In one house, a damaged ceiling fell to the floor. In another, 2x4s were set up around a toddler’s crib to prevent escape. Electrical outlets come loose from the wall. Smelly sheets. Walls damaged by water. Mouse droppings in kitchen drawers. A rusty bathtub and rotten wooden steps. These are snapshots of life inside Connor Homes, according to images provided by former workers and Ontario inspection reports. For more than 45 years, the company has been a major player in the world of private underwriting and group housing. Interior images of Connor Homes’ youth housing in eastern Ontario. (Is provided) But interviews with more than two dozen former employees, child welfare experts, ministry documents and court filings tell the story of a private company that some former employees say put profits before caring for vulnerable children. Experts in the group and foster home industry also point to the company’s troubled history, which included a fire at one of its residences in 2017 that killed two people. A Global News and APTN investigation found that the key players behind Connor Homes, Bob Connor and his son Sean, have amassed properties in their own names and through their companies estimated to exceed $10 million. The investigation found the company was also accused of under-reporting serious incidents at its homes, received poor inspection results and recently surrendered its underwriting licence. Connor Homes had previously had its license consistently renewed for its first four decades of operation. It’s also a cautionary tale of how Ontario’s child welfare system has allowed a private agency with a history of regulatory problems to continue operating. Global News and APTN are not identifying the locations of the group homes because of privacy concerns for the children in their care. There are about 100 private operators in the province. “These [Connor] The houses I saw were in horrible condition,” said a former worker who is not identifying Global News because of the worker’s fear of retaliation. “The roofs were disgusting. The electricity doesn’t work, the water doesn’t work properly, the air and heat don’t work properly. “This happened on a regular basis.” In Ontario, children’s aid agencies are responsible for investigating reports of child abuse or neglect and, when necessary, taking action to protect them. They can also take responsibility for children who prove too challenging for their parents. 18:59 Children ‘may not be safe’ in Ontario’s child welfare system Children ‘may not be safe’ in Ontario’s child welfare system – May 28, 2022 If a bed cannot be found for a child within its own fostering network, a children’s aid agency can turn to a private company such as Connor Homes. These companies are part of a $1.8 billion ecosystem that provides child protection services in the province, according to the latest provincial data. In some cases, former staff claimed Connor Homes would keep children as long as possible because of the “value” attached to them. The province funds children’s aid societies, which in turn pay all the private agencies with which they place children. Fewer children can mean less income. Interviews with former workers and documents obtained by Global News and APTN raise allegations of hardship at all of Connor’s group homes: tight food budgets, little money for recreational activities or Christmas gifts, crumbling infrastructure and low wages for staff. The Connors also have another business. And it looks very different. The investigation revealed a collection of luxury vacation rental properties owned by the Connor family — primarily Bob Connor and his wife — through a separate entity called Windswept. The company operates three bed and breakfasts and rents four cottages near Campbellford, Ont. — about a two-hour drive east of Toronto. Pictures on its website show pristine plots and cabins overlooking the River Trent. Some rentals include panoramic ocean views, boat docks, king-size beds, and hot tubs. A Bed and Breakfast advertises a themed room with “exotic African” decor and a bathroom with a shower and heated towel rails. Another is housed on a private island that vacationers can fly their planes to. Using real estate and corporate records, Global News was able to identify at least 18 properties owned by Bob or Sean Connor or through company number 511825 Ontario Inc., which lists Bob Connor and his wife as directors. Properties include group and foster homes, as well as vacation rentals. A Global News and APTN analysis using market value estimates and property tax estimates from the Municipal Property Assessment Corp. of Ontario shows these properties have an assessed value of over $10.5 million. When reporters arrived at a home in eastern Ontario, Bob Connor refused to come to the door. His son Sean also declined interview requests and did not respond to specific questions related to allegations about the Connor Homes homes, citing “confidentiality” concerns. Children in the company’s care “are supported with a treatment program, weekly check-ins and support from an interdisciplinary team that includes a social worker, psychotherapist, psychologist and therapist,” she said in a later statement to Global News. . “Our assessment process was created by Connor Homes and approved by the Ministry,” he said. “Connor Homes’ operations ultimately strive to exceed the statutory minimum regulatory standards.” Connor Homes operated both a foster service that supervised foster parents and several group homes around eastern Ontario, where children live in a shared environment with shift workers. Connor Homes once had more than 130 beds across the province in about 40 group and foster homes, but now operates just three homes with space for up to 20 children. Children in the care of Connor Homes were often treated as a source of income, according to workers who spoke to Global News and APTN. READ MORE: Inside Ontario’s child welfare system where children are a ‘commodity’ Former employees say the children lived in housing with damaged roofs, rotten floorboards and broken windows that the company was slow to repair — even in the winter. “I thought it was disgusting,” said one former employee, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation. “They have this beautiful business on one side and then [no] money on the other side.” “[Kids] they felt like they were there to pay people’s wages.” For each child placed in its group homes, Connor Homes is paid $193 to $213 in public funding, according to internal documents obtained by Global News/APTN. One child could equal more than $77,000 a year. Children with more complex mental health needs receive higher daily rates. A contract for the Connor Homes foster agency, obtained by Global News/APTN, showed that an area supervisor was paid $10 a day for each child placed in a home he supervised. They could also receive a $10-a-day commission for each child placed “in a home opened by the supervisor,” even if they were not responsible for supervising them—an incentive to hire more foster parents. An image showing a Connor Homes contract from 2018. (Supplied) Experts say private companies such as Connor Homes can negotiate higher wages directly with the children’s aid agency or native welfare society. “Before you know it, it’s $500, $700, sometimes — I’m not exaggerating — $1,200 a bed a day,” said Kiaras Gharabaghi, dean of Toronto Metropolitan University’s school of community services. “It’s something we accept,” Gharabaghi said. “The money changing hands is huge. There are some people who become very, very rich.” ShapeCreated with Sketch. Those familiar with the operations of Connor Homes say they were also concerned that the money did not always reach the children. Cuts to home repairs, limited funds for outings and children going to school with supplies in “grocery bags” instead of backpacks were among complaints made by workers or contained in company documents reviewed by Global News. Staff described being disgusted at how they were taken for training in “fancy” properties used by Connors’ holiday rental company, yet the children lived in homes that were falling apart. “The management was awful. They just cared about the money and not the children,” the former employee said.
Preparation for inspections
Despite the sensitive nature of caring for vulnerable children, there is little oversight of group homes by the Ontario Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services (MCCSS). The ministry has the ability to conduct unannounced inspections of licensed group homes and fostering services — and says it conducted 100 such inspections in 2020-2021. There are 303 group homes and 121 foster care agencies across Ontario with an unknown number of foster homes, according to data obtained through a freedom of information request. But former Connor workers said managers often knew about upcoming ministry visits and staff were trained on how to answer inspectors’ questions before they arrived. “We were well prepared by our supervisor,” said one former employee. “I thought it was kind of funny that now we were going to fix all these things that we had…
