Family and Children's Services is your local Children's Aid Society, serving Niagara since 1898. Mandated by the Child and Family Services Act to investigate the abuse and neglect of children and to provide protection, foster care and adoption services. FACS offers a wide range of programs to prevent and treat the problems of abuse and neglect and to support the children, youth and families of our community.
Serving Niagara from offices in St. Catharines, Welland and Niagara Falls; we are a charitable, non-profit agency reporting to the community through a volunteer Board of Directors. Funded by the Ministry of Children and Youth Services and the Ministry of Community and Social Services, our vision is Every Child in a Caring Family.
In the fall of 2011, FACS Niagara took steps to comply with the customer service standard under the Accessibility for Ontarians with
Disabilities Act, 2005 (the AODA); this standard applies to FACS Niagara effective January 1, 2012.
The AODA is a framework for the province to develop specific standards of accessibility for individuals with disabilities. Standards are being
developed that will set requirements for the identification, removal, and prevention of barriers in key areas of daily living. A barrier is
anything that keeps someone with a disability from fully participating in all aspects of society because of their disability.
The AODA customer service standard requires agencies to provide services in a manner that respects the dignity and independence of people with
disabilities, and to take into account a person’s disability when communicating with that person.
FACS Niagara Accessibility Policy
As required by the AODA customer service standard, FACS Niagara has established an
Accessibility Policy which
sets out our commitment to service for people with disabilities.
The FACS Accessibility Policy applies to all programs and services of the agency including Child Welfare Services, The Family Counselling Centre,
our OEYC Program and out West Niagara Resource Consultant Program.
