The Department of Community Services is investigating the actions of the Children's Aid Society in Cape Breton after a court found staff gave misleading information about a case.

"Obviously when a concern is identified, we need to address it quickly and learn from it and hope we can move on," said Leonard Doiron, co-ordinator of children protection services with the department.

The incident came to light when a woman from Sydney went to family court to get custody of her 13-year-old son and 16-year-old daughter, who had been sent to live with their father in Alberta.

Evidence at a hearing showed the Children's Aid Society of Cape Breton-Victoria was aware of his common-law wife's 12-year record with the agency, before the children were sent to Calgary.

In a letter dated six days before the children left for Alberta in February 2006, the Calgary Children's Aid Society informed the Cape Breton agency of allegations of domestic violence, sexual abuse between children, neglect and filth in the home.

Calgary workers visited the house six weeks after the children arrived and filed a positive report. But four days later, they found a household in disarray, and described neglect, constant fighting and drug use by the father.

The two children were subsequently separated and placed with various relatives.

In March, Justice Theresa Forgeron found child protection worker Marilyn MacNeil and her supervisor, John Janega, misled the family court in Cape Breton and failed to disclose the true circumstances confronting the children in Calgary.

In her report, Forgeron said the agency knew that its plan to send the children to Alberta would be in jeopardy if the court knew about the common-law wife's history, and said not including that information in the file was intentional and deliberate.

Society executive director Marie Boone acknowledges the court should have had that information, but she says all of the circumstances were considered before the children were sent to Alberta.

"The information was considered as part of a lot of information in that decision-making process," Boone said, adding she could not reveal details about the case.

Doiron will not discuss specifics either, but said a case like this would have priority status.

The Children's Aid Society is a private agency, but it is funded 100 per cent by the provincial government and falls under the jurisdiction of the Department of Community Services and the Child and Family Services Act.

Two people from the department have been to Sydney to talk to all of the workers involved and are going through the files.

While the Children's Aid Society awaits the department's recommendations, Boone said she's making sure workers are trained to properly document their cases and prepare for court. She would not say whether any disciplinary action was taken.