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The delay-prone provincial Childrens Aid Society computer network is further proof the Liberal government is incapable of handling multimillion dollar information technology projects, a Tory critic says.

MPP Jim McDonell (StormontDundasGlengarry) said time and time again IT contracts initiated by the Liberals have been wrought with problems, the most recent being the overpayment of millions of dollars to social service recipients.

They just cant get it right . . . the oversight is just not there, he said Monday.

The Star has reported that despite the urging by the Jeffrey Baldwin coroners inquest just over a year ago to have the province-wide $122-million centralized computer system designed to track children in CAS care up and running within two years, it is not expected to be ready until 2019-20.

Five-year-old Jeffrey died in 2002 after being placed in the care of his grandparents by Torontos Catholic CAS despite the fact they had previous convictions for child abuse, something that wasnt discovered until later by the CAS when poring over its files.

They (the Liberal government) dont even want to put a deadline on this one (the CAS computer system, also known as CPIN) because when they do they never meet them, McDonell said.

He noted that to make matters worse the government is using the same software system for the 46 CAS agencies across the province that was used in the provinces new problem-plagued $240-million Social Assistance Management System (SAMS). The government has confirmed CPIN uses the same base application Curan/IBM as SAMS.

They (the government) wastes hundreds of millions of dollars but there are never any penalties . . . its like when you get a contract with the Ontario government its like youve won the lottery, said McDonell, who also pointed to the 2009 $1-billion electronic health records eHealth scandal.

Minister of Children and Youth Services Tracy MacCharles has insisted that transferring millions of records from the old system to CPIN is a large, complex and delicate process . . . that takes time and requires serious consideration.

A spokeswoman for MacCharles said Monday: To date, the implementation process is proceeding well and according to plan, based on the readiness of each CAS. As is the case with any project of this magnitude, there may be bumps along the way and we are committed to examining and addressing any issues that may surface.

Excerpt from:
Ontario Liberals tripped up again by information technology, Tory MP says