The president of Expanding Horizons Family Services Inc. at the time of David Roman's death in 2019 was Carmine Perrelli, deputy mayor of Richmond Hill
His head battered, his body bleeding and his thin,15-year-old frame only covered by a white T-shirt, David Roman struggled up the curved stairs of his foster home.
Outside, on that early February morning two years ago in Barrie, Ont., the air was frigid and still, the sun so far below the horizon that only an overcast sky obscured the stars.
Daybreak was more than an hour away but David would not see the sun rise again.
Reaching the top of the stairs, he turned left, staggered several steps and knocked on the bedroom door of 24-year-old foster parent Jordan Calver.
Expanding Horizons Family Services Inc. has two principals, company president Carmine Perrelli and program manager, Frank Lo Greco.
Expanding Horizons is still operating and applied in 2020 to renew its license for another year, which in the meantime remains in effect until the ministry completes an inspection.
As a private company, Expanding Horizons isn’t required to disclose its revenue. Soon after David's death, the ministry restricted the company to 21 foster care beds. Its per diem payments were in the typical range of $150 to $200 per day, per child, and if those beds were occupied year-round, that could generate annual revenue of between $1,368,750 and $1,825,000.
Nick, Evan and David’s parents all say James was a victim, too, because he needed to be placed where treatment was provided. David was killed, they say, because of systemic failure in foster care and grievous conduct by Expanding Horizons.
"They're making money on children," Dvoskina said. "They're taking children in without any consideration if they know how to deal with those children."
There are more than 60 licensed companies and when they run their operations to capacity, they are eligible to be paid between $125 million and $167 million a year, according to CBC estimates. Private companies are licensed to look after as many as 2,291 foster youth beds in Ontario, the most recently posted government figures show. At least 16 children's aid societies signed contracts with Expanding Horizons and placed children at one of its group or foster homes since the company opened its business nearly a decade earlier.