OPSEU Local 116 President Karen Cudmore tells the London Free Press “there is a crisis looming in London because of budget issues and cruel, mean-spirited cuts making it worse for families.”
A child protection worker at the Children’s Aid Society London and Middlesex, Cudmore says “it’s heartbreaking” that the Ford government is cutting more than $100 million from children’s aid societies and other organizations that help families and kids.
“I don’t know how we’ll manage it,” Cudmore said, adding she fears job losses and fewer programs and services to help the community’s most vulnerable children.
“It’s heartbreaking. We care about our work, our clients, but there are too many cases and we can’t give them the time they need. We’re working with children, not widgets.
“We are dealing with parents who are addicted. They bring their kids in. A number of our youths in care are seriously addicted. It’s heartbreaking.”