Just over a year after the entire board of the Kawartha Haliburton Children’s Aid Society resigned following a provincial government takeover of the child welfare agency, a new board of directors is in place led by former United Way Peterborough & District CEO Len Lifchus.
Joining Lifchus on the newly formed board are lawyer Blake Jeffries as treasurer, healthcare professional John Corso as vice-chair, Curve Lake First Nation councillor Arnold Taylor, educator Allison Sadowski, and former Peterborough County warden J. Murray Jones.
“I am very grateful for this opportunity to lead the board at Kawartha Haliburton Children’s Aid Society,” says Lifchus in a media release. “This is an opportunity for collective leadership to work alongside staff in achieving the mission of the organization.”
As well as serving as United Way Peterborough & District CEO for 10 years, Lifcus served as CEO for United Way of Burlington and Greater Hamilton until he retired in 2014. He has also served on the boards of many organizations over the years, including as chair of the board of Hospice Peterborough.
The formation of the new board comes 13 months after Ontario premier Doug Ford suggested that Ontario’s 37 non-Indigenous children’s aid societies were being financially mismanaged, with the province subsequently launching a review to look at issues such as the quality of protection the children’s aid societies provide as well as their finances.
As with other societies across the province, the Kawartha Haliburton Children’s Aid Society — which has its head office in Peterborough and branches in Lindsay and Haliburton — was running a deficit.
In July 2024, the agency announced plans to reduce its $22 million budget by $7.6 million over three years, including by laying off 24 full-time equivalent positions by March 2025. Affecting 20 unionized staff and five non-union and management staff, the lay-offs would amount to a 20 per cent reduction in the agency’s workforce. The organization also announced plans to close its Haliburton branch.
Along with budget deficits, a shortage of available beds in group homes and foster homes has meant children’s aid societies across the province, including the Kawartha Haliburton Children’s Aid Society, have had to resort to placing some children and youth — particularly those with special needs or challenging behaviours — in unlicensed settings such as hotels, motels, trailers, and even their own offices.
The previous board of the Kawartha Haliburton Children’s Aid Society resigned on October 23, 2024 after learning the Ontario Ministry of Children, Community, and Social Services would be installing a supervisor for up to a year to oversee and manage the child welfare agency in place of the board and executive director.
Following the board’s announcement, Minister of Children, Community and Social Services Michael Parsa issued a statement confirming he had appointed Rosaleen Cutler as supervisor for the Kawartha Haliburton Children’s Aid Society “to oversee and operate the society and help ensure the safety and well-being of children and youth receiving services.”
“During her term, Ms. Cutler will address the society’s growing financial and operational issues and reinstate good governance and fiscal sustainability, while ensuring the continuity of services to children, youth, and families,” Parsa said.
Cutler was previously executive director of the Children’s Aid Society of Northumberland, before it merged with the Hastings Children’s Aid Society in 2012 to become the Highland Shores Children’s Aid Society. Later, she also worked as project manager and child welfare lead with the Ontario Association of Children’s Aid Societies and was interim CEO of the York Region Children’s Aid Society before retiring in 2021.
Over the past 13 months, Cutler has led the Kawartha Haliburton Children’s Aid Society during the development of a deficit management plan and the implementation of the agency’s operational review.
Although a new board is now in place, Cutler will continue to lead the agency until a permanent executive director has been recruited.
“Kawartha Haliburton Children’s Aid Society has experienced some significant changes over the last few years,” Cutler says in the media release. “I look forward to supporting the board in its establishment of priorities while providing strategic leadership and guidance within agency operations as we move forward.”
