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HISTORY

Founded by William Wilson and Bob Sherwood in 2003 as the Foster Care Operators Association of Ontario (FCOAO), the Ontario Residential Care Association (ORCA) is a key advocate for children, youth and clients in foster and group care settings. Members of ORCA are provided a collective voice to respectfully discuss initiatives and our thoughts with the Ministry of Children and Youth Services (MCYS). Our Directors meet regularly with the MCYS, the Ministry of Community and Social Services (MCSS) and the Ontario Association of Children’s Aid Societies (OACAS).

Over the years we have been a leader in protecting the sustainability of private operators in these sectors. Our major accomplishments have included:

 

  • Safeguarding private financial information of foster care operators;

  • Representing private operators in the Commission to Promote Sustainable Child Welfare;

  • Preventing sales tax back payments when the Harmonized Sales Tax was introduced;

  • Multi-day workshops for stakeholders in the child welfare sector

 

In 2009, our members decided to change our name from FCOAO to ORCA in order to better reflect our representation of both group and foster care operators.

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Going forward we are working to build on our relationships with our members, partners and Ministries to provide the best services possible in the most cost effective manner.

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