromanaged and made without the involvement of frontline workers, resulting in long delays and “poor quality decisions”.
- “All BIPOC staff reported experiencing racist behavior in the YRCAS workplace” according to the report, which included: Black female staff members were told their “looks” (hair, clothing, even shape body) was inappropriate for the workplace; Black male customers are referred to as “hooligans” and Asian and South Asian staff reported that they were regularly told they “need to learn to speak English correctly.”
- Staff who received racist comments and, at times, aggressive racist behavior from customers reported that their concerns were met with indifference, lack of action and lack of support, even after many calls for help. In most cases, BIPOC staff reported that they were required to continue working with clients who behave in a racist manner and were told: “It’s just part of the job.”
- Many staff members noted that the organization, as headed by the executive team, has chosen to stop making awards for indigenous land.
- Staff also expressed concern that “due to the lack of focus and training on racism and anti-black racism, BIPOC families and children have been treated differently and negatively than non-racialized families and children”.
In a statement released Friday, Jill Dunlop, associate minister for children and women’s affairs, said York CAS “now has 30 days” to publish a work plan addressing the findings of the review.
“The operational review supports the concerns that have been raised and includes a number of recommendations to address these issues,” Dunlop said. “I’m looking forward to their work plan and expect them to provide immediate solutions in the best interest of their staff and those who need their support.”
Dunlop said the report will be shared with other child care companies across the province to “consider the findings and recommendations as part of their continuing responsibility to address workplace concerns.”
Recently, an internal report by Peel CAS highlighted the “grave inequities” in the organization, compounded by the lack of diversity in leadership, the inability to create an anti-racist policy and the general refusal to call racism a problem.
Agree Inc. investigators offer a range of immediate corrective actions such as: a change of leadership, a town hall to recognize and validate the findings in the report, involve staff in creating guiding principles for the organization, a regular on-site audit of work, creating a whistleblower policy and training on diversity, equity and inclusion, to name a few.
As part of the investigation, the minister also carried out a compliance audit and found that the CAS was generally compliant with provincial requirements, however, they said that “the results suggest that some of the workplace problems identified in the on-site assessment work of Agree Inc. have an impact on the provision of YRCAS services. “
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