The province is drawing a line in the sand when it comes to funding Children's Aid Societies. And here in Oxford County, it isn't good news. The province is mandating the agency cut 6% from its budget over the next 3-years, and have it down 10% within 5-years. They've also mandated an accountability agreement that forces the CAS to pass a balanced budget each year. Oxford CAS Executive Director Bruce Burbank says they are going to be difficult goals to achieve. "In the near term, we think we're going to be able to get to that balanced budget. But when you start getting beyond the first couple of years, we're going to have to be doing some long term planning." Burbank says regardless of the mandate, their first priority is children. "Given that we are a mandated service, you know, we can't turn people away, we can't start a waiting list. If a child needs care, we have to provide care regardless of the cost. There's that sort of unpredictability that the formula doesn't really allow for." The province has set different targets for different CAS agencies based on a formula that factors local child populations, social demographic factors, and CAS service volumes over the last 3-years.
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