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2- PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, November 7, 1995 "Scugog"s Community Newspaper of Choice" Would help adoptees seeking roots, he claims Nestleton man pitches workfare plan for CAS By Jeff Mitchell Port Perry Star A local advocate for adult adoptees is pitching a plan he says will help the government implement workfare, and supply services to those searching for their roots. Rik Davie of Nestleton, a member of the adoptees' lobby and support group Parent Finders, says he has a plan to have welfare recipients earn their ben- efits while providing a service the Durham Childrens Aid Society is hard-pressed to supply. He grew concerned this summer when the local CAS announced that, due to government funding cutbacks, it would be reducing services in a number of areas, including background information services for adoptees. Under current legislation adoptees are entitled to non-identifying "blind background" infor- mation on their parents and place of birth, and some other details. The CAS vowed to continue the non-mandatory service as best it could with an existing staff member taking time out from other duties to handle requests. "Because of the cutbacks at CAS Durham, there 1s now a half-person doing it," said Mr. Davie. "There are literally hundreds, probably thousands of requests on the books right now." So last Thursday, he pitched a plan to CAS director Jim Dubray: Mr. Davie proposes to have qualified welfare recipients carry out the searches and prepare reports for adoptees under the provincial government's proposed workfare program. That pro- posal, part of the Progressive Conservatives' election platform, calls for recipients of social benefits to per- form some form of work or community service in return for their cheques. "The way we feel is we're providing the welfare program with an outlet, somewhere to put people," said Mr. Davie. "and on top of that, we can cut down the waiting period (for information) from five years to probably five months." He's hoping Durham East MPP John O'Toole will take the proposal to Community and Social Services minister David Tsubouchi for review. Mr. Dubray wasn't willing to comment at length about the proposal, but said Thursday it has merit. "It's worth pursuing," he said. He noted that the local CAS is struggling under heavy funding cuts handed down by the Tories, and has had to curtail services across the board, not just in adoptee searches. One of the problems is that when legislation granting adoptees the right to information was passed in 1987, politicians really had no idea of the scope of the demand. "What happened was that the government really miscalculated the number of people who wanted to do this," said Mr. Dubray. "It's (resulted in) terrible backlogs in agencies across the province... and there's never been the staff complement to deal with the backlog." Kidcheck session planned for Port It's time again for Kid- check. Once again this coming Saturday (Nov. 11), Sut- ton Group Lifestyle Realty Estate Ltd. will be holding a session at its offices that will allow parents to com- pile an information pack- age that can be used in the event their kids go miss- ing. The session is carried out by Child Find Ontario, which will have volun- teers who have been cleared by police on hand to fingerprint children for the package. Kids up to 24 months will have foot- prints taken, while those 2 to 6 will have full hand- prints done, and children 7 and over will have indi- vidual fingerprints put in their files. The prints are designed to go in an All About Me file, and parents are en- couraged to insert other information," including a color head and shoulders photograph. Child find doesn't keep any information from the files, but parents can keep it on hand to assist police in the event a child goes missing. It can prove an invaluable tool in identify- ing kids, says Child Find. The session is free, but those attending can make a donation to help cover costs if they wish. Photo- graphs will be taken for a nominal fee of $1. All kids must be accompanied by a parent. The Port Perry session will take place at Sutton Group offices at 126 Water St. from, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. Lords' alumni are sought The Durham College Athletic Department is hold- ing its annual Men's College Basketball Alumni Night on Friday, Dec. 8. The annual event is set to go at 5:30 p.m. as part of a doubleheader featuring an OCAA regular season matchup between the Lords and rival Algonquin Thunder at 7:30 p.m. The D.C. Athletic Department would like all for- mer men's basketball alumni who are interested to call Ken Babcock at (905) 721-3047 to register. Poppy Campaign starting Oct. 29 - Nov. 10 NOVEMBER 5 Church parade starting at John Street at 10:55am NOVEMBER 10 Remembrance Banquet Dinner & Dance Cocktails 6:00pm ~ Dinner 7:30pm Speaker: Jim Connell NOVEMBER 11 Ceremony at the Memorial Plaque at the Scugog Memorial Library at 10:00am Wreath Laying ceremony at the Legion Hall Parade will form up 10:30am - All organizations invited Wreath Laying ceremony at the Blackstock Community Centre 10:30am Remembrance Day Saturday, November 11, 1995 SUPPORT ROYAL YOUR LOCAL LEGION'S ANNUAL PoPpPY CAMPAIGN The Annual Poppy Campaign perpetuates the act of Remembrance. Donations received assist veterans and others who are in need and the community in general. The Legion sponsors national literacy and poster competitions for youth and provides remembrance materials for schools. "WE WILL REMEMBER THEM" AREFLECTION | PEACE OF. \ W. NDR. \'k LEGION REMEMB ER