A Gatineau, Que., agency that supports child victims of sexual assault has suddenly fired all its staff and suspended services because of money issues.

Centre d'intervention en abus sexuel pour les familles de l'Outaouais (CIASF) said it had a director general, 11 staff and around 70 clients, as well as a waiting list of about 60 more.

It has said it needs to restructure to restart services as soon as possible, according to Centre intégré de santé et des services sociaux de l'Outaouais (CISSSO), which manages health care in the region.

According to a news release from CIASF Wednesday, the agency knew it had to restructure in February after it became clear its expansion plans were overambitious and had led to a precarious financial situation.

The organization also announced in the release that Simon Drolet is no longer CIASF's general director. The circumstances of his departure are still unclear.

Services stopped March 12, according to CIASF's founder and acting director general, Huguette Joly.

Organization had trouble last fall

CISSSO's Benoit Gauthier said though the sexual assault agency is independent, it has to share a financial report with CISSSO every year.

The regional health authority has been working with CIASF for over 25 years, and provides about $300,000 in funding for the organization each year, Gauthier said.

He said CIASF officials first told CISSSO last fall that they were having "temporary" financial difficulties.

"The situation wasn't alarming at the time and [the agency] assured us it was a temporary deficit until it got new funding for projects it was developing," Gauthier said in a French-language interview.

Other than that, Gauthier said CIASF didn't mention any financial difficulties in its last annual report, and that while it ran a deficit that year and the year before, it still had money saved up.

'No alternative offer'

However, he said CIASF called CISSSO officials last week and reported financial problems so serious that they had lay off all staff members and cease operating immediately.

The CISSSO had already given the organization an advance in funding for the 2018-2019 year in an attempt to keep it afloat, Gauthier said.

"We already gave them this advance to make sure they can maintain their services," he said. "Right now, it doesn't seem that this was sufficient."

The situation has left some people without many options, primarily the approximately 60 people who were on the waiting list for services.

Emergency services are still available for those who need them urgently, but the suspension of CIASF services has left gaps in long-term counselling and education, he said.

"For now, since the services have been suspended, there is no alternative offer for the people on the waiting list," Gauthier said.

The goal is to get CIASF services back by the end of April. For now, the organization's board members and management are working with an accountant to determine what went wrong, Gauthier said.

"We're still hoping we'll be able to get them back on their feet as soon as possible."