Regional Municipality of Waterloo Employment and Income ... · Regional Municipality of Waterloo...

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Media Release: Friday, September 29, 2017, 4:30 p.m.

Regional Municipality of Waterloo

Employment and Income Support Community Advisory Committee

Agenda

Friday, October 6, 2017

9:00 a.m.

99 Regina St. S., Waterloo

Room 508

1. Declarations of Pecuniary Interest Under The Municipal Conflict OfInterest Act

2. Approval of the Agenda and Minutes 3

3. Introductions

4. Presentations / Consultations

4.1 EIS Employment Work Group – T. Verhoeve

4.2 Affordable Transit Study – L. Liao

4.3 Discretionary Benefits – J. Mitchell

4.4 Project READ – J. Tuer

5. Business Arising / Updates

5.1 Membership Updates - N. Bailey-Dick

5.2 2018 Meeting Schedule - N. Bailey-Dick

6. Local Program Challenges / Updates

EISCAC Agenda - 2 - 17/10/06

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7. Information/Correspondence

7.1 CSD-EIS-17-06, Funding for The Working Centre Community Dental

Clinic (Available Online)

8

7.2 CSD-EIS-17-08, OW Caseload Profile January - March 2017 (Available

Online)

17

7.3 CSD-EIS-17-09, Ontario Works Discretionary Benefits Program Budget

(Available Online)

22

7.4 CSD-EIS-17-10 / TES-TRS-17-13, Affordable Transit Pilot Project

(Available Online)

60

7.5 CSD-EIS-17-11, Ontario Works Caseload: April - June 2017 (Available Online)

64

7.6 CSD-EIS-17-12, 2017 – 2018 Ontario Works Service Plan (Available

Online)

69

8. Other Business

9. Adjourn

10. Next Meeting

Friday December 8, 2017

99 Regina St. South

Room 508

9:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

A note on parking:

If you will be driving your own vehicle to the EISCAC meeting at 150 Main Street,

Cambridge, you will require a parking pass for your vehicle.

To assist the staff at 150 Main Street in preparing parking passes in advance please

provide Lisa Shiels at [email protected] with the following

information as soon as possible:

Name:

Vehicle License Plate#:

Vehicle Make:

Vehicle Model:

Vehicle Colour:

mailto:[email protected]

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Regional Municipality of Waterloo

Employment and Income Support Community Advisory Committee

Minutes

Friday, June 9, 2017

9:05 a.m.

150 Frederick Street, Kitchener

Room 110

Present were: Chair J. Mitchell, F. Bond, J. Bond, S. Collison, C. Frias*, E. Friesen, S.

Hostetler, L. Hundt, S. Michener-Potts*, K. Morgan-Bowyer, L. Myers, J. Nowak, J.

Tuer, M. Webster, and N. Whittington*

Members absent: E. Cober , S. Dietrich-Bell, S. Duhn, J. Fenton, J. Frandsen, S.

McDermid, D. McLeod, C. Schoenfeldt, C. Simpson, and A. Troeger,

Also present were: D. Bergey*, M. Chowdhury*, A. Fisher, K. Fox, C. Garcia, G.

Hickman*, B. Maier, C. Ryan*, M. Smith, P. Tavares*, T. Verhoeve and M. Wagner

Declarations of Pecuniary Interest Under “The Municipal Conflict of Interest Act”

None declared.

Approval of the Agenda and Minutes

Moved by M. Webster

Seconded by F. Bond

That the Employment and Income Support Community Advisory Committee approve the

agenda for June 9, 2017.

Carried

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EISCAC Minutes - 2 - 17/06/09

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Moved by E. Friesen

Seconded by F. Bond

That the Employment and Income Support Community Advisory Committee approve the

minutes of March 31, 2017.

Carried

Introductions

The Committee Members and guests provided self-introductions.

Presentations / Consultations

4.1 Diversity and Inclusion Plan – G. Hickman and D. Bergey

*M. Chowdhury entered at 9:09 a.m.

Gina Hickman, Service Planning Associate, and Deb Bergey, Manager, Client

Experience and Service Improvement, appeared before the Committee to request

representation from the Committee on the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Stakeholder

Group. G. Hickman distributed a handout explaining the purpose of the Group. A copy

of the handout is appended to the original minutes. She stated that the Group’s purpose

is to provide input on the creation of a new five year Diversity, Equity and Inclusion plan

and is looking for individuals representing different sectors to serve on this group.

F. Bond volunteered to represent the Committee on the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Stakeholder Group.

*G. Hickman and D. Bergey left the meeting at 9:16 a.m.

4.2 Home Assistance Program – C. Ryan

Caitlin Ryan, Account Director, Summerhill Group, provided a presentation on the Home

Assistance program that is offered to assist low income individuals with utility costs. A

copy of the presentation is appended to the original minutes. She explained that the

Low Income Energy Assistance Program provides one time funding to cover energy bills

that have fallen into arrears. She further noted that the Ontario Energy Support Program

is a monthly credit that is designed to assist people with avoiding going into arrears.

C. Ryan advised the Committee that the home assistance program provides a home

energy audit and will switch out light bulbs, provide power bars, and replace inefficient

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appliances She explained that they have worked with all of the social housing providers

in the Region and are now focusing their efforts on contacting landlords.

In response to a question from the Committee, C. Ryan stated that the low income

measure is the standard that is used for all of these programs.

* P. Tavares entered the meeting at 9:22 a.m.

*C. Frias and N. Whittington entered the meeting at 9:26 a.m.

Tracey Verhoeve, Social Planning Associate, noted that the Region operates the

Waterloo Region Energy Assistance Program which is expanded funding for the LEAP

program.

*C. Ryan left the meeting at 9:43 a.m.

4.3 EIS Modernization Update – K. Fox

Kevin Fox, Manager, Direct Services, stated that the Community Services department is

working on a modernization project that is to be fully implemented by 2018. He

explained that at 235 King Street there is a pilot integration team that has combined

Ontario Works, Child Care and Housing Services in order to provide better customer

service by allowing people to access those services in one location. He stated that they

will be looking to partner with other providers with a focus on improving quality of life for

all participants.

In response to a question from the Committee, K. Fox stated that staff are conducting a

survey on the integration pilot and at this point the indicators are all positive and it looks

like the project will continue and will be expanded to locations at 150 Main Street and 99

Regina Street.

The Committee recessed at 10:00 a.m. and reconvened at 10:15 a.m.

4.4 Wellbeing Waterloo Region Community Conversation – T. Verhoeve

T. Verhoeve provided a presentation on Wellbeing Waterloo Region. A copy of the

presentation is appended to the original minutes. She explained that Wellbeing

Waterloo Region has developed a community conversation toolkit to gather feedback on

what the public views as important for wellbeing. T. Verhoeve led the Committee

through a discussion of the Wellbeing Waterloo Region conversation questions.

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4.5 Upcoming Council Reports – T. Verhoeve

T. Verhoeve noted that a report on the Ontario Works discretionary benefits program

will be presented to the Community Services Committee on June 20, 2017. She

explained that the provincial government is not sufficiently funding the program and the

Region is currently providing additional funding but is having significant shortfalls. The

upcoming report will be designed to update Council on how the changes made last year

have affected the program and to make recommendations for the program going

forward. She noted that the report will be available on the Region’s website on June 16,

2017.

Information/Correspondence

7.1 CSD-EIS-17-04, Dental Health Programs for Adults with Low Incomes

Received for information.

7.2 CSD-EIS-17-05, Ontario Works Caseload: January 2017


7.3 CSD-EIS-17-07 / TES-TRS-17-05 Affordable Transit Pilot Project

*S. Michener-Potts left the meeting at 11:01 a.m.


Local Program Challenges / Updates

M. Webster informed the Committee that she will be a panelist for the Social Planning

Council of Cambridge and North Dumfries’ annual poverty symposium on June 15, 2017

at the Preston Auditorium. She noted that anyone that is interested in attending can

contact the Social Planning Council of Cambridge and North Dumfries for more

information.

The Committee noted that the cost of a Transit for Reduced Income Program GRT pass is increasing from $42 to $43.

Next Meeting

Friday October 6, 2017

150 Main St., Cambridge

Corporate Board Room (Room 170)

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9:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

Adjourn

Moved by M. Webster

Seconded by E. Friesen

That the meeting adjourn at 11:08 a.m.

Carried

Committee Chair, J. Mitchell

Committee Clerk, T. Brubacher

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Report: CSD-EIS-17-06

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Region of Waterloo

Community Services

Employment and Income Support

To: Chair Geoff Lorentz and Members of the Community Services Committee

Date: June 6, 2017 File Code: S14-20

Subject: The Working Centre Community Dental Clinic Funding Request

Recommendation:

That the Regional Municipality of Waterloo approve Option 2 as recommended by staff

in report CSD-EIS-17-06 dated June 6, 2017; not to fund The Working Centre

Community Dental Clinic; and

That the Regional Municipality of Waterloo direct staff to work with the Waterloo Region

Oral Health Coalition to support, where possible, its advocacy to the Province of Ontario

to include and fund oral health within the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care funding

envelope.

Summary:

The Working Centre has requested $251,420 from the Community Services Department

(CSD) to support the 2016/17 operating budget of its prevention-focused Community

Dental Clinic. This report outlines two options for Council consideration and offers a

staff recommendation.

Report:

Regional Assistance for Dental Care Services

The Region of Waterloo Community Services Department currently assists with the cost

of dental services for two cohorts of the Region’s adult* population:

* Free dental services are offered to children 17 years old and under through the Province’s Healthy Smiles Program, for eligible families living with low-income (administered by Public Health Department).

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June 6, 2017 Report: CSD-EIS-17-06

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Social Assistance Recipients, which include Ontario Works (OW) participants

and Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) participants; and

Non-Social Assistance Recipients in crisis or emergency situations.

Assistance for the cost of dental services is offered through two programs, as described

below.

Table 1. Overview of Two Programs for Dental Services for Adults

OW Discretionary Benefits

Program

OW Emergency Assistance

Program

Source of Funds Cost-Shared with Province

Amount cost shared is subject to

a cap based on OW and ODSP

caseload. The Region provides

an additional $1.5 million in

annual funding to support the

program

Cost-Shared with Province

No annual spending cap

Clients are eligible for one half of

one month’s OW assistance in a

six month period

Eligible Clients Social assistance recipients (OW

and ODSP Participants)

Non-social assistance recipients in

crisis or emergency situation

Eligible Dental

Services

Emergency and Employment-

related only (e.g., dentures)

OW Directives do not provide

municipalities with the authority

to fund preventative dental

services

Emergency-related only

OW Directives do not provide

municipalities with the authority to

fund preventative dental services

Given that these two programs are cost-shared with the Province, they are subject to

and must comply with the OW Directives. To be eligible for cost sharing, the OW

Directives only provide municipalities with the authority to assist with emergency dental

services and for employment-related dental services for social assistance recipients. To

provide dental programs that address preventative dental services, a municipality would

have to fund these costs without any provincial cost sharing, that is, with 100%

municipal funds.

If approved, the funds to support preventative dental services through the Working

Centre’s Community Dental Clinic would need to be diverted from the Region of

Waterloo Ontario Works Discretionary Benefits (OWDB) budget; specifically, Regional

funding that is not part of the cost shared formula but specifically 100% regional funds

such as the $1.5 million Regional Council currently contributes over and above the

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Discretionary Benefits cost shared amount or other regional funding identified by

Regional Council.

OW Discretionary Benefits Program

Under the Ontario Works Act, Municipalities may provide certain Discretionary Benefits

to social assistance recipients (OW and ODSP participants). There are two types of

benefits: health related and non-health related. Non-health related benefits include

broad categories such as eviction prevention, heat and hydro assistance, interpreter

fees, food hampers, and non-health related travel and transportation. Health related

benefits include such broad categories as dental and vision care for adults. The purpose

of Discretionary Benefits is to provide items not covered by OW Mandatory Benefits and

other support programs such as the Assistive Devices Program. Costs for the OW

Discretionary Benefits program are cost shared with the Province up to a maximum of

$10.00 per case/household per month. The costs of the OW Discretionary Benefits are

part of the Provincial upload program which will be fully uploaded in 2018.

Assistance for dental services is offered to social assistance recipients through the OW

Discretionary Benefits program. For social assistance recipients, OW Provincial

Directives do not provide municipalities with the authority to assist with the cost of

preventative dental care. Provincial Directives only provide Municipalities with the

authority to assist with the cost of dental services for adult participants (and adult

household members) for:

Emergency dental care (i.e., dental services which are necessary to relieve pain

or for medical or therapeutic reasons); and

Dental care which supports the person’s employability or participation

requirements (e.g., orthodontic and denture services).

The OW Discretionary Benefits program has exceeded its allocated budget for two

consecutive years. In 2016, the budget for Dental Services under the OW Discretionary

Benefits Program was $1.57 million, while the actual amount spent totalled $1.81 million

or 15.3% greater than the budget. In 2017, the budget for Dental Services is $1.78

million. Current projections based on 2017 first quarter suggest that the dental program

in 2017 will experience a small over expenditure of $24,000 notwithstanding the added

one-time funding from Regional Council of $400,000 in 2017.

OW Emergency Assistance Program

Dental services provided to non-social assistance recipients are offered through the OW

Emergency Assistance program where an individual in crisis or an emergency situation

can be provided with half of one month’s allowance to address the emergency or crisis.

Individuals who are in receipt of social assistance (i.e. OW or ODSP benefits) cannot

access the Emergency Assistance Program. This program is part of the Ontario Works

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Allowances program which is cost-shared with the Province. There is no limit on the

OW Allowances program. For non-social assistance recipients, Provincial Directives

only provide municipalities with the authority to assist with care in crisis or emergency

situations.

The 2017 Budget for Ontario Works Allowances is $75.4 million and includes the OW

Emergency Assistance Program. This program is cost shared with the Province (97.2%

in 2017) and is included in the Provincial Upload program.

Request from the Working Centre

The Working Centre submitted a request for $251,420 from CSD to support its

Community Dental Clinic in October 2016. The clinic has been established on Victoria

Street in Kitchener with the support of donations from the community for capital costs,

such as dental equipment. A small number of local dentists provide free dental services

to the clinic. The dentists are offering part-time, voluntary service.

The objective of the clinic is to improve access to preventative dental services and

dental health care for people who are homeless/at risk of homelessness, refugees

and/or receiving social assistance. The clinic offers free patient-directed care and

access to a full range of preventative, diagnostic and restorative services for those who

typically do not access dental services except in emergencies. The focus of the clinic is

on preventative care.

Region staff has met with the Working Centre on several occasions to discuss the

request for funding. The Working Centre has confirmed that it is committed to serving

OW and ODSP participants; however, individuals who are employed but living with low-

income would not be eligible for services at the Clinic because it is believed that this

population can more easily access mainstream dental services.

The Working Centre is requesting funding to support its 2016/17 operations budget.

Implications of Funding Request

The Community Services Department is committed to improving access to the supports

that contribute to a healthy, safe and inclusive community. A key objective in the

Region’s Strategic Plan is to mobilize efforts to reduce poverty and the impacts it has on

Waterloo Region residents. To do this, it has committed to collaborating with community

partners to create broad based efforts to reduce poverty.

During a Community Services Committee (CSC) meeting on April 4, 2017, a delegation

from the Waterloo Region Oral Health Coalition (WROHC) gave a presentation

regarding dental services including a request that CSC support a resolution to the

Province requesting, among other things, that oral health be included within the Health

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Care mandate of the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care.† Council passed the

resolution to call upon the Province to expand oral health funding, with prime

consideration for low income adults and seniors.

In recognition of the importance of oral health on a person’s overall health and

wellbeing, staff recommends that Council direct staff to work with WROHC in its efforts

to influence the Province of Ontario to include and fund oral health within the Ministry of

Health and Long Term Care funding envelope.

The work of the WROHC recognizes that responsibility for health care falls within the

jurisdiction of the Province and is intended to support the goal of consistent and

equitable dental health care across Ontario.

As identified earlier in this report The Region of Waterloo has a mandate to deliver the

Ontario Works program including the emergency dental program for adults. While there

is broad agreement that the adult dental program is inadequate, the Ontario Works Act

prohibits the provision of preventative care. To support and fund a preventative dental

program as requested by The Working Centre would put the Region in the position of

creating a dental program outside the prescribed program and being the only

municipality in Ontario to do so, in addition to placing further strain on the budget. By

working with other community partners locally and provincially there is added emphasis

for the Province to hear the advocacy to move oral health care to the broader health

care envelope which is consistent with the link between oral health and general health.

The Province of Ontario is engaged in modernization efforts in every Ministry. Those

efforts include the introduction of Basic Income as well as modernization of Social

Assistance including rate restructuring as parallel programs. It is not yet clear how

these actions will impact the existence and definition of discretionary benefits moving

forward but it is safe to assume that there will be changes. In addition, the Province has

recently announced the extension of the Healthy Smiles Program to children and youth

up to age 25. While it is not yet clear about future developments it is broadly speculated

that this may be the platform that will be used to extend adult dental similarly within the

next 8 – 10 years.

Options:

Below are two options for Council to consider in response to this request for funding.

Option 1: Fund The Working Centre Community Dental Clinic to provide its

preventative dental care program as a 12 month pilot program beginning January

1, 2018

Under this option, the Region would provide $251,420 in 100% funding (100% Region † Staff provided a report with background information on Dental Health Programs for Adults with Low Incomes: CSD-EIS-17-04

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funding) to The Working Centre Community Dental Clinic to provide preventative health

care services for people who are homeless/at risk of homelessness, refugees and/or

receiving social assistance.

The Working Centre would be required to enter into a contract with the Region. Under

this contract, the Working Centre would be required to provide regular financial and

statistical reports to the Region. Further, the Region would strongly encourage the

Working Centre to engage in research on the cost-effectiveness of the proposed model.

Funding for this project would be diverted from the $1.5 million 100% municipal dollars

that are currently supporting the OWDB program or from another 100% municipal

funding source, subject to Council direction.

Advantages:

Preventative dental services would be provided to a number of people living with

low income who would not otherwise receive such services;

Supports The Working Centre’s interest and goal to enhance preventative,

community-led, not-for-profit dental initiative; and

May improve dental and overall health for a limited number of individuals within

close proximity to the clinic.

Disadvantages:

Region cannot use provincial funds to assist with preventative dental services

claims without contravening of the Ontario Works Act and Directives;

If the funding is allocated from the Region’s 100% municipal funding for OWDB,

funding the Community Dental Clinic would increase pressure on the Region’s

OWDB program budget;

o Reallocating funds to cover preventative dental services leaves less

money available for assisting with emergency dental services (Public

Health Dental Services staff estimates that $251,420 would typically

provide emergency dental claims for 1941 OW/ODSP client through

OWDB);

o The Region would continue to be responsible for meeting its commitment

to assist with these emergency claims, which could result in other

components of the OWDB being curtailed or additional funding being

required to sustain the approved level of service to the community;

Although the funds are being requested for 2016/17, this option proposes a 12

month pilot beginning in 2018 at the end of which The Working Centre may

require additional funding to create an ongoing program in subsequent years

which would place further pressure on the OWDB budget; and

Creates a geographic inequity as a result of access/transportation limit.

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Option 2: Not Fund The Working Centre Community Dental Clinic

Under this option, the Region would not approve the requested $251,420 in operating

funding to The Working Centre Community Dental Clinic. However, like other dental

clinics, The Working Centre Community Dental Clinic could submit claims to the Region

to cover emergency dental services rendered to eligible clients (social assistance

recipients and non-social assistance recipients). The Region would only reimburse

claims for emergency dental services and employability in accordance with the current

coverage policies and Directives (preventative services would not be covered). This

would not prevent The Working Centre and the volunteer dentists from providing

preventative services on a “pro-bono” basis.

Advantages:

Preventative dental services would be provided to a number of people living with

low income who would not otherwise receive such services;

There would be no additional pressure on the Region’s Ontario Works

Discretionary Benefit Program budget; and

The implications of geographic inequity would be avoided.

Disadvantages:

“Pro-bono” dental services may not be possible without the requested budget

which would result in preventative dental services not being available to the

target client population.

Recommendation:

In consultation with the Public Health Department and dental subject matter experts, it is

recommended that the Region approve Option 2: not to fund The Working Centre

Community Dental Clinic and the Region continue to endorse the advocacy work of the

Waterloo Region Oral Health Coalition (WROHC). This work recognizes that

responsibility for health care falls within the jurisdiction of the Province and is intended

to support the goal of consistent and equitable dental health care across Ontario.

This approach aligns with the Region’s Corporate Strategic goal of working

collaboratively with the community to reduce poverty and promote healthy, safe and

inclusive communities. Further, working along side community partners to support

advocacy efforts to the Province during modernization efforts and sharing those efforts

with other municipalities, AMO, OMSSA and other provincial associations may well

influence social benefit structures resulting from modernization in the various Ministries.

In addition, this approach ensures that the Region is not creating geographical

inequities and that it can continue to allocate all available funds under the Region’s

Discretionary Benefits budget to assisting with costs of dental care for emergencies and

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for employability.

Corporate Strategic Plan:

The provision of dental health services to low-income individuals supports the Region’s

2015-2018 Corporate Strategic Plan in Focus Area 4: Healthy, Safe and Inclusive

Communities and Strategic Objective 4.2 (to) mobilize efforts to reduce poverty and the

impacts it has on Waterloo Region residents.

The Region committed to achieving this objective by collaborating with community

partners to create broad based efforts to reduce poverty.

Financial Implications:

The 2017 Budget for the OW Discretionary Benefits Program totals $5.1 million. This

includes a $0.4 million one time provision approved by Regional Council to be funded

by the Tax Stabilization Reserve. In addition to its cost sharing requirement ($94,357)

the Region provides an additional $1.5 million from the property tax levy to support the

OW Discretionary Benefits program. The 2017 budget for dental services under the OW

Discretionary Benefits total $1.78 million or 35% of the approved 2017 budget.

The Working Centre Community Dental Clinic has requested annual funding of

$251,420. This represents 14% of the 2017 dental services budget.

Should the Working Centre choose to submit claims for eligible clients, the associated

costs would have to be accommodated within the overall 2017 budget.

Other Department Consultations/Concurrence:

The dental health team within the Public Health and Emergency Services Department

and Corporate Services / Treasury Services were consulted in the preparation of this

report.

Attachments

Attachment A - The Working Centre Community Dental Clinic Operating Budget 2016-17

Prepared By: Carolyn Schoenfeldt, Director, Employment & Income Support

Tracy Verhoeve, Social Planning Associate

Approved By: Douglas Bartholomew-Saunders, Commissioner, Community Services

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Attachment A

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2407703 Page 1 of 5

Region of Waterloo

Community Services

Employment & Income Support



Subject: Ontario Works Caseload: January - March 2017

Recommendation:

For Information

Report:

This report provides an update on the Ontario Works (OW) caseload for the first three

months of 2017. Employment & Income Support (EIS) in Community Services along

with Corporate Services/ Treasury Services monitor the caseloads on a monthly basis

and provide a report to Council quarterly. As more data is collected, a more detailed

caseload profile will be available in March 2018.

OW is an employment-focused program that provides citizens of Waterloo Region with

employment, financial, and social supports for improved quality of life by:

Working with the clients to create an employment or self-sufficiency plan in order

to assist them in achieving their potential and an improved quality of life;

Engaging with employers and the labour market to ensure there are jobs to which

to refer clients; and

Collaborating with internal partners and community.

Caseload numbers are influenced by external factors such as education levels and the

local economy. Below in Table 1 is the total OW caseload for the end of quarter one

(March 2017) with comparisons to the previous quarter end (December 2016) and the

same month in the previous year (March 2017).

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Table 1: Caseload Size

Caseload Size* March 2017

December 2016

March 2016

% of Change December

2016 to March 2017

% of Change March 2016

to March 2017

ROW – OW Caseload 9,146 8,782 8,742 + 4.1% + 4.8%

Ontario - OW Caseload 259,495 253,262 261,056 + 2.5% - 0.6%

*As reported in March 2017 Social Assistance Operations Performance Reports

Caseload numbers do not indicate how participants in OW are improving the quality of

their lives while in the program. As staff focus on measuring quality of life outcomes,

new approaches and reporting tools are being developed. A quarterly caseload profile

will be provided to Council that will highlight strengths and opportunities of both the OW

program and delivery in the Region of Waterloo. The format of the report is likely to

evolve over time as we improve our ability to report on results. EIS is changing how staff

enters data about participants’ quality of life and hope to be able to report on this by

September 2018. Rather than wait for perfect data to report, staff are providing this new

format of a quarterly caseload profile so Council can see this baseline data that shows

some of the strengths and weaknesses of the OW program and can track our progress

as EIS make changes.

Table 2 provides information on the four indicators related to employment that are

tracked to show how many clients were employed and compares the Region to the

Province. About 13% of clients continue to receive OW supports while earning money

from employment because their earnings were low enough for them to still be eligible

(see #4 and #6). Even low earnings from employment can indicate a positive connection

to the community that may lead to a better quality of life and better job opportunities.

Table 2: OW and Employment

OW and Employment*

March 2017

March 2016

1. ROW - Number of cases with Employment Earnings 1,254 1,232

2. Ontario - Number of cases with Employment Earnings 30,277 29,675

3. ROW - % of caseload with employment earnings 13.85% 14.15%

4. Ontario - % of caseload with employment earnings 12.49% 12.16%

5. ROW - Average monthly employment earnings per case

$748 $772

6. Ontario - Average monthly employment earnings per case

$758 $748

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OW and Employment*

March 2017

March 2016

7. ROW - % of terminations exiting to employment1 19.44% 12.62%

8. Ontario - % of terminations exiting to employment 14.25% 13.13%

9. ROW - % of caseload exiting to employment2 1.16% 0.76%

10. Ontario - % of caseload exiting to employment 0.81% 0.71%

11. ROW – Number of exits to employment3 105 66

12. Ontario – Number of exits to employment 1,966 1,744


Table 2 also shows the number of times when a case was closed (a termination) for an

individual or family because someone in the family began earning enough income to

make them ineligible for OW supports, or they voluntarily requested to exit the program

because they are working. The challenge with this measurement is that often clients get

jobs and no longer need OW supports but do not tell their caseworker. The caseworker

may not see or hear from the client again so in the current system of record-keeping the

client is not recorded as “exiting to employment”. As part of modernization efforts, EIS

is reviewing processes to be able to minimize ‘hidden’ exits to employment and ensure

numbers are as accurate as possible.

The Region’s outcomes shown in Table 2 are slightly higher than those of the Province

in all of the categories except “% of terminations exiting to employment” in March 2016.

The changes being made in EIS through the modernization efforts are intended to

increase the numbers in all of the categories in Table 2.

To understand the broader economic context within which OW functions, Table 3

provides the unemployment rates at the end of March 2017 with comparisons to March

2016 and December 2016.

Table 3: Unemployment Rates – Seasonally Adjusted*

Area March

2017

December

2016

March

2016

Waterloo Region 5.6% 5.0% 5.9%

Ontario 6.3% 6.3% 6.7%

*As revised by Statistics Canada

1 “% of terminations to employment” means the per cent of OW cases that left OW because they were beginning to earn enough employment income that they were longer eligible for the program or clients who have asked to have their OW case closed as a result of beginning employment. 2 The per cent of cases exiting to employment from the total current caseload. 3 The total number of cases that exited either due to employment income making them ineligible or as a request to exit because they have achieved employment.

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0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

0-4 months 5-12 months 13-18 months 19+ months More than 12months

More than 24months

Months Participating in the OW Program*

2014

2015

2016

Mar 2017

In Graph 1 we can see how long people are participating in the OW program from 2014

to 2017. There is a trend of people participating longer in the program each year from

2014 to 2016. March 2017 shows a slight decrease in the longest durations (19+

months).

Graph 1: Months Participating in the OW Program*

* The per cents do not equal 100% because the last three categories overlap. Data is

from OW Caseload at a Glance Report March 2017.

Lastly, a brief update on the Ontario Disability Supports Program (ODSP) is provided in

Table 4 even though ODSP is provincially funded and run independently of the Region.

The two programs communicate regularly and the Region refers participants in OW to

ODSP as requested. Participants from ODSP may also participate in some OW

programs and they are able to draw from the OW Discretionary Benefits.

Table 4: December Ontario Disability Supports Program Caseload*

Area March

2017

December

2016

March

2016

% Change

December 2016

to March 2017

% Change

March 2016 to

March 2017

Waterloo

Region 11,838 11,698 11,324 + 1.2% + 4.5%


In summary, the tables demonstrate that for Waterloo Region the caseload numbers for

both OW and ODSP have risen over the last year and have increased slightly from

December 2016 to March 2017. The unemployment rate has risen slightly from

December 2016 to March 2017 and decreased slightly from March 2016 to March 2017

while still remaining lower than the provincial rate.

The increase in caseload numbers may be partly due to the newcomers to Waterloo

Region. Some newcomers need time to learn English, upgrade job skills, medical care

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and trauma supports before they are ready to sustain full time employment. To increase

newcomers’ connections to the work force, EIS provides job skills training and partners

with the Immigration Partnership Council of Waterloo Region to connect with local

business leaders. The higher caseload numbers may also be the result of EIS not

connecting participants to employment supports as quickly as possible. EIS staff are

optimistic that the changes being made in EIS (including integrating employment and

income supports) will increase exits to employment over the next year.


This report addresses the Region’s Corporate Strategic Plan 2015-2018, Focus Area 4:

Healthy, Safe and Inclusive Communities and Strategic Objective 4.2: Mobilize efforts to

reduce poverty and the impacts it has on Waterloo Region residents.


Costs related to the Ontario Works program are cost shared with the Province. In 2017,

the cost sharing ratio was 97.2%/2.8%. Costs related to the ODSP caseload are the

responsibility of the Province.


Corporate Services / Treasury Services was consulted in the preparation of this report.

Prepared By: Carolyn Schoenfeldt, Director, Employment and Income Support

Nina Bailey-Dick, Social Planning Associate, Employment and Income Support


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Region of Waterloo

Community Services

Employment and Income


Date: August 22, 2017 File Code: S14-20

Subject: Ontario Works Discretionary Benefits Program Budget

Recommendation:

For direction.

Summary:

The 2017 Ontario Works Discretionary Benefits (OWDB) Budget totals $5.076 million.

Based on current projections to year end, the program will exceed the budget

marginally. Costs are increasing, particularly in the areas of dental and funerals, where

demand continues to increase significantly and expenditures continue to trend upward

year over year. During the 2017 Budget Process, Council approved a one-time

allocation of $400,000 to address increased demand and directed staff to conduct a

review of the program and provide options for innovative approaches to manage the

program within budget.

This report provides an update on 2017 expenditures and an update regarding program

administration changes intended to streamline the OWDB program. It provides

analyses of efforts in the Region relative to eight comparator municipalities of a number

of online and/or non-traditional methods of service delivery and of the environmental

context (service demand and fiscal resource) within which these services are offered.

Over the past four years, most (if not all) Provincial Ministries with which the Region has

a funding relationship have been engaged in “modernization” efforts. These activities

are focused on integration of programs and services, reducing costs of service delivery,

increasing client control of and satisfaction with services, increasing benefit rates in

social service beyond the introduction of the Basic Income Guarantee among other

possibilities. While concrete changes have not yet been introduced, these activities are,

22 22

August 22, 2017 Report: CSD-EIS-17-09

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in the main, the reason the Province is unwilling to make changes to current programs

(e.g., increasing the amount paid for OWDB). While there has been speculation that the

rate review work will yield an increase in the social assistance rates, there is no

guarantee. The net result is that until this work is concluded and the direction of funding

Ministries is known, municipalities delivering Ontario Works are faced with only two

options with respect to the OWDB: modify/reduce the program offerings to provide the

level of service defined by the prescribed budget or continue to invest municipal funding

in the OWDB program to provide a level of service defined by the unconstrained need

within the community.

This report represents the fourth program review in as many years through which staff

has compared the ROW program to municipal comparators, reviewed and analyzed

many non-traditional mechanisms for program delivery, analyzed both program service

offerings and funding realignments in an attempt to bring the program into alignment

with the budget allocation. With the exception of some minor realignment that is

detailed in this report staff has been unable to make significant changes to remediate

the problem. As such, although there are two options provided, staff has made no

recommendation.

Option A: Remain within the allocated OWDB base budget by undertaking the following

changes, effective January 1, 2018:

Realign the budget for “Interpreter Services” benefits to fall under the Ontario

Works “Cost of Administration” (COA) to leverage a better cost-sharing formula

with the Province ($140,000);

Discontinue the Bus Ticket benefit which provides bus tickets for OW

appointments with Case Workers ($200,000);

Reduce funding for Food Hamper program ($125,000); and

Discontinue the Furniture and Appliance Repair/Purchase benefit ($110,000).

Option B: Permanently increase OWDB budget by $435,000 from the Property Tax

Levy and implement the following change as of January 1, 2018:



with the Province ($140,000).

Staff is seeking direction from Regional Council.

Report: Under the Ontario Works Act, social assistance recipients who receive income support

through Ontario Works (OW) or Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) may also

receive benefits through the Ontario Works Discretionary Benefits (OWDB) program.

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The Region administers the OWDB program which provides a range of health and non-

health benefits to social assistance recipients including vision, dental, eviction

prevention and other costs. In some programs (e.g. food hampers) there may be a

limited number of non-social assistance recipients who also receive benefits.

Beyond the OWDB Program, there are additional OW programs administered by the

Employment & Income Support Division through which residents may receive support,

including the OW Mandatory Benefits Program for social assistance recipients and the

OW Emergency Assistance Program for non-social-assistance recipients. These

programs are cost-shared with the Province with no cap on expenditures. In addition,

there are Benefits for Non-Social Assistance Recipients ($1.3 million tax levy funding)

which is used to provide support to residents for subsidized transit and to assist

residents in emergency situations that are not covered elsewhere. See Appendix A for

additional information about these benefits programs.

OWDB Funding Formula

Prior to 2012, the funding formula for the OWDB was based on cost sharing of

uncapped expenditures (80% Provincial and 20% Regional). Under this formula, the

Region was second only to the City of Hamilton in overall expenditures for Discretionary

Benefits.

In 2012, the Province eliminated the Community Start-Up and Maintenance Benefit and

changed the funding formula for OWDB to a capped amount based on $10 per month

multiplied by the total number of households receiving assistance through OW and

ODSP in the Region. Based on that formula, the amount the Province cost-shared with

the Region declined from $5.9 million to $2.5 million, a decrease of $3.4 million or 58%.

Funding Formula Limitations The current Provincial cost sharing formula for OWDB presents a number of limitations

to the program. The cap has remained constant since implementation in 2012 and does

not take into account inflation, the growing cost of delivering services, the growing

demand for services, the number of members within a household or other factors

outside the control of the Region, such as:

Caseload Shifts (overall number of cases and number of families): Provincial

funding levels increase or decrease as the total number of households on the

caseload shift. In addition, a higher proportion of families on the caseload would

result in less funding per individual. A funding formula of $10 per month per

household member of the total OW/ODSP caseload would more closely

approximate the budget for the demand on service. Regional Council has

advocated for this change with the Province. The Province has declined to make

any changes to the formula which, in all likelihood is related to the many factors

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being considered in the modernization of social assistance programs and the

resulting future changes.

Provincial policy: The Province determines which benefits are considered

Mandatory and which benefits may be delivered through the OWDB program. For

example, in July 2016, several benefits that were previously offered under the

OW Discretionary Benefits program were re-classified as Mandatory Benefits for

ODSP recipients only (e.g., compression stockings, knee and ankle braces).

Demographics: Different segments of the population may experience greater

needs for health-related items under the OWDB program, such as aging

populations, people with disabilities and refugees.

For many benefit items (e.g. funerals), rates paid by the Region have remained static for

several years due to funding pressures, despite funeral providers requesting rate

increases to keep pace with their costs of service delivery.

Regional Response to the Revised Funding Formula

Since 2012, staff has worked in collaboration with benefit recipients and the community

to find a solution to the growing divide between the available funding and the increasing

demand for service within the community. Staff has presented the issue to those who

need these benefits and community partner agencies seeking input on which benefits

should be retained and which could be reduced or eliminated to balance the need and

the funding.

Advice from those with lived experience in poverty and those providing collateral

services notwithstanding, attempts to restructure the listed benefits, the frequency of

benefits, introduction of user fees or placing limits on the amount funded per benefit

item have been unsuccessful in controlling expenditures in the comparator

municipalities with which we have consulted. The Program was revised in 2013 (i.e.,

elimination of dentures, decrease in orthotics coverage) recognizing that job search is

made much more difficult when applicants present without teeth.

Over the past five years, since the funding formula change, Regional Council has

invested funding over and above the Provincial capped amount for the OWDB program.

Since 2014, the Region has been supplementing the program with funding from the

property tax levy ($1.5 million since 2014) and since 2015 has allocated $500,000 from

the Community Homeless Prevention Initiative (CHPI) to address housing and

homelessness issues. In 2017, Council approved an additional one-time allocation of

$400,000 to address increased demand which brought the 2017 Budget to $5,076,000.

2017 Budget Update

Budget Committee requested that staff report back in 2017 on the status of the budget

and expenditures under the OWDB program. At the current time, it is projected that

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there may be a small over expenditure in 2017 even with the additional allocation. To

date, staff has reported on the OWDB budget to Council as part of the periodic financial

reporting process.

Table1. Summary of OWDB Program Budget, Funding Sources and Expenditures,

2014-2017

2014 2015 2016

2017 (Projection)

Budget

MCSS Subsidy * $2,186,000 $2,255,000 $2,324,000 $2,582,000

CHPI

$500,000 $500,000 $500,000

Region of Waterloo (100% Municipal)

$1,500,000 $1,500,000 $1,500,000 $1,500,000

Region of Waterloo (Cost-Share) $281,000 $212,000 $143,000 $94,000

Region of Waterloo (One-Time**) $500,000 $400,000

Total Budget $4,467,000 $4,467,000 $4,467,000 $5,076,000

Actual Expenditures $4,060,943 $4,655,694 $4,660,736 $5,100,000

Variance (Budget – Actual Expenses) $406,057 ($188,694) ($193,736) ($24,000)

* MCSS subsidy increasing due to Provincial uploading. 2017 Projection based on increased caseload. **

One time funding from Tax Stabilization Reserve

Based on program spending to June, it is estimated that the 2017 spending on OWDB

will be $5.1 million, or $24,000 over the 2017 approved budget. This is a preliminary

estimate and is subject to change. Appendix B provides additional details about the

OWDB budget, including year to date expenditures broken down by OWDB benefit type.

Demand continues to increase within the OWDB, particularly in the areas of dental and

funerals, and is expected to trend upward. Appendix C provides additional information

about trends in demand for services under the OWDB.

Program Review and Analysis of Cost-Saving Opportunities

Over the past seven months staff has undertaken a Program Review and has amassed

a list of potential opportunities, procurement and service delivery options that have been

reviewed in depth. Appendix D details the many options reviewed.

As seen from Appendix D, most, if not all of these innovations are not recommended

and would have limited, if any positive impact on the current situation and may well

have added costs for administration, implementation and delivery.

Staff assessed all potential cost-saving opportunities against the Region’s values as

well as a commitment to keeping all health-related benefits intact. Staff prioritized

options that would optimize Provincial funding formulas, while having as little impact on

client services as possible.

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Municipal OWDB Comparison As part of the Program Review, staff canvassed eight comparable municipalities.

OWDB programs are highly variable throughout the province. The variability was

further exacerbated by the funding formula changes in 2012 which significantly

impacted some Consolidated Municipal Service Managers (CMSMs) (e.g., the Region

and the City of Hamilton). While these CMSMs were providing benefits within the

formula prior to the change, the funding change resulted in a significant unfunded

demand on the program following the imposition of the cap. In other CMSMs, the

provincial cap resulted in a significant increase in funding available for OWBD because

these CMSMs had established service levels that fell well within the provincial cap once

defined (e.g., Halton Region).

Appendix E shows the current state of OWDB program delivery in eight comparator

municipalities. Particularly noteworthy are that none of the 8 municipalities contacted

fund food insecurity (food hampers) through OWDB, 5 do not fund emergency

response,bed bug eradication or utility arrears, 4 of 8 do not fund eviction prevention

and 3 of 8 do not provide for bus tickets through OWDB. All of these items are funded

through OWDB in Waterloo Region.

Colleagues from these municipalities confirm that despite best efforts there are no easy

answers to managing OWDB. That said, most believe that in part, the answer to

reduced reliance on Discretionary Benefits requires a great focus on recipient self-

sufficiency through increased income and/or employment. The focus on self-sufficiency

through employment is one of many objectives of the modernization efforts in the EIS

Division which will be the subject of a future report to Council.

Community Input and Consultation Since 2012, staff has consulted widely with OW/ODSP recipients and community

partners in an attempt to more effectively manage the OWDB program (see Appendix F

for details). In addition, three previous reports* to Community Services Committee have

been submitted with recommended options for managing the program. In addition to

direct consultation with the community there have been multiple delegations to

Committee and Council at the time of these reports. In each case, CSC referred the

matter back to staff with direction to further review and seek alternative solutions. In

2017, staff consulted subject-matter experts in targeted areas to determine the

feasibility of various program delivery options, given the client group, the nature of some

health care items, the need for technical proficiency and/or a credit card or the creation

of a robust administrative process to implement these options among other

considerations. Comparator municipalities were also consulted about their programs,

attempts to control costs and success/lack thereof with many of the ideas being

* See CSD-EIS-16-04; CSD-EIS-16-14; SS-14-017

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considered for use in Waterloo Region. In many cases, these additional consultations

led to the conclusion that these options were not viable.

2018 Program Delivery Adjustments Based on the Program Review described above, staff has identified several areas that

allow for adjustments in the delivery of the program, some of which will have impacts on

clients and may have impacts on the budget:

1. Food Hampers: The Food Hamper program is delivered by the Food Bank of

Waterloo Region (the Food Bank). Region staff will continue to work with the

Food Bank to improve data collection within this program to ensure that OWDB

funds are only being used to support the intended recipients (i.e., social

assistance recipients). The needs of non-social assistance recipients should be

addressed where possible through alternate funding. Quarterly reports are

provided to the Region to increase accountability and transparency within the

program.

2. Adult Dental: Staff does not recommend any changes to the administration of

Adult Dental benefits through the OWDB at this time. However, as directed by

Council in report CSD-EIS-17-06, staff will support, where possible, community

efforts to advocate that oral health be included in and funded by the Ontario

Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. This approach recognizes the

importance of oral health on a person’s overall health and is intended to support

the goal of consistent and equitable dental health care across the Province.

Given that demand for Adult Dental continues to increase, provincial ownership

of adult dental would reduce pressure on the OWDB budget;

3. Interpreter Services: Interpreter Services will be moved from OWDB to Cost of

Administration. Interpretation is essential for those who are not English speaking

or who speak English as a second language. Clients must understand the

application, rights and responsibilities of the program before they sign the

application for OW. The application and waivers are legal documents that can be

used in legal or quasi-judicial proceedings. Failure to ensure the client

understood their entitlements, rights and responsibilities would jeopardize any

such legal proceedings. As such, Interpreter Services are not discretionary. This

removes $140,000 from the OWDB expenditures annually and cost shares these

services with the MCSS on a 50/50 basis through Cost of Administration;

4. Eviction Prevention: Eviction Prevention program administration and funding

($500,000 from the Community Homelessness Prevention Initiative) will be

moved to the Housing Services Division, effective January 1, 2018. This realigns

these activities to Housing which is consistent with other housing stability

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activities and the mandate of that Division;

5. Energy Assistance (Late Payments): Staff will continue to explore opportunities

to realign the Energy Assistance program out of the OWDB program either to

Housing Services Division or to a community agency. These supports are more

aligned and consistent with housing stability and inconsistent with the

discretionary nature of OWDB; and

6. Overall Program Oversight and Administration: Oversight and administration of

the OWDB program will be assigned to one specific supervisor and team within

the Employment and Income Support Division where interpretation and granting

of benefits will be more consistent. In addition, the lead supervisor with

assistance from Social Planning Associates can identify trends, patterns and

future opportunities to streamline and align the program with the strategic

objectives of the Region.

While these potential savings resulting from these program delivery changes are

minimal in comparison to the projected 2018 unconstrained need, they create some

capacity within the OWDB program. Regardless of the proposed 2018 budget options

below, these changes (above) will be effective January 1, 2018 (with the exception of

item #5 which requires additional analysis and planning time).

2018 Forecasted Expenditures and Budget Impact

Based on a mathematical analysis of expenditures from 2014 to 2017 (year-to-date),

financial forecasting estimates suggest that without program changes to the OWDB

program, expenditures could reach $5.4 million in 2018. The transfer of the Eviction

Prevention program ($500,000) reduces the projected demand estimate to $4.9 million.

Given that expenditures can fluctuate year over year for various reasons (e.g., demand,

caseload size), this estimate is subject to change. See Appendix G for additional details

about expected expenditure increases.

The 2018 Budget projection is presented in the following table.

Table 2. 2018 Budget Projection

2017 Budget Expenditures $5,076,183

Less: One time 2017 Allocation (400,000)

Less: Eviction Prevention Programs

Transferred to Housing Division (500,000)

Add: Impact of increased caseload 148,817

2017 Preliminary Budget $4,325,000

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The shortfall between the projected program demand ($4.9 million) and the projected

budget is $575,000.

2018 Budget Options From the extensive consultation and research staff has undertaken, it appears there are

limited opportunities to innovate to address the shortfall within this envelope of benefits.

That said, staff has identified two options for Council consideration and direction.

Option A: Remain within the allocated OWDB budget by undertaking the following

changes, effective January 1, 2018:



with the Province ($140,000);

Discontinue the Bus Ticket benefit which provides bus tickets for OW

appointments with Case Workers ($200,000);

Reduce funding for the Food Hamper program ($125,000); and

Discontinue the Furniture and Appliance Repair/Purchase benefit ($110,000).

Table 3 below describes the proposed changes and the anticipated impacts. These

changes will leave $575,000 in funds in the OWDB budget to assist with offsetting

increasing expenditures and are expected to keep the program within its annual budget.

Table 3. Impact of Benefit Changes in Option A Benefit Item Description of Change and Analysis Annual Savings

(Impact on OWDB Budget)

Realign Interpreter Services to Cost of Administration

Interpreter services would be realigned to fall under EIS Cost of Administration budget. As a result, these expenditures would be eligible for 50% cost-sharing with the Province.

Interpreter services would continue to be provided to OW participants as needed.

$140,000

Discontinue Bus Ticket benefit (for trips to caseworker)

The Region would no longer cover the costs of bus tickets for social assistance recipients to attend appointments with caseworkers. Transportation for medical appointments or employment-related purposes would continue to be covered.

Considerations:

May limit access to Ontario Works income and employment support services.

This policy change would be implemented within

$200,000

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the same year that the new Ontario Works service location opens in the City of Kitchener in 2018. This would ensure that services are closer to and more easily accessible to clients.

There are plans to have case workers provide services in neighbourhoods which would be closer to clients requiring less travel by clients to the offices.

The Region is researching a broader low income transit program that if successful and implemented may offset any losses in this area.

Three of 8 comparator municipalities do not provide this benefit.

Reduce Food Hampers Program

Funding is currently provided to the Food Bank of Waterloo Region for $700,000. The Region would reduce the amount of the funding in 2018 to $575,000.

Considerations:

The Food Bank of Waterloo Region and its delivery partners would lose $125,000 in funding which is used to provide Food Hampers through the community.

None of the 8 comparator municipalities consulted provides food hamper funding.

$125,000

Discontinue Furniture and Appliance Repair/Purchase

The Region would no longer provide funds to households to cover furniture and appliance repair/purchase, except in emergency situations. This benefit item would be phased out over 2018 in consultation with community partners.

Considerations:

Demand for appliance repairs under the OWDB program has decreased over several years.

Furniture and appliance purchase would also be discontinued, which includes mattress purchases/bed bug eradication and purchase of stove, fridge, etc.

The Region could continue to provide assistance with furniture and appliance repairs and purchases in emergency situations on a case-by-case basis, through a contingency budget, at the discretion of the OW Director.

$110,000

Total $575,000

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Potential Implications:

This option allows the Region to remain within the allocated OWDB program

budget for 2018;

The Region continues to meet its legislative obligations under the Ontario Works

Act and related legislation;

All health-related Discretionary Benefits remain intact;

Reducing service levels will impact clients; and

Stakeholders and public may react unfavourably.

Option B: Permanently increase OWDB budget by $435,000 from the Property Tax

Levy as of January 1, 2018 and undertake one low-impact cost-saving measure:



with the Province ($140,000).

Table 4 describes the proposed change and the anticipated impacts of Option B. It is

expected that this change will result in a savings of $140,000. This change, coupled

with a $435,000 increase to the budget, is expected to be sufficient to meet the

forecasted service level demand for the program for 2018.

Table 4. Impact of Benefit Changes under Option B

Benefit Item Description of Change and Analysis Annual Savings (Impact on OWDB Budget)

Realign Interpreter Services to Cost of Administration

Interpreter services would be realigned to fall under EIS Cost of Administration budget. As a result, these expenditures would be eligible for 50% cost-sharing with the Province.

Interpreter services would continue to be provided to OW participants as needed.

$140,000

Total $140,000

Potential Implications:

An increase in Regional funding for OWDB will meet the projected service

demand for 2018;

All health-related Discretionary Benefits remain intact; and

Stakeholders are expected to react favourably to continued support for the

OWDB program.

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Staff is seeking direction from Council regarding which of the presented options to

include as the basis for preparing the 2018 budget.

Long-Term Implications

Given the history of increasing costs, the options provided above may only address the

needs of 2018 and not future years unless further approval is granted to modify the

service offerings as needed to remain within the budget or further investment from the

tax levy is provided. Given the Provincial funding limitations, and the significant potential

for expenditures to vary, it is difficult to predict what will be needed for the Region to

sustain the OWDB. The amount that the Province will cost share is dependent on the

OW and ODSP caseloads. As caseload levels change, so will the amount available for

the OWDB. In future years, based on caseload change and growing demand, Option A

may require further benefit reductions; Option B may require additional tax levy

investment.

Beyond Options A and B, this review has raised the importance of a heightened focus

on participant self-sufficiency through employment which is, in part, the focus of

modernization efforts within EIS and will be the subject of a future report to Council.

Corporate Strategic Plan: The provision of OWDB to social assistance recipients supports the Region’s 2015-

2018 Corporate Strategic Plan in Focus Area 4: Healthy, Safe and Inclusive

Communities and Strategic Objective 4.2 (to) mobilize efforts to reduce poverty and the

impacts it has on Waterloo Region residents.

Financial Implications: The 2017 approved budget for the OWDB program totals $5,076,183 including a one-

time approval of $400,000 for 2017. This budget is funded by a combination of

provincial grants ($2.5 million from MCSS and $0.5 million from CHPI), $0.4 million from

the Tax Stabilization Reserve (for the one-time 2017 approval), and $1.59 million from

the property tax levy. The Region’s property tax levy contribution is comprised of

$94,357 for its required contribution on cost shared expenditures and $1.5 million

additional funding approved by Council for the OWDB program. The Region’s required

contribution in 2018 will be $0 as the provincial upload of social assistance costs will be

completed.

Based on the July year to date expenditures, it is projected that OWDB expenditures will

total $5.1 million, which is $24,000 greater than the approved budget. This is a

preliminary projection and is subject to change.

The 2018 Projected budget for OWDB is $4,325,000 (as detailed above in Table 2).

Without program changes, a preliminary estimate of demand for OWDB totals $4.9

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million, or $575,000 greater than the 2018 Preliminary Budget. Two options are

presented that would bring the program demand and approved budget to the same

level.

Option A is summarized below in Table 5, with additional detail available in Appendix H.

Option A would not require further contribution from the Region for the OWDB.

Table 5. Budget Impact of Option A

2018 Preliminary Demand Estimate

$4,900,000

Transfer Interpreter Fees to Administration Budget (140,000)

Reduction to Food Hamper Program (125,000)

Discontinue Bus Ticket Program (200,000)

Discontinue Furniture and Appliance Program (110,000)

Total program changes $(575,000)

Revised Program Demand Estimate $4,325,000


Change to Regional Contribution $0

Option B is summarized below in Table 6, with additional detail available in Appendix I.

Option B would increase the Region’s contribution by $435,000 per year, for an

increase of 29% over the $1,500,000 currently included in the 2018 preliminary budget

for OWDB. Should Option B be selected, to ensure the long term stability of the OWDB

program permanent ongoing funding from the Property Tax Levy should be dedicated to

this program.

Table 6. Budget Impact of Option B

2018 Preliminary Demand Estimate $4,900,000

Transfer Interpreter Fees to Administration Budget $(140,000)

Total program changes $(140,000)

Revised Program Demand Estimate $4,760,000


Change to Regional Contribution $435,000

In future years, the impact of caseload and cost escalation for services will be

considered as part of the budget process for the Region.

Other Department Consultations/Concurrence: Corporate Services (Treasury Services) and Public Health and Emergency Services Department were consulted in the preparation of this report.

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Attachments Appendix A: OW Benefits and Services Appendix B: OWDB Budget (2016/17) Appendix C: OWDB Demand for Benefit Items Appendix D: OWDB Cost-Saving Opportunities Considered Appendix E: Comparison of OWDB across Municipalities Appendix F: Community Consultations on OWDB Appendix G: Forecasted OWDB Expenditures in 2018 Appendix H: OWDB Proposed 2018 Budget (Option A) Appendix I: OWDB Proposed 2018 Budget (Option B) Prepared By: Carolyn Schoenfeldt, Director, Employment & Income Support Tracy Verhoeve, Social Planning Associate Approved By: Douglas Bartholomew-Saunders, Commissioner, Community Services

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Appendix A: OW Benefits and Services

Table 7. Overview of OW Benefits and Services Available in 2017

Program OW Mandatory Benefits Program

OW Discretionary Benefits (OWDB)

Program

OW Emergency Assistance

Program

Benefits for Non-Social Assistance

Recipients

(Operates outside of OW)

Population Served

OW/ODSP OW/ODSP

(Primarily)

Non-Social Assistance Recipients

Non-Social Assistance Recipients

(Primarily)

Funding Cost-shared with the Province

(uncapped)

Cost-shared with the Province (capped)

Cost shared with the Province (uncapped)

100% Municipal Funding ($1.3

million)

Items Covered

Dental Care for Dependent Children

Vision Care for Dependent Children

Diabetic Supplies

Mobility Devices Repairs and Batteries

Surgical Supplies and Dressings

Child Care

Extended Health Benefits

Extended Employment Health Benefits

Guide dog benefit

Medical transportation

Full-time Employment Benefit

Other Employment and Employment Assistance Activities Benefit

Dental for Adults

Vision Care for Adults

Funeral Costs

Travel/bus tickets

Drugs/Medical Supplies

Interpreter services

Mobility Aids and Orthotics

Hearing Aids

Furniture/Appliance purchase

Eviction Prevention/ Late Payments

Emergency Response

Purchase of Documents

Food Hampers (may be provided to both social assistance recipients and non-social assistance recipients)

Clients are eligible for one half of one month’s OW assistance in a six month period to assist with crisis or emergency situations.

Subsidized transit (TRIP Program)

Other benefits as needed on a one-time/ emergency basis. For example, if a family is facing utility arrears and has already exhausted all other financial supports, the Region may provide assistance on a one-time basis in order to prevent eviction.

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APPENDIX B: OWDB Budget (2016/2017)

Table 8. Ontario Works Discretionary Benefits Budget, Actuals and Variances

2016 2017

2015 Actual Budget Actual Variance Budget

Year to Date (July)

Remaining Budget

Dental For Adults $2,057,172 $1,567,200 $1,806,066 $(238,866) $1,776,183 $1,171,851 $604,332

Food Hampers 700,008 700,000 700,008 (8) 700,000 419,986 280,014

Vision Care For Adults

316,850 320,000 322,086 (2,086) 320,000 209,020 110,980

Funeral Costs 357,907 500,000 444,825 55,175 500,000 206,162 293,838

Travel/Bus Tickets 169,368 200,000 193,268 6,732 200,000 101,931 98,069


57,309 175,000 48,064 126,936 175,000 38,349 136,651

Interpreter Services 73,450 140,000 108,532 31,468 140,000 51,602 88,398

Mobility Aids & Orthotics

18,496 70,000 66,130 3,870 70,000 37,887 32,113

Hearing Aids 16,716 20,000 30,235 (10,235) 20,000 27,879 (7,879)

Furniture/Appliance Purchase

26,347 110,000 74,832 35,168 110,000 52,612 57,388

Eviction Prevention / Late Payments

843,496 585,000 854,105 (269,105) 585,000 494,773 90,227

Emergency Response

9,478 70,000 648 69,352 70,000 483 69,517

One Time Approval

400,000 400,000

Purchase Of Documents

9,097 10,000 11,937 (1,937) 10,000 5,717 4,283

Total $4,655,694 $4,467,200 $4,660,736 ($193,536) $5,076,183 $2,818,252 $2,257,931

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APPENDIX C: OWDB Demand for Benefit Items

Table 9 summarizes the estimated number of requests for all services offered in the

Ontario Works Discretionary Benefits (OWDB) program, excluding food hampers and

bus tickets.

Table 9. Estimated Number of OWDB Requests for Service from 2013 to 2017

Discretionary Item 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

(YTD)†

Adult Dental‡ 8,178 8,651 10,123 9,121 4315

Funerals 103 116 115 155 77

Waterloo Region Energy

Assistance Program

(WREAP)

722§ 896 1,049 1,390 536

Eviction Prevention

Program

361 476 503 617 301

Interpreter Requests 1320 1080 703 1,627** 889

OW Discretionary Benefits

– Other Items

5,227 5,288 5,003 4,525 2,476

Total 15,911 16,507 17,496 17,435 8,594

† 2017 numbers are for the most current requests available to date (July 1, 2017). ‡ Adult dental services for dentures were suspended in parts of 2013, 2014, and 2015. As the table shows, adult dental has the largest uptake of all OWDB services. § 2013 WREAP requests are only from CHPI sources. No data is available on assistance amounts provided through OWDB program funds for that year. ** Increase in demand for interpreter services in 2016 is believed to be caused by Syrian refugee surge.

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Appendix D: OWDB Cost-Saving Opportunities Considered

Adult Dental Benefits

2016 Expenditures: $1,808,000

Current Policy: Variable (claims subject to review by Public Health Dental Unit)

Table 10. Cost-Saving Options for Dental Services and Dentures

Cost-Saving Option

Benefit Analysis Recommendation

Reduced fee rates for dental and/or denture benefits

Option: Lower limits for dental and/or denture benefits Considerations:

The Region has a similar adult dental budget, service options, and denture allowances as other municipalities consulted.

Consultation with Public Health indicates that rates are already substantially (40 – 60%) lower than rates set by Ontario Dental Association and the Denturist Association of Ontario.

Reducing fee rates further for dental benefits could discourage providers from providing services to clients of the Discretionary Benefits program (which could create barriers to service provision).

Denture benefits were already suspended several times between 2013 and 2016 but were reinstated into the program following stakeholder feedback.

Key Finding:

Although lowering dental limits may reduce cost, it is expected to reduce access to services for residents living with low-income.

Not recommended

Community Dental Partnership

Option: Develop a community partnership to deliver dental services for low-income individuals Considerations:

The Community Services Division entered into discussions with The Working Centre to explore the possibility of establishing a partnership that could result in cost-savings for adult dental services under the OWDB.

The Working Centre’s preferred model focused on preventive dental care.

Consultation with Public Health and Finance found that a community dental partnership with The Working Centre’s model would not result in cost-savings for the Region’s Discretionary Benefits Program.

In addition, services through The Working Centre are not easily accessible to all cities and townships in the Region.

See CSD-EIS-17-06 Key Finding:

A community dental partnership would not result in cost-savings at this time.

Not recommended

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Adult Vision Benefits

2016 Expenditures: $322,086

Current Policy: Current policy is $200 for new glasses every 24 months. Glasses

repairs and glasses replacements are considered on a case-by-case basis.

Table 11. Cost-Saving Options for Adult Vision Benefits

Cost-Saving Option


Eye glass bank Option: Create a community-based eye glass bank Considerations:

Council members requested that an eye glass bank as recommended by a delegation from the community be explored as a cost-saving option.

This option was considered during the 2016 community consultations. Participants noted that the provision of recycled eye glasses would require contracting of subject matter experts, which would add to the budget pressures for the Region.

Additional consultation with a subject matter expert (i.e., the School of Optometry and Vision Care at the University of Waterloo) in 2017 suggested that the cost to administer an eye glass bank would be burdensome.

Several research studies have noted concerns about quality and cost effectiveness of donated or recycled eye glasses (Pearse, 2014; Wilson et al. 2012).

This approach does not align with program values, to treat residents with dignity and respect.

Key Finding:

Creating a community-based eye glass bank is not expected to result in cost-savings.

Not recommended

Bulk eye glass purchasing

Option: Purchase eye glasses in bulk quantities Considerations:

Bulk purchasing could result in cost-savings with regards to eye glasses. However, funds would be needed to cover the administration of the eye glasses to clients by a registered health professional.

It is unclear whether bulk eye glasses would be appropriate for most clients. One study indicated that ready-made “off the shelf” eye glasses would only be appropriate for about 20% of the population (Maini, 2001).

Key Finding:

Purchasing glasses in bulk is not expected to result in cost-savings for the OWDB.

Not recommended

Online eye glasses

Option: Purchase eye glasses from “online” vendors

Not recommended

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Cost-Saving Option


Considerations:

In Ontario, the sale of eye glasses and contact lenses online is unregulated.

According to the Canadian Association of Optometrists, not only does unregulated eye wear dispensing expose the public to the risk of substandard care, it also presents a verification challenge for third party payers.

According to two studies, online eye glasses may be lower quality than glasses purchased from an optometrist.

Consultation with a subject matter expert in 2017 suggested that vision-care providers in the community would likely not support this approach.

Key Finding:

Covering online eye glasses may be cost-saving but may compromise client safety and pose administrative challenges.

Create Vendor of Record (VOR)

Option: Create Vendor of Record for adult vision care services Issue Request for Information (RFI) to local vendor community to assess interest in being a “Vendor of Record” by offering group discount rates for clients of the Discretionary Benefits Program. Vendor(s) of VOR could have access to discounted frames and/or lenses purchased in bulk. Subject to favourable RFI results, create “vendor of record” with suppliers that offer discount rates to OWDB clients. Considerations:

A community-based subject matter expert suggested that this approach would require a subject matter expert to support administration of the program, which would be administratively burdensome.

May not result in services that are easily accessible to all residents throughout the Region. Residents may require additional transportation funds for accessing preferred suppliers.

Key Finding:

Unlikely to result in significant (if any) cost-savings, due to administrative burden.

Not recommended

Extend eligibility period for glasses

Option: Extend eyeglass eligibility period for eye glasses to every three or four years. The $200 limit would not change. Considerations:

Council recommended exploring this option at CSC meeting on November 22, 2016.

Eye exams are typically covered for social assistance recipients every 24 months.

o For each member of the benefit unit who is between the ages of 20 and 64 Ontario Works (Mandatory Benefits) will cover the cost of routine eye examinations once in every 24-month period.

o The Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) covers

Not recommended

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Cost-Saving Option


the cost of eye exams for people under age 20 and people 65 years and over.

o Adults between the ages of 20 and 64 who have medical conditions requiring regular eye examinations (i.e., treatments for infection, disease and injury) receive coverage for these eye examinations once in every 12-month period under OHIP.

Under the proposed option, social assistance recipients would not be eligible for eye glasses after each exam.

This would result in an estimated cost-savings of $150,000 (based on the assumption that the option would result in a 50% reduction in costs).

A community-based subject matter expert suggested that this approach would result in substandard care for social assistance recipients.

Key Finding:

This approach would result in an estimated cost-savings of $150,000, but would result in substandard care for social assistance recipients.

This approach would put the eye glass eligibility cycle (every 3 or 4 years) out of sync with the standard provincially approved cycle (every 2 years) for eye examinations.

Realign majority of Adult Vision Care budget to “Employment-Related Expenses”

Option: The Region would continue to provide Adult Vision Care benefits according to current policies, but realign a portion to another budget line.

Considerations:

This approach would allow the Region to take advantage of increased cost-sharing by the Province.

o The Province will fully fund the ERE budget at 100% starting in 2018.

o In previous years, the cost-sharing ratio was set at 50:50.

The Province has recently encouraged municipalities to increase support for OW clients using ERE funds as they progress towards employment.

This approach aligns with the shift the Region is making towards greater emphasis on employment outcomes within the OW program.

This approach creates a significant burden on staff to administer given current technology for processing Vision Care claims.

Key Finding:

This approach would result in cost-savings from the OWDB, but would create a significant administrative burden for finance and divisional staff, including the creation of new reporting to the Province.

Not Recommended

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Funeral Benefits


Current Policy: The current policy includes limits for three components:

$2974+HST (Funeral);

$2111 (Burial);

$560 (Cremation, if applicable)

Table 12. Cost-Saving Options for Funeral Benefits

Cost-Saving Option


Discontinue Funeral Services Benefits

Option: Delist funeral and burial services from the Discretionary Benefits Program. The Region would only cover the costs of indigent burials (i.e., unclaimed bodies) as required under the Anatomy Act, 1990. The Region would no longer provide funds to families to cover funeral services. Considerations:

Costs for burial services for unclaimed bodies are estimated at $1800. The Region typically provides burial services for fewer than 10 unclaimed bodies each year.

Families of the deceased would be expected to absorb the cost of funeral services that are no longer covered under the Discretionary Benefits Program. Where families cannot pay, funeral homes would absorb the costs.

Local funeral homes may lobby Council to retain this funding.

Consultation with several funeral home directors suggested that lowering service levels would result in loss of dignity and respect for residents.

Key Finding:

This approach would result in an estimated cost-savings of $450,000, but would result in loss of dignity and respect.

Not Recommended

Cost-Share Funeral Services with Families

Option: Share the cost of funeral and burial services with families of the deceased. Considerations:

A cost-sharing approach is typically problematic for OWDB benefits, given that OW clients and their families have limited disposable income. In many cases, service providers such as funeral homes would be forced to either absorb the family’s portion of the cost or refuse service.

Cost-sharing of funeral services was not common among eight other municipalities that were canvassed.

The impact of cost-sharing may not be equitable across all cultural communities. Families that require culturally appropriate services may face a significant financial

Not Recommended

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Cost-Saving Option


burden when forced to share the costs. Key Finding:

Cost-sharing would likely result in cost-savings to the Region, but could pose additional burden on funeral homes and create a barrier to culturally appropriate funeral services.

Lower limits for Burial and Cremation benefits

Option: Request that local municipalities offer lower cemetery fees for burials and/or cremations for low-income clients. Considerations:

Funerals and Burials Act sets maximums for cemetery fees ($1300 for burial and $500 for cremations).

Region of Waterloo could consider reducing rates to fall within these maximums.

In 2016, this rate change would have saved the Region approximately $45,000.

Reducing maximums could have an impact on the Region’s ability to meet the cultural needs of those requiring this service.

Key Finding:

This approach would have only a moderate impact on the cost of Discretionary Benefits and may negatively impact the cultural needs of some individuals.

Not Recommended

Create Funeral and Burial Vendor of Record (VOR)

Option: Create “preferred vendor list” for funeral services Issue Request for Information (ROI) to local vendor community to assess interest in being a “vendor of record” or a “preferred supplier” by offering group discount rates for OWDB clients. Subject to favourable ROI results, create “preferred supplier list” or “vendor of record” with suppliers that offer discount rates to OWDB clients. Considerations:

Currently the Region covers funeral costs for low-income individuals above provincial maximums to meet costs of local funeral services

Recommended option to develop “preferred vendor list” is contingent on interest in local vendor community

Although this approach might result in cost-savings, it would limit client choice to a small number of funeral homes.

Consultation with several funeral home directors in 2017 suggested that:

o This approach could lead to: lower quality of service (e.g., no access to services in instances of weekend or evening deaths) which could lead to loss of dignity and respect for residents.

o This approach would give residents less choice in terms of funeral home location and multi-cultural

Not Recommended

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Cost-Saving Option


services. o There may not be interest in the community to

become a vendor of record, given that OWDB rates are already low. Note: Rates were last negotiated in 2012 and were set at levels which were expected to meet only basic services.

In addition, stakeholders noted that the current approach used by Waterloo Region to fund and administer funeral benefits is recognized as a best practice within the sector because it is streamlined and administratively simple.

Key Finding:

Although this approach might result in cost-savings, it would limit access to quality and timely services, as well as services to meet needs of all cultural communities.

Furniture and Appliance Repair and/or Purchase Benefits


Current Policy:

$200 limit on repairs

$300 limit on purchase of fridge and/or stove every 24 months

$200 (adult) and $150 (child) limit every 24 months (for clients transitioning from

institution, transition home or emergency shelter)

Table 13. Cost-Saving Options for Furniture and Appliance Repair/Purchase

Cost-Saving Option


Delist furniture and appliance repair and purchase benefits

Option: Delist furniture and appliance repair benefits Considerations:

The Region will no longer provide funds to households to cover furniture and appliance repair. These funds will be re-allocated to cover other benefits.

Consultation with the House of Friendship suggested that: o Demand for furniture and appliance repair has

gone down significantly over recent years. o Appliance repair is no longer cost-effective (new

appliances are often similar in price to repair costs).

o Other municipalities are not offering this service.

Furniture and appliance purchase would also be discontinued, which includes mattress purchases/bed bug eradication and purchase of stove, fridge, etc.

The Region would work closely with the House of Friendship to phase out this program over 2018.

Feasible

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Cost-Saving Option


Key Finding:

This approach would result in a budget savings of $110,000. Actual expenditures vary by year.

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Transportation Benefits (Bus Tickets for Caseworker Appointments)


Current Policy: As needed, for appointments with caseworker

Table 14. Cost-Saving Options for Transportation Benefits Cost-Saving

Option Benefit Analysis Recommendation

Delist Bus Ticket (for trips

to caseworker)

Option: Delist Bus Ticket Benefit (for trips to caseworker) The Region would no longer cover the costs of bus tickets for social assistance recipients to attend appointments with caseworkers. Transportation for medical appointments or employment-related purposes would continue to be covered. Considerations:

May limit access to Ontario Works income and employment support services.

This policy change would be implemented within the same year that the new Ontario Works location opens in the City of Kitchener in 2018. This would ensure that services are more easily accessible to clients.

The Region is researching a broader low income transit program that if successful and implemented may offset any losses in this area.

Providing remote services on a neighbourhood basis (in Townships and specific neighbourhoods within Cities) could result in service delivery closer to the recipient and reduce the need for travel.

Key Finding:

This approach would result in an estimated cost-savings of $195,000. Actual expenditures vary by year.

Feasible

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Interpreter Services

2016 Expenditures: $108,532.40

Current Policy: As needed, for appointments with caseworker

Table 15. Cost-Saving Options for Interpreter Services

Cost-Saving Option


Realign Interpreter Services to fall under OWDB “Cost of Administration”

Option: Interpreter services would be realigned to fall under Ontario Works Cost of Administration funding with the Province to leverage 50% cost-sharing on these expenditures. Considerations:

Interpreter services would be realigned to fall under “cost of admin” to leverage better cost sharing opportunities with the province.

Budget items listed under “Cost of Administration” are cost-shared with the province at a ratio of 50:50.

This option would not have any service impacts on clients. Interpreter services would continue to be offered to clients as needed.

Interpreter services are mandatory when caseworkers are making eligibility determination and there is a risk that facts may be misrepresented/misunderstood when interacting with a client.

Key finding:

This approach would result in a savings to the OWDB budget of $140,000. This approach would result in an estimated net cost-savings of $70,000 as a result of 50 percent cost-sharing ratio with the Province.

Feasible

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Food Hampers


Current Policy: Delivered through a Lead Agency community partnership model

Table 17. Cost-Saving Options for Food Hampers

Cost-Saving Option


Realign Food Hamper program from the OWDB to a new budget line

Option: Realign Food Hamper Program from the OWDB to a new budget line Considerations:

Of the other municipalities canvassed, the Region of Waterloo is the only one that includes Food Hampers as part of its OWDB program budget. Shifting Food Hampers out of the Discretionary Benefits budget would ensure that the Region’s approach is more consistent with other municipalities and budgets can be more easily compared.

However, stakeholders could express concern with making any changes to the food hamper program.

No cost-savings would be achieved. Key Finding:

Although this approach would streamline the OWDB budget and would be more comparable with other municipalities, it would not result in an overall cost-savings to the Region.

Not recommended

Ensure Food Hampers support SARs only

Option: Ensure that the Food Hamper Program supports SARs only by improving the agency’s report-back process. Considerations:

OWDB funds should not be used to support non-social assistance recipients, as prescribed in the Ontario Works Act.

Use of funding for non-social assistance recipients is believed to be minimal.

Key Finding:

This approach may result in minimal cost-savings.

Recommended

Reduce funding for Food Hamper Program

Option: Reduce funding for the Food Hamper program. Considerations:

A grant is currently provided to the Food Bank of Waterloo Region for approximately $700,000.

The Region would reduce the amount of the grant in 2018 to $575,000 resulting in a loss of $125,000.

Key Finding:

This approach would result in cost-savings to the OWDB budget, but would reduce support for Food Hampers among social assistance recipients.

Feasible

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Hearing Aid Benefits


Current Policy: $1000 (once per lifetime)

Table 17. Cost-Saving Options for Hearing Aids

Cost-Saving Option


Create program to refurbish hearing aids

Option: Create program to refurbish hearing aids Considerations:

This option was considered during the 2016 community consultations. Participants noted that the provision of hearing aid refurbishment would require contracting of subject matter experts, which would add to the budget pressures for the Region.

Key Finding:

Creating a program to refurbish hearing aids is not expected to result in cost-savings.

Not recommended

Eviction Prevention Benefits

2016 Expenditures: $854,105 (includes Late Payments)

Current Policy: One issuance per year

Singles: $1400

Couples: $1800

Benefit Unit with dependent children: $2400

Table 18. Cost-Saving Options for Eviction Prevention

Cost-Saving Option


Realign Rent Eviction benefit administration to Housing Division

Option: Realign Rent Eviction benefit administration and budget to Housing division Considerations:

The Employment and Income Support (EIS) Division and the Housing Division have entered into discussions that the administration of Rent Eviction benefits be transferred from EIS to the Housing Division.

The Housing Division could incorporate these services into its existing portfolio of housing supports for community members, which would result in:

o Improved customer service experience and streamlined administration of housing supports.

o More time for EIS staff to assist OW participants with employment supports and administering other Discretionary Benefits.

Recommended

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Cost-Saving Option


Most other municipalities offer Rent Eviction support through housing programs.

Key Finding:

This approach is not expected to result in overall cost-savings, but is expected to result in administrative benefits and improved customer experience.

Energy Assistance Benefits (Late Payments)

2016 Expenditures: $367,649 (CHPI + LEAP + 100% Municipal dollars)

Current Policy: Maximum of $500; one payment per utility, per year, per household.

Table 19. Cost-Saving Options for Energy Assistance Benefits

Cost-Saving Option


Explore opportunities to realign Energy Assistance out of OWDB

Option: Explore opportunities to realign Energy Assistance out of OWDB Considerations:

The Employment and Income Support (EIS) Division has entered into discussions with the Housing Division to explore opportunities to realign the Energy Assistance program out of the OWDB.

In 2016, approximately $365,000 was provided to residents in need of Energy Assistance through the Waterloo Region Energy Assistance Program.

Currently the costs of administering WREAP are partially offset by $200,000 in CHPI Funding, as well as funding through the Ontario Energy Board’s Low-Income Energy Assistance Program..

The Housing Division could incorporate these services into its existing portfolio of housing programs to support housing stability for community members, which would result in:

o Improved customer service experience and streamlined administration of housing supports.

o More time for EIS staff to assist OW participants with employment supports and administering other Discretionary Benefits.

Most other municipalities offer energy arrears support through housing programs.

Key Finding:

Approach likely to result in lower administrative burden and better customer experience.

Recommended (discussions ongoing)

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Third Party Benefit Provider

Table 20. Cost-Saving Options through a Third Party Benefit Provider

Cost-Saving Option


Shift benefit administration to Third Party Benefit Provider

Option: Shift benefit administration to a third party benefit administrator for Dental, Dentures and/or Vision Considerations:

A third party benefit administrator is not expected to result in cost-savings because a fee is required for administration, but could result in administrative benefits (e.g., staff can dedicate their time to client interactions, rather than claims administration).

However, dental services are currently administered through the Public Health Dental Unit, which offers strong administrative oversight and identifies strategic cost-saving approaches. A third party administrator is not expected to provide these benefits.

The Region has consulted with other municipalities to identify advantages and disadvantages of third party providers such as Accerta which is an arm of the Ontario Dental Association that provides benefit administration on behalf of several other municipalities (e.g., York, London and Thunder Bay) for a fee and was used and discontinued historically in Waterloo Region.

Key Finding:

This approach is not expected to result in overall cost-savings.

Not recommended

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Appendix E: Comparison of OWDB across Municipalities

Staff has canvassed eight other municipalities to identify solutions for aligning

Discretionary Benefits within the allocated budget. Findings from this municipal review

are summarized below and details are available in Table 21 and Table 22.

Many of the services provided through The Region of Waterloo OWDB program are

comparable with benefits offered by other OW Administrators

Some services provided by Waterloo Region are not offered elsewhere through the

OWDB, such as:

o Food Hampers

o Bed Bug Eradication

o Emergency Response

Of the eight municipalities canvassed, four funded the program above the $10

Provincial Cap by varying amounts.

Staff in other municipalities noted that there are no simple solutions to controlling

costs, but have used the following approaches:

o Reduced/removed services

o Increased monitoring

o Created contracts with suppliers for equipment (e.g., vision and mobility aids)

o Shifted services to other departments, where appropriate (e.g., utility arrears

moved to housing department)

o Shifted service provision to community

o Focused on self-sufficiency

o Explored options for preferred vendors, group discounts or bulk tendering for

certain items, third party administration of dental

For dental and denture services, Waterloo is comparable to other regions in terms of

coverage limits and services offered.

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Table 21. Discretionary Benefit Items Offered under the OWDB Program, by

Municipality (2017)

Wate

rlo

o

Yo

rk

Ham

ilto

n

Lo

nd

on

Halt

on

Du

rham

Nia

gara

Peel

Sim

co

e

To

tal

Nu

mb

er

Adult Dental 9

Adult Vision

9

Prosthetic Appliances

9

Child Care (for medical appts)

2

Funeral Costs

9

Moving Expenses

6

Energy/Water Conservation

1

Travel/Bus Tickets

6

Utility Arrears (Late Payments)

4

Layette & Baby Supplies

7

Furniture/Appliance Purchase

7

Bed Bug Eradication

4


8

Eviction Prevention

2

Food Hampers

1

Purchase of Docs (Identification)

7

Mattress Purchase

8

Mobility Aids and Orthotics

9

Interpreter Services

7

Emergency Response

4

Other

2

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Table 22. OWDB Program Funding, by Municipality (2017)

Wa

terl

oo

Yo

rk

Ha

mil

ton

Lo

nd

on

Ha

lto

n

Du

rha

m

Nia

ga

ra

Pe

el

Sim

co

e

A Total 2017 OWDB Budget

††

(million)

$5.08 $4.6 $3.99 $3.07 $2.27 $2.92 $4.4 $4.6 $2.57

B Total Number of Benefit Units

‡‡

21,021 19,364 32,977 27,836 8,263 22,871 27,588 38,217 21,447

C Total Funding per Benefit Unit per month

§§

$20 $20 $10 $10 $23 $11 $13 $10 $10

D Sources of Funding Above the Prov. Cap

***

(million)

Total: $2.4

Source:

Tax levy: $1.5

CHPI: $0.5

Tax

Stab. Reserv

e: $0.4 (one-time)

Total: $2.2

Source:

Tax

Levy: $2.2

n/a n/a Total: $1.4

Source:

Tax Levy $0.3

CHPI $1.1

Total: $0.2

Source:

CHPI: $0.2

Total: $1.1

Source:

Tax levy: $1.1

n/a Total: $0.1

Source:

Tax

Levy: $0.1

†† A. Total 2017 OWDB Budget includes: The total of all funds that are used to provide OWDB items to OW participants, including: provincial MCSS funds and sources of funding above the provincial cap. ‡‡ B. Total number of benefit units: OW / ODSP Combined Caseload as of March 2017 §§ C. Total Funding per Benefit Unit per Month = A / B / 12 (months) *** D. Sources of Funding Above the Provincial Cap may include: CHPI (if applicable), and municipal dollars/tax levy.

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Appendix F: Community Consultations on OWDB

Employment and Income Support (EIS) has engaged in ongoing community

consultations on OWDB, starting when the cap was announced in 2012, and following

service changes to OWDB in 2013. A delegation to Community Services Committee on

June 14, 2016 asked for members of the community to be involved in exploring

solutions for providing services proposed for de-listing, such as the creation of a hearing

aid refurbishment program and/or an eye glasses bank.

As a result of this request, staff hosted consultation sessions in 2016 to explore options

for providing services outside of the OWDB. A total of 62 participants attended two

consultation sessions on September 6 and 12, 2016. Participants included members

from the Employment and Income Support Community Advisory Committee and the

Housing Participant Advisory Group, individuals with lived experience, community

agencies and Region of Waterloo staff from various Divisions. Additionally, staff

attended a meeting with the Grand River Accessibility Advisory Committee to provide an

overview of the suggested items for de-listing.

The main recommendation from the community consultation sessions was that no

services should be de-listed, and should services be de-listed, for the Region to engage

in continued discussion about how to provide services in partnership with the

community.

In spring 2017, E&IS undertook four additional targeted consultations to collect input

from the following community agencies and subject matter experts regarding potential

changes to specific benefits under the OWDB program:

Subject matter expert from University of Waterloo School of Optometry and Vision

Science

Several funeral home directors

City of Hamilton (regarding Funeral policies)

House of Friendship (regarding Furniture Repair Program)

Overall, the consultations supported the perspective that the OWDB program

contributes to resident’s quality of life and that changes to the program must ensure that

residents continue to be treated with dignity and respect.

In addition, consultations with the community highlighted that current rates under the

OWDB program are typically low (relative to industry standards) and that stakeholders

will need a rate increase to continue providing service to OW clients in upcoming years.

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APPENDIX G: Forecasted OWDB Expenditures in 2018 Table 22. OWDB Expenditures, by Year

Year OWDB Expenditures Source of Data †††

2014 $4,060,943 Actual Expenditures



2017 $5,100,000 Projected to Year End

2018 $5,400,000 Forecasted Estimate

Based on a financial analysis of expenditures from 2014 to 2017 (year-to-date),

forecasting estimates suggest that without program changes expenditures could reach

$5.4 million in 2018.

Given that expenditures fluctuate year over year for various reasons (e.g., demand,

caseload size), this is an estimate that is subject to change.

Figure 1. OWDB Expenditures, by Year (with Trend Line)

††† :Projected and forecasted estimates are subject to change.

$0

$1,000,000

$2,000,000

$3,000,000

$4,000,000

$5,000,000

$6,000,000

2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

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APPENDIX H: OWDB 2018 Budget (Option A)

Table 23. Impact of Option A on 2018 Discretionary Benefits Budget

2017

Budget Approved Change

2018 Budget

Changes

Transfer CHPI

Program Changes

2018 Budget

Dental for adults $1,776,183 $148,817 575,000 $2,500,000

Food hampers 700,000 (125,000) 575,000

Vision care for adults 320,000 320,000

Funeral costs 500,000 500,000

Travel/bus tickets 200,000 (200,000) 0

Drugs/medical supplies

175,000 175,000

Interpreter services 140,000 (140,000) 0

Mobility aids & Orthotics

70,000 70,000

Hearing aids 20,000 20,000

Furniture/appliance purchase summary

110,000 (110,000) 0

Eviction prevention / Late Payments

585,000 (500,000) 85,000

Emergency response 70,000 70,000

One Time Approval 400,000 (400,000) 0

Purchase of documents

10,000 10,000

Total $5,076,183 ($400,000) $148,817 ($500,000) $0 $4,325,000

Provincial Subsidy $2,581,826 $148,817 $2,730,643

Uploading Impact 94,357 94,357

Total Subsidy $2,581,826 $0 $243,174 $0 $0 $2,825,000

CHIPI Funding 500,000 (500,000) 0

Tax Stabilization Reserve

400,000 (400,000) 0

Total Revenues $3,481,826 ($400,000) $243,174 ($500,000) $0 $2,825,000

Net Regional Levy $1,594,357 $0 ($94,357) $0 $0 $1,500,000

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APPENDIX I: OWDB 2018 Budget (Option B)

Table 24. Impact of Option B on 2018 Discretionary Benefits Budget

2017

Budget Approved Change

2018 Budget

Changes

Transfer CHPI

Program Changes

2018 Budget

Dental for adults $1,776,183 $148,817 $575,000 $2,500,000

Food hampers 700,000 700,000

Vision care for adults 320,000 320,000

Funeral costs 500,000 500,000

Travel/bus tickets 200,000 200,000

Drugs/medical supplies

175,000 175,000

Interpreter services 140,000 (140,000) 0

Mobility aids & Orthotics

70,000 70,000

Hearing aids 20,000 20,000

Furniture/appliance purchase summary

110,000 110,000

Eviction prevention / Late Payments

585,000 (500,000) 85,000

Emergency response 70,000 70,000

One Time Approval 400,000 (400,000) 0

Purchase of documents

10,000 10,000

Total $5,076,183 ($400,000) $148,817 ($500,000) $435,000 $4,760,000

Provincial Subsidy $2,581,826 $148,817 $2,730,643

Uploading Impact 94,357 94,357

Total Subsidy $2,581,826 $0 $243,174 $0 $0 $2,825,000

CHIPI Funding 500,000 (500,000) 0

Tax Stabilization Reserve

400,000 (400,000) 0

Total Revenues $3,481,826 ($400,000) $243,174 ($500,000) $0 $2,825,000

Net Regional Levy $1,594,357 $0 ($94,357) $0 $435,000 $1,935,000

59 59

Report: CSD-EIS-17-10 / TES-TRS-17-13

2428176 Page 1 of 4

Region of Waterloo

Community Services Department

Employment and Income Support Division

Transportation and Environmental Services Department

Transit Services



Subject: Affordable Transit Pilot Project

Recommendation:

For Information.

Summary:

In April 2017 a joint Community Services and Transportation and Environmental

Services report (CSD-EIS-17-07 / TES-TRS-17-05) provided an update to members of

the Community Services Committee and Regional Council on the progress of a pilot

study of a low income transit program.

This report provides an update on the progress of the pilot study.

Report:

Since the April 2017 Community Services Committee report staff members in both

Departments have been working to move the project forward. High level updates and

milestones include:

May 8, 2017: Project meeting with community partners (Lutherwood and The

Working Centre), Regional staff, and consultant/third party evaluator to determine

process and components of the pilot study.

May 19, 2017: Finalization of the Agreement for Consulting Services between the

Region of Waterloo and the consultant/third party evaluator (University of

60 60

June 20, 2017 Report: CSD-EIS-17-10 / TES-TRS-17-13

2428176 Page 2 of 4

Waterloo/The Evidence Network).

June 1, 2017: Detailed Evaluation Plan submitted to the Ontario Trillium

Foundation.

At the project meeting on May 8, the group of community partners, Regional staff, and

consultant/third party evaluator discussed the process and components of the pilot.

Three fare products will be used for the pilot:

A half priced adult monthly pass;

An off-peak adult pass; and

A per-trip discount (e.g., twenty trips/rides at a reduced rate) preloaded on an

EasyGO fare card.

The pilot will research and evaluate low income transit options in order to illuminate the

personal, social and economic impacts of affordable transit for people living with low

income.

The pilot is intended as follows1:

Eligible adults on the Transit for Reduced Incomes Program (TRIP) waitlist will

be recruited to participate.

Participants of the pilot will be asked to fill out a survey every four months

(October 2017, January 2018, May 2018, and September 2018).

The pilot is targeting approximately 2,400 participants. If the TRIP waitlist does

not provide a sufficient number of participants, other community members living

with low income will be invited to participate in the pilot.

Participants will be randomly assigned to either a pass or control group at the

beginning of the pilot. Participants in the control group will not receive a pass.

Participants in the pass group will receive access to a discounted fare product

(that they selected at the outset of the pilot).

In October 2017 and January and May of 2018, a certain number of people

(approximately 20% of the control group) will be informed they have been

randomly selected for the pass group, and that they can purchase a discounted

fare product (that they selected at the outset of the pilot) for the remainder of the

pilot.

The control group will get smaller as the pilot progresses, and the number of

people with access to a discounted fare product will increase as the pilot

progresses.

Incentives/compensation (gift cards or money) will be provided each time

participants fill out the survey.

1 The pilot study methodology will be reviewed by the University of Waterloo’s Office of Research Ethics. Changes to the pilot methodology or processes may change as a result of this ethics review.

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Participants who have been in the control group throughout the pilot and remain

in the control group at the conclusion of the pilot will be given a free monthly bus

pass for several months (to thank them for their participation and compensate

them for their time).

Next steps and projected timelines:

Summer 2017: Obtain ethics approval for the pilot study through the University of

Waterloo’s Office of Research ethics. Finalize the processes and components of

the pilot with the project steering group (community partners, Regional staff, and

consultant/third party evaluator).

Fall 2017: Begin advertisement of pilot and recruitment of participants.

Fall 2017 to fall 2018: Pilot study is conducted.

Summer 2018: Preliminary data analysis.

Fall 2018: Draft interim report for Region of Waterloo Council (align with 2019

Budget/Issue Paper timelines). Final analysis of pilot study data.

Winter 2019: Draft and submit final report to Region of Waterloo Council and the

Ontario Trillium Foundation.


This report addresses the 2015-2018 Corporate Strategic Plan Focus Areas of:

2.1 Create a public transportation network that is integrated, accessible, affordable and

sustainable.

4.2 Mobilize efforts to reduce poverty and the impacts it has on Waterloo Region

residents.

5.4 Ensure Regional programs and services are efficient, effective and provide value for

money.


The Ontario Trillium Foundation and Province’s Poverty Reduction Strategy Office has

approved a grant totalling $551,000 over 2017 and 2018 to offset the one-time costs

related to this pilot. The use of funds is detailed in the table below:

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In addition to the direct costs related to the pilot program, Regional staff time will be

provided as in-kind support.


Representatives from Corporate Services, Transportation and Environmental Services,

and Community Services, Employment and Income Support provided input to this

report.

Attachments

Nil

Prepared By: Chris McEvoy, Supervisor, Employment & Income Support

Peter Zinck, Assistant Director, Transit Services

Approved By: Douglas Bartholomew-Sanders, Commissioner, Community Services

Thomas Schmidt, Commissioner, Transportation & Environmental Services

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2484707 Page 1 of 5

Region of Waterloo

Community Services

Employment & Income Support


Date: August 22, 2017 File Code: S09-80

Subject: Ontario Works Caseload: April - June 2017

Recommendation:

For Information.

Report:

This report provides an update on the Ontario Works (OW) caseload for the second

quarter of 2017 (April – June). Employment & Income Support (EIS) in Community

Services along with Corporate Services/ Treasury Services monitor the caseloads on a

monthly basis and provide a report to Council quarterly. As more data is collected, a

detailed caseload profile will be provided in March 2018 and quarterly thereafter.

OW is an employment-focused program that provides citizens of Waterloo Region with

employment, financial, and social supports for improved quality of life by:

Working with the clients to create an employment or self-sufficiency plan in order

to assist them in achieving their potential and an improved quality of life;

Engaging with employers and the labour market to ensure there are jobs to which

to refer clients; and

Collaborating with internal partners and community to support client needs

across service sectors, such as health, housing and education.

Caseload numbers are influenced by external factors such as education levels and the

local economy. Table 1 is the total OW caseload for the second quarter (April - June

2017) with comparisons to the first quarter (January - March 2017) and the second

quarter in the previous year (April - June 2016).

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Table 1: Caseload Size

Caseload Size* Second Quarter

2017

First Quarter

2017

Second Quarter

2016

% of Change First to Second

Quarter 2017

% of Change Second

Quarter 2016 to Second

2017

ROW – OW Caseload

9,240 8,933 8,758 + 3.4% + 5.5%

Ontario - OW Caseload

259,522 259,288 261,445 0.0% - 0.7%

*As reported in June 2017 Social Assistance Operations Performance Reports.

Numbers are an average of the three months in the quarter.

Caseload numbers do not indicate how participants in OW are improving the quality of

their lives while in the program. As staff focus on measuring quality of life outcomes,

new approaches and reporting tools are being developed. A quarterly caseload profile

will be provided to Council that will highlight strengths and opportunities of both the OW

program and delivery in the Region of Waterloo. The format of the report is will evolve

over time as we improve our ability to report on results. EIS is changing how staff enters

data about participants’ quality of life and hope to be able to report on this by the end of

2018. Rather than wait for perfect data to report, staff is providing this new format of a

quarterly caseload profile so Council can see this baseline data and more easily track

client progress resulting from program changes being implemented.

Table 2 provides information on the four indicators related to employment that are

tracked to show how many clients were employed and compares the Region to the

Province. Fourteen per cent of clients continue to receive OW supports while earning

money from employment because their earnings have not reached the threshold level

for ineligibility. (see #3 and #5). Low earnings from employment can indicate a positive

connection to the community that may lead to a better quality of life and better job

opportunities.

Table 2: OW and Employment

OW and Employment*

Second Quarter

2017

Second Quarter

2016

1. ROW - Number of cases with Employment Earnings 1,281 1,142

2. Ontario - Number of cases with Employment Earnings 30,992 29,070

3. ROW - % of caseload with employment earnings 14.00% 13.04%

4. Ontario - % of caseload with employment earnings 12.49% 12.79%

5. ROW - Average monthly employment earnings per case

$778 $768

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OW and Employment*

Second Quarter

2017

Second Quarter

2016

6. Ontario - Average monthly employment earnings per case

$785 $762

7. ROW - % of terminations exiting to employment1 14.46% 13.13%

8. Ontario - % of terminations exiting to employment 12.87% 15.51%

9. ROW - % of caseload exiting to employment2 0.80% 0.76%

10. Ontario - % of caseload exiting to employment 0.75% 0.88%

11. ROW – Number of exits to employment3 74 67

12. Ontario – Number of exits to employment 1,831 2,152



Table 2 also shows the number of times a case was closed (a termination) for an

individual or family because someone in the family began earning income above the

eligibility thresholds, or they voluntarily requested to exit the program because they are

working. The challenge with this measurement is that often clients get jobs and no

longer need OW supports but do not tell their caseworker, making it difficult to classify

the reason for the exit / termination. As part of modernization efforts, EIS is reviewing

processes to be able to minimize ‘hidden’ exits to employment and ensure numbers are

as accurate as possible.

To understand the broader economic context within which OW functions, Table 3

provides the unemployment rates for the second quarter of 2017 with comparisons to

the second quarter of 2016 and first quarter of 2017. While these numbers suggest that

it should be easier to find employment in Waterloo Region relative to Ontario as a

whole, there is often a lack of alignment between OW participants’ education and / or

skill level relative to the jobs available. (e.g. advanced manufacturing and tech sectors)

Table 3: Unemployment Rates – Seasonally Adjusted*

Area Second

Quarter

2017

First

Quarter

2017

Second

Quarter

2016

Waterloo Region 5.2% 5.6% 5.8%

1 “% of terminations to employment” means the per cent of OW cases that left OW because they were beginning to earn enough employment income that they were longer eligible for the program or clients who have asked to have their OW case closed as a result of beginning employment. 2 The percent of cases exiting to employment from the total current caseload. 3 The total number of cases that exited either due to employment income making them ineligible or as a request to exit because they have achieved employment.

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Area Second

Quarter

2017

First

Quarter

2017

Second

Quarter

2016

Ontario 6.2% 6.3% 6.6%

*As revised by Statistics Canada. Numbers are an average of the three months in the

quarter.

Lastly, a brief update on the Ontario Disability Supports Program (ODSP) is provided in

Table 4. ODSP is provincially funded and operated; however, there is inter-dependence

between these programs. OW is often the intake point for clients who are referred to

ODSP once deemed eligible as a result of a disability. ODSP clients may be referred to

OW employment programs and are eligible for supports through the OW Discretionary

Benefits program.

Table 4: December Ontario Disability Supports Program Caseload*

Area Second

Quarter

2017

First

Quarter

2017

Second

Quarter

2016

% Change

First to Second

Quarter 2017

% Change

Second Quarter

2016 to Second

Quarter 2017

Waterloo

Region 11,888 11,759 11,365 + 1.1% + 4.6%



In summary, the tables demonstrate that for Waterloo Region the caseload numbers for

both OW and ODSP have risen over the last year and have increased slightly from the

first to second quarter of 2017.


This report addresses the Region’s Corporate Strategic Plan 2015-2018, Focus Area 4:

Healthy, Safe and Inclusive Communities and Strategic Objective 4.2: Mobilize efforts to

reduce poverty and the impacts it has on Waterloo Region residents.


Costs related to the Ontario Works program are cost shared with the Province. In 2017,

the cost sharing ratio was 97.2%/2.8%. The cost sharing upload will be completed in

2018 at which time the Region’s obligation to contribute to program costs will terminate.

Costs related to the ODSP caseload are the sole responsibility of the Province.

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Corporate Services / Treasury Services was consulted in the preparation of this report.

Prepared By: Carolyn Schoenfeldt, Director, Employment and Income Support

Nina Bailey-Dick, Social Planning Associate, Employment and Income Support


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Region of Waterloo

Community Services

Employment and Income Support


Date: September 12, 2017 File Code: S12-40

Subject: 2017-2018 Ontario Works Service Plan

Recommendation:

That the Regional Municipality of Waterloo approve the 2017-2018 Ontario Works

Service Plan;

And that the plan be forwarded to the Ministry of Community and Social Services for

approval as outlined in report CSD-EIS-17-12, dated September 12, 2017.

Summary:

A full Service Plan is required and developed in the first year (2017) of a two year

approval cycle, and updated in the second year (2018) as part of the budget process. A

draft of the Region of Waterloo’s 2017-2018 Ontario Works Service Plan has been

distributed separately.

Report:

1.0 Background

Ontario Works provides two types of assistance: employment services and basic

financial assistance. The vision for the Ontario Works (OW) program is to achieve

improved employment outcomes for Ontario Works participants with the goals of

sustainable employment and increased financial independence. The mandate is to

provide temporary financial and employment assistance to people in financial need.

Eligibility for financial assistance and the amount granted are based on a financial

assessment and participation in employment related activities. In order to receive

financial assistance, applicants enter into a participation agreement which includes an

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September 12, 2017 Report: CSD-EIS-17-12

2503143 Page 2 of 44

individualized employment plan (unless there is an approved reason to be deferred from

participation).

The Region of Waterloo is one of forty-seven Consolidated Municipal Service Managers

(CMSMs) in the Province of Ontario. Community Services, through Employment &

Income Support, provides financial assistance under the Ontario Works Act to people in

need to cover the cost of food, shelter and clothing. Additional financial support is

provided through the discretionary benefits program for such items as vision, dental and

medical services for Ontario Works and Ontario Disability Support Program participants

and persons with low income. A range of services which assist people to find

employment are purchased or directly delivered by Employment & Income Support. As

well, staff refers to a variety of community partners which provide the services and

supports required by the individual participant.

2.0 The Service Plan

The Province requires that all Consolidated Municipal Service Managers submit an

Ontario Works Service Plan every two years that summarizes service delivery

information including service targets and strategies for the period covered by the

Service Plan. The plan contains an environmental scan, a review of the management of

the Ontario Works’ program within the Region and a discussion of the strategies to

achieve the program outcomes. The primary goal of service planning is to demonstrate

how the range and type of services being provided will best serve Ontario Works

participants. The intent is to link Provincial funding for Employment Assistance activities

to employment outcomes. Once approved, the 2017-2018 Service Plan will become part

of the service description schedule of the Ontario Works service contract between the

Region and the Province.

3.0 Key Directions for 2013

In developing the 2017-2018 Service Plan Employment and Income Support consulted

two key reports: the Workforce Planning Board of Waterloo Wellington Dufferin (WPB)

Community Labour Market Analysis and SAMS Benefit Unit Summary reports. These

documents provide an overview of local labour market conditions and the demographic

profile of Ontario Works participants. This information helps Employment and Income

Support understand the population it is serving as well as trends in local economic

conditions. This information complements the service experience of the past years and

the information received from community partners and collaboration initiatives such as

our Employment and Income Support Community Advisory Committee.

Regional initiatives that Employment and Income Support will take part in over the

course of this service plan include: improved community engagement activities such as

Connectivity Table, Community Employment Linkages Committee, the Cambridge

Employment Facilitation Network and the Immigration Partnership Council; follow up to

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the 2017 Employee Engagement Survey; Modernization and Integration activates

intended to align our services so that we are ready for provincial initiatives and provide

improved employment focused experiences for clients across Employment and Income

Support, Children’s Services and Housing.

At the same time, there are several Provincial initiatives that will impact the work of the

division, including:

Implementation of the Ministry of Community and Social Services culture change

initiatives that are intended to create seamless access to child care, housing

supports, income and employment supports and create risk based approaches

to the province’s financial and employment support systems;

Continued participation on provincial workgroups to improve the reporting and

interface functions of the Social Assistance Management System (SAMS);

Advisory participation in the Ministry of Community and Social Services Risk

Based Certification of Assurance initiative;

Collaboration with Transportation and Environmental Services, Corporate

Services and the Treasury Board of Ontario Local Poverty Reduction Strategy

research grant to explore the impact of reduced transit fares.

Finally, Employment and Income Support has identified a number of activities to better

support its participants in the coming years. These include a restructuring of the

division’s services to enhance access, ongoing support and program integrity; the

integration of the Employment Ontario program within the broader Ontario Works

Employment Services to establish a continuum of service; retooling of employment

programs to emphasize individual employment planning; the establishment of an

evidenced based measurement system to inform program gaps, successes and change

requirements; and, continued partnerships with external agencies such as Conestoga

College in the delivery of the General Equivalency Diploma given the requirements of

the labour market and the general profile of participants.

In consultation with the Ministry of Community and Social Services regional Office

Employment and Income Support has set a modest target increases (e.g., timeframe

within which a person is employed, number of those who exit and return to Ontario

Works) for its Employment Assistance activity.


The 2017-2018 Ontario Works Service Plan supports the Region’s Corporate Strategic

Focus Area 4, Healthy and Inclusive Communities. In addition, the proposed activities

will promote Focus Area 5, Service Excellence.

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The 2017 Budget approved by Regional Council provides for the delivery of Ontario

Works programs. The following chart summarizes the 2017 Provincial and Regional

funding for employment services and the administration of financial assistance.

2017 Cost

Share Ratio

Provincial

Subsidy

Region

Contribution Total

Financial Assistance

Administration 50.0%

$13,233,400

$13,233,400

$26,466,800

Employment

Assistance * 97.2%

6,449,500

185,800

6,635,300

Total

$19,682,900

$13,419,200

$33,102,100

* Employment assistance is subject to Provincial Upload.

The Region’s contribution is funded by the property tax levy. The 2017 budget

assumed $19.6 million in provincial subsidy for these programs.

The 2018 Budget currently being developed will be based on the 2017 provincial

approval.


Finance contributed to the development of the 2017-2018 Ontario Works Service Plan.

Attachments

Attachment A: 2017-2018 Ontario Works Service Plan

Prepared By: Curt Shoemaker, Manager, Employment and Income Support

Carolyn Schoenfeldt, Director, Employment and Income Support


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Ontario Works

Service Plan 2017-2018

Approved by Council __________

73 73


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Table of Contents

Table of Contents .......................................................................................................... 6 Section 1: Guiding Principles ....................................................................................... 8

1.1 Vision and Mission of Region of Waterloo ....................................................... 8

1.2 Vision and Mission of Region of Waterloo Community Services ................... 8

1.3 Vision and Mission of the Employment and Income Support Division ........... 8

1.4 Vision and Mandate of Ontario Works ................................................................ 8

1.5 Priorities for Employment and Income Support ................................................. 9

Section 2: Environmental Scan .................................................................................. 15 2.1 Analysis of Previous Planning Cycle ............................................................... 15

2.2 External Influences ............................................................................................ 17

2.3 Caseload Description ........................................................................................ 18

2.4 Local Labour Market ......................................................................................... 21

2.5 Community Engagement .................................................................................. 22

Section 3: Program Management ............................................................................... 27 3.0 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 27

3.1 Service Delivery Rationale ................................................................................ 27

3.2 Oversight Strategy ............................................................................................ 34

3.3 Analysis of Resources ...................................................................................... 35

3.4 Overview of Learning Supports ........................................................................ 35

3.5 Business Practices ............................................................................................ 35

Section 4: Outcome Strategies................................................................................... 37 4.1 Service Strategy Rationale ............................................................................... 37

4.2 Linking Strategies to Outcome Measures ........................................................ 37

4.3 Action Steps and Resources ............................................................................ 38

4.4 Stakeholder Linkages ....................................................................................... 38

4.5 Addressing Service Gaps ................................................................................. 39

4.6 Increased Employability Strategies.................................................................. 40

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4.7 Monitoring Service Strategies .......................................................................... 41

Section 5: Next Steps .................................................................................................. 41 5.1 Next Steps .......................................................................................................... 41

Section 6: Appendices ....................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. Appendix A: EIS Modernization Project Timeline ........ Error! Bookmark not defined.

Appendix B: EIS Organizational Charts ................................................................. 43

For more information regarding Ontario Works in Waterloo Region, for additional copies of this document, or to request alternate formats, please contact:

Carolyn Schoenfeldt, Director Employment & Income Support Region of Waterloo Community Services Email: [email protected] Telephone: (519) 883-2179 TTY: (519) 883-2428

Nina Bailey-Dick, Social Planning Associate Employment & Income Support Region of Waterloo Community Services Email: [email protected] Telephone: (519) 575-4575 x5803 TTY: (519) 883-2428

Ontario Works Service Delivery Sites

Waterloo Office - 99 Regina St. S., Waterloo, ON N2J 4V3 Phone 519 575 4400 Fax 519 884 8395

Cambridge Office - 150 Main St., Cambridge, ON N1R 8H6 Phone 519 575 4400 Fax 519 622 6642

Kitchener Office - 235 King St. E., Kitchener, ON N2G 4N5 Phone 519 575 4400 Fax 519 883 2224

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Section 1: Guiding Principles

1.1 Vision and Mission of Region of Waterloo

The vision and mission statements of the Region of Waterloo are as follows:

Vision: Waterloo Region: A community where people matter and ideas grow.

Mission: We serve with caring and responsible government. We engage by listening and responding to community needs. We inspire with new ideas and creative solutions.

1.2 Vision and Mission of Region of Waterloo Community Services

The vision and mission statements of the Region of Waterloo Community Services department are as follows:

Vision We believe in the creation of a community where everyone has the opportunity to thrive and nobody is left behind.

Mission

To deliver essential services that removes obstacles and creates opportunities in partnership with our community.

1.3 Vision and Mission of the Employment and Income Support Division

The Employment and Income Support Division (E&IS) is engaged in a strategic planning process. The current draft vision and mission statements are as follows:

Vision

A community where everyone can reach their potential.

Mission

We provide the citizens of Waterloo Region with employment, financial, and

social supports for improved well-being by:

Engaging

Engaging with internal partners and community

Inspiring

Inspiring individuals and families to reach their potential

Serving

Serving individuals and families through caring and responsive services.

1.4 Vision and Mandate of Ontario Works

The vision and mandate of Ontario Works are as follows:

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Vision

To achieve improved employment outcomes for Ontario Works participants by

increasing individual employability with the goal of sustainable employment and

increased financial independence.

Mandate

The Ontario Works Program combines financial assistance and employment

assistance to help persons in temporary financial need move toward sustainable

employment and independence.

recognizes individual responsibility and promotes self-reliance through

employment;

provides financial assistance to those most in need while they meet

obligations to become and stay employed;

effectively serves people needing assistance; and

is accountable to the taxpayers of Ontario

1.5 Priorities for Employment and Income Support

The Province has identified three priorities for Ontario Works delivery partners in 2017-2018. The Region of Waterloo is addressing these priorities through a variety of projects and ongoing activities within the Employment and Income Support (E&IS) Division, as described below.

1. Improved service coordination and communication between Ontario Works and Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) delivery offices within the service area, including transfers between programs, business protocols, shared case management when appropriate, and expanded and strengthened access to employment services for ODSP clients and people with disabilities within the community.

ODSP specialized caseload – E&IS is considering a specialized caseload for people who have made application to the Disability Adjudications Unit (DAU). The intent is to find efficiencies and streamline processes so that applications are well informed and files are transferred without delay. A decision will be made in late 2017/early 2018. In 2016, staff in OW made a total of 1,445 referrals to ODSP.

ODSP information sessions – E&IS holds ODSP Information sessions for people intending to make an application to the DAU. The ODSP Information Session is available for OW recipients at all three OW offices. The session provides a comprehensive review

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of the ODSP application package and process including both the mandatory portion that requires medical input and the optional self-report portion. The intent is to inform applicants about DAU requirements to avoid unnecessary appeals and delays with benefits. Should OW recipients require additional one-to-one support to complete their application, there are a number of options available both internally and in the community.

E&IS is working with the non-disabled ODSP spouses and dependents adults to assist them in moving towards employment. This initiative will be moved into the Employment Ontario program. The number of non-disabled ODSP spouses/dependent adults who participated in OW programs in 2016 was a monthly average of 206.

Local Partners Group – Managers and Directors from the ODSP office and E&IS discuss strategic directions related to benefits and service program. The goal is to keep one another informed of changes to programs and to strengthen service design linkages. The two programs are considering offering joint training to staff. This group meets twice each year.

Issue resolution protocols – Well established protocols are now in place to resolve issues related to file transfer, discretionary benefits and employment services.

EISCAC - The Employment and Income Support Community Advisory Committee (EISCAC) provides a forum for stakeholders to provide advice on the programs and services delivered by the E&IS Division of the Region of Waterloo Community Services Department. The EISCAC meets five times per year and includes up to 37 members. Members include Ontario Works/Ontario Disability Support Program participants, community agencies and partners, funders, business representatives, ODSP staff and Regional staff.

The goal of the EISCAC is to provide advice on potential improvements to the services provided by Employment & Income Support to those residents of Waterloo Region who use these services.

2. Stronger collaboration with local economic development organizations to identify, expand and leverage provincial investments in infrastructure and resource development to provide opportunities for Ontario Works clients, youth and disadvantaged populations to access skills training, work experience, and new jobs.

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Employer Engagement – The Region continues to seek out employers through Employment Ontario (EO). Job Developers engage employers in the community to source out their hiring needs and the skill set of the employers they are looking to hire. Electronic and hard copy job boards located in the E&IS Resource Centres display current job opportunities. The Region also hosted 5 job fairs for local employers and surveys employers. No numbers are available on how many participants in job fairs secured employment.

Employment Programs – The Region provides internal employment services as well as Employment Ontario supports and programs at all three of our OW locations. In 2016 the Employment Program Team had 618 participants complete a group, workshop or GED pre-test. Of those 618, 537 and/or 87% were on Ontario Works. 81 (13%) were on ODSP.

Transit Review - A review of affordable transit is underway. This is a joint review with E&IS, the Regional Transit Division and the University of Waterloo. Funding was granted from the Poverty Reduction Fund for a two-year evaluation to research the outcomes of transit subsidies for citizens living with low income and how access to subsidized transit effects an individual’s quality of life.

Employment Services redesign – The Employment Services Redesign Steering Committee was formed in December 2015 with the responsibility to engage E&IS employees and develop recommendations for a new Employment Services model. The Committee was comprised of E&IS staff from each program area (Direct Services staff from Employment and Income, management and Social Planning). The Committee presented their work to the E&IS Management Team and Commissioner, Community Services on March 24, 2016. Work is now underway to implement the redesign.(Recommendations from this Committee are on page 21).

Youth Job Link – Youth employment funding ended in March 2016 with targets met (19 clients). A new program, Youth Job Link began in April 2016. This is a youth employment program for youth with minimal.

The Cambridge Employment Facilitators Network and Community Employment Literacy Committee – Region staff participate in these networks to support, coordinate and discuss employment initiatives.

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Employment Ontario Employment Services Network – Region staff chair this group to support, coordinate and discuss issues relating to Employment Ontario (EO). An offshoot of this Network is the Canada Ontario Job Grant network, these meetings are to look at the coordination of the EO program.

There is also a Job Developers Table that E&IS staff participate in. This group minimizes the overlap of visits to Employers and standardizes payments and incentives to minimize competition among network members and to increase cooperation and coordination with other networks.

Networking with Trades – E&IS staff are working with the new Region of Waterloo Economic Development Manager and supervisor, and with the Waterloo Economic Development Corporation to network with the larger economic development community in the Region.

YouthForce – E&IS is collaborating with Regional Housing to run the summer youth program YouthForce. This program began in 2016 and was highly successful. It hires youth to support maintenance and inspection duties at Waterloo Region Housing Units during the summer. As part of the programming, the youth will be provided with employment workshops & training. In 2016, 25 youth were hired.

Chamber of Commerce - Memberships in the Chambers of Commerce for the cities of Waterloo, Kitchener and Cambridge allow E&IS staff to strengthen relationships with Regional employers.

3. Establishing local partnerships with community organizations to build on and strengthen supports to Ontario Works clients, including individuals with multiple barriers to employment (i.e. long-term recipients of social assistance), marginalized or disadvantaged groups across service sectors including: health, developmental services, housing, violence against women prevention, human trafficking or education and training.

The Counselling Collaborative Program – A partnership between the Region of Waterloo and seven local counselling agencies. It was developed to ensure that individuals in receipt of Ontario Works or Ontario Disability Support Program benefits receive counselling services in an agency of their choice. Recipients of Ontario Works or Ontario Disability Support Program benefits are eligible for up to eight counselling sessions and include such modalities as individuals, group, couple, and family counselling supports. Counselling services allow individuals

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the opportunity to maximize their well-being and assist many to engage in the workforce.

The agencies who comprise the Collaborative work closely together to provide evidence-based services. This means that individuals who receive Ontario Works or Ontario Disability Support Program benefits have access to counselling at a location of their choice across Waterloo Region. The Supervisor of the E&IS Social Work Team is a member of the Counselling Collaborative Program for enhanced coordination of counseling services. Efforts are being undertaken to improve outcome measures.

The Emergency Food Hamper Program - Emergency food hampers are distributed to the residents of Waterloo Region. The Region of Waterloo contributes $719,000 to this program which is managed by the Waterloo Region Food Bank, who act as the lead agency for the coordination of the program.

John Howard Society – An agreement exists with the John Howard Society to fund OW client applications for pardons of past criminal offences. This removes a barrier to employment for some people.

Kitchener Downtown Community Health Centre – The Region has a financial agreement with the Health Centre to assist clients obtain birth certificates and Social Insurance Numbers. This funding removes these barriers to employment and Direct Bank deposits for Ontario Works clients.

The Family Outreach Program - A region-wide program created to reduce and/or prevent the depth of child poverty in the Waterloo Region. The Region funds the Program and provides funding to the House of Friendship to act as the lead agency in the delivery of this initiative. This initiative delivered in 30 neighbourhoods and communities of interest. The Program supports children and their families by providing support to navigate various systems and access to basic needs such as food, clothing, shelter, transportation, employment/education and recreation. There is a great benefit to having Family Outreach Workers located in neighbourhoods where they connect with families who might not otherwise access the system.

Interpreter services – Interpreter services in Waterloo/Kitchener are provided through a formal contracted agreement between E&IS and KW Multicultural Centre. In Cambridge, an informal agreement with the YMCA is in place. In both cases interpreters

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are used for OW applications and employment related discussions with non-English speaking applicants/recipients.

Waterloo Region Energy Assistance Program (WREAP) – The E&IS Intake Team delivers the Region’s Waterloo Region Energy Assistance Program (WREAP). Using a number of different funds (Union Gas Energy Assistance Program, Low-income Energy Assistance Program (LEAP), Community Homelessness Prevention Initiative (CHPI), emergency assistance, and discretionary benefits) staff assist families and individuals with low income including OW and ODSP participants who need financial assistance to pay their heating and hydro bills.

Community Presence Initiative

E&IS is moving to partner with the community to provide E&I supports in both the rural and urban community centres of the Region.

NOTE:

E&IS is also undergoing a major Modernization Initiative which is a key over-arching priority for the Division in 2017-2018. The goal is to create more client-centred and employment outcomes-focused services for Ontario Works participants. See section 3.1 for details and Appendix A for project objectives and timeline.

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Section 2: Environmental Scan

The Region has undertaken an environmental scan to identify internal and external factors that may impact program delivery and client outcomes. The scan includes information on outcomes from the previous cycle, upcoming external influences, local caseload, local labour market and community stakeholders.

2.1 Analysis of Previous Planning Cycle

The Region met or exceeded its outcome targets set in the 2015-2016 Ontario Works (OW) Service Plan (see Table 2.1.1). The estimates for 2015-16 were based on available Service Delivery Model Technology (SDMT) data. The average monthly number of applicants was 257 applicants lower than estimated for 2016. The forecast for the average monthly caseload was very close (lower by 2 applicants). The Region had 49 more ODSP participants in OW employment programs than forecasted.

Table 2.1.1 Outcome Measures and Forecasts

Service Delivery Statistics* 2015

Forecast 2015 Actual

2016

Forecast

2016

Actual

Average monthly number of applicants 911 668 925 668

Average monthly caseload (number of

singles and families including temporary

care assistance recipients)

8,597 8,493 8,726 8,724

Average monthly number of ODSP

participants (voluntary)

156 85 157 206

*As reported in Social Assistance Operations Performance Reports

Table 2.1.2 shows more outcome data for 2014, 2015 and 2016 as measurements of the success of the service delivery. The number of monthly applicants decreased while the caseload increased. This may be explained by fewer people leaving the OW program while other people continue to steadily join the program. It may also be that in 2014 more people left OW for short work contracts and then reapplied. Another theory is that data on applications received was recorded differently in the SDMT than SAMS.

Looking at the employment related outcomes, the number of cases with employment earnings increased slightly which is a positive change as even low earnings from employment can indicate a positive connection to the community that may lead to a better quality of life and better job opportunities. The number of exits to employment failing to increase despite a low unemployment rate in Waterloo Region is of concern and is being addressed with the modernization changes staff are implementing in 2017 and 2018.

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Table 2.1.2 Outcomes

Service Delivery Outcome Measures*

Waterloo 2016

Province 2016

Waterloo as % of Province

Average Monthly Number of Applicants

668 17,418 3.8%

Average Monthly Employment Earnings per Case

$771.55 $772.4 99.9%

Average Monthly Percentage of Caseload with Employment Earnings

13.6% 12.2%

Average monthly number of ODSP participants in OW programs (voluntary)

206 7,849 2.6%

*As reported in Social Assistance Operations Performance Reports

Table 2.1.3

Service Delivery Data* 2014 2015 2016 Absolute Change

2014-2016

Average monthly number of applicants

813 668 668 -145

Average monthly caseload (number of singles and families including temporary care assistance recipients)

8,392 8,493 8,724 332

Table 2.1.3 shows that the total caseload size has increased in each of the past two years. It increased by 1.2 per cent from 2014 to 2015, and increased by 2.7 per cent, from 2015 to 2016. The decrease in applications combined with the increased caseload shows that clients who have entered the system in the past

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are staying on longer, which may reflect changes in the types of employment opportunities currently available in the local market. The increase in caseload numbers may be partly due to the new Canadians from Syria that Waterloo Region welcomed in 2016 and who then joined the OW program December 2016 – March 2017. Some newcomers need time to learn English, upgrade job skills, medical care and trauma supports before they are ready to sustain full time employment. To increase newcomers’ connections to the work force, E&IS provides job skills training and partners with the Immigration Partnership Waterloo Region to connect with local business leaders. The higher caseload numbers may also be the result of E&IS not connecting participants to employment supports as quickly as possible. E&IS staff are optimistic that the changes they are making to modernize E&IS (including integrating employment and income supports) will increase exits to employment over 2018 and beyond. The caseload numbers have increased since 2008 but the per cent of the population receiving OW assistance has only increased slightly (1.2% in 2008 compared to 1.5% in 2016).

2.2 External Influences

2.2.1 Social, Economic & Demographic Trends Each year, Regional planners estimate the number of people living in Waterloo Region. As of year-end 2015, the population estimate was 575,000. Based on this estimate, over the past 15 years the Region's population has grown an average of 1.58 per cent per year. The Regional population estimates provide the best estimate of the total number of people and households in the Region, as they take into account the Census population, estimated to year-end, the Census undercount and full-time post-secondary students.

According to the 2011 Census, there were 111,495 residents of Waterloo Region who were born outside of Canada, which accounted for 22.3 per cent of the Region’s total population. About 50 percent of immigrants were born in Europe and about 30 percent were born in Asia and the Middle East. Other than English, the most common languages spoken in the Region are German, Portuguese, and Chinese languages.

The Region’s population is relatively young, with a median age of 37.7 which is well below the provincial median of 40.4. The working-age population is growing older, with the percentage of population in each of the 45 to 65 age categories increasing since 2006. Despite the aging of the working-age population, Waterloo Region has substantially more people of the age to be typically entering the workforce (15 to 24 years) than of the age to be typically leaving it (55 to 64 years). This is in contrast to the national trend.

2.2.2 Refugees Approximately 1200 refugees from Syria settled in Waterloo Region in 2016. In October 2016, the Division launched a six month Pilot project to support Syrian refugees who needed employment and income support. To date, a dedicated

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team has successfully provided specialized services to over 200 families, by working closely with interpreters and community partners that provide relevant resources.

2.2.3 Regional Government Initiatives The following regional initiatives and factors will impact the ongoing work of the E&IS Division:

Region of Waterloo 2015-2018 Strategic Plan

Employment and Income Division Modernization Project

Community Services Department “Destination: Integration” Project

Fiscal constraint within the Ontario Works Discretionary Benefits program

2.2.4 Provincial Initiatives In addition, there are several Provincial initiatives that may impact the work of the division, including:

Social Assistance Service Delivery Modernization (including: policy simplification, social assistance reform, human services integration);

Province’s implementation of the Social Assistance Accountability Framework, including the pilot project on a Risk Management Certificate of Assurance;

Introduction of reloadable payment card system for social assistance recipients;

Benefits Transformation;

Poverty Reduction Strategy;

Province’s interest in a pilot project on Basic Income Guarantee;

Community Hubs Action Plan;

Local Employment Planning Councils Pilot;

Provincial Employment Strategy for People with Disabilities; and

Youth Jobs Strategy.

2.3 Caseload Description

In 2016, the average monthly number of OW applicants screened in the Region was 780 and the average monthly caseload was 8,643. The average monthly number of ODSP participants (voluntary) was 206 (Social Assistance Operations Performance Reports, 2016).

Forecasts for 2017 and 2018 were calculated considering historical caseload trends, restructuring within EIS, and anticipated local demographic changes.

Table 2.3.1 summarizes additional key service delivery statistics from 2016 and provides annual forecasts to 2018. Because the E&IS modernization changes will not yet have affected service levels, staff kept forecasts for employment related outcomes in 2017. For ODSP participation in OW programs, an increase of 10% staff forecasted as a result of increased connections between the two programs. The employment earnings levels are largely beyond the control or influence of staff as employers decide what they will pay employees. With minimum wage being increased in 2017, staff predicted a modest increase in earnings for 2018.

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Staff is forecasting an increase in the number of cases with earnings and the number of exits to employment for 2018 as a result of the modernization changes lowering the caseloads for Caseworkers. Lower caseloads for Caseworkers means staff will have more time to meet with clients and support them in taking steps toward a better quality of life and employment.

Table 2.3.1 Service Delivery Statistics

Service Delivery Statistics**

Prior Year

(2016*)

Actual

Quarter 1

(2017)

Actual

Year 1

(2017)

Forecast

Year 2

(2018)

Forecast

Average monthly number of applicants 668 704 675 680

Average monthly caseload (number of

singles and families including temporary

care assistance recipients)

8,724 8,933 8,989 9,348

Average monthly number of ODSP

participants (voluntary)

206 245 225 250

Average Monthly Employment Earnings per

Case

$772 $764.82 $765 $775

Average monthly Number of Cases with

Employment Earnings

1,167 1,235 1,160 1,215

Percentage of Terminations Exiting to

Employment

12.9% 15.8% 13.09% 16.00%

Percentage of Caseload Exiting to

Employment

.73% 1.0% 1.015% 1.03%

*Averages calculated using monthly data for the period: January to December, 2016. **As reported in the Social Assistance Operations Performance Reports

The Region conducts a Caseload Profile annual review of the known demographic characteristics of participants who are on the Ontario Works caseload to inform service planning. The next Annual Caseload Profile will be ready in March 2018.

Table 2.3.2 provides additional details about the Ontario Works caseload from 2014-2016, based on data from the Ontario Works Caseload at a Glance report released in January 2017.

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Table 2.3.2*

Caseload Profile

Monthly

Average

2014

Monthly

Average

2015

Monthly

Average

2016

% Change

2015 to 2016

Number of Cases** 8,423 8,493 8,724 2.6%

Number of dependants1 6,825 6,831 6,835 0.1%

Total beneficiaries 15,153 15,255 15,478 1.5%

Family Structure

Singles without Children 60% 60% 62% 2.0%

Singles with children 32% 32% 30% -2.0%

Couples without children 2% 1% 1% 0.0%

Couples with children 7% 7% 7% 0.0%

Education2

Grade 1-8 7% 7% 7% 0.0%

Grade 9-11 41% 39% 38% -1.0%

Grade 12-13 33% 35% 36% 1.0%

Post-secondary 20% 20% 20% 0.0%

Months on assistance1

0-4 24% 19% 19% 0.0%

5-12 26% 22% 22% 0.0%

13-18 11% 12% 10% -2.0%

19+ 39% 47% 49% 2.0%

More than 12 months 50% 59% 60% 1.0%

More than 24 months 30% 38% 41% 3.0%

Average Time on

Assistance (months) 23 28 30 2.0%

Accommodation type

Boarders 2% 2% 1% -1.0%

Owners 1% 1% 1% 0.0%

Renters 95% 96% 96% 0.0%

Renters Private Market 85% 87% 88% 1.0%

Renters Subsidized 10% 9% 7% -2.0%

Other 2% 1% 2% 1.0%

* As reported in the Ontario Works Caseload at a Glance report January 2017 ** As reported in the Social Assistance Operations Performance Reports 1 Includes ongoing (i.e. not terminated) spouses, dependant adults and dependant children.

2 Highest level of education completed by adults.

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Table 2.3.2 shows that the proportion of the caseload on assistance for longer than one year increased from 50% per cent in 2014 to 60% per cent in 2016. It also shows a slight decrease (2 per cent) in sole-support parents and a 2 per cent increase in singles without children. The total number of beneficiaries only increased by 1.5 per cent from 2015 to 2016. This reason this number is lower than the total caseload size may be the result of more smaller family units participating in OW and/or more larger families exiting OW. This would result in the total number of families (cases) increasing while the total number of beneficiaries stays relatively the same.

2.3.3 Ages of Participants*

Ages of Participants 2014 2016

Number of children aged 0-6 2,852 3,019

Average age of adults** 35.6 38.4

*Source: CRS100 Reports 2017 **Includes heads of household, spouses, and dependant adults

The data in Table 2.3.3 demonstrates that there was a 5.9 per cent increase in the number of children aged 0-6 on the caseload from 2014 to 2016.

2.4 Local Labour Market

The Region of Waterloo, Department of Planning, Development and Legislative Services publishes a Labour Force Report. The most recent report highlights labour force characteristics of the Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) for 2016. The report indicates that the economic conditions in Waterloo Region are among the strongest in the Province.

Key characteristics of the local 2016 labour force include:

Employment in the Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo CMA has risen from 250,700 to 281,600 since 2009, while unemployment has dropped from 26,900 to 16,400 for the same period (post-recession);

The total working age population increased by 4,500 people in 2016 to 426,200. Most of the growth since 2013 has come from people who are not in the labour force. These people are typically students, retired or not seeking employment.

Participation rates, which represent those people who are employed and unemployed, have fluctuated between 69.3 and 72.7 per cent since 2001, currently sitting at 69.9 per cent;

Similarly, employment rates have ranged between 64.2 and 68.5 per cent, currently sitting at 66.1 per cent;

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The current unemployment rate of 5.5 per cent is the lowest reported since before the recession;

The youth unemployment rate for 2016 was 13.2 per cent. This rate while higher than other age groups in the CMA, is consistent with what is happening across Ontario (13.1%) and slightly lower than Canada’s rate of 14 per cent;

The number of those employed between the ages of 55 and 64 and those employed over the age of 65 have more than doubled since 2001.

‘Manufacturing’ is the largest industry in the CMA, representing nearly one fifth of all CMA employment, while the ‘Educational services’ industry is the fastest growing since 2001 with an average annual growth of 6.0 per cent;

‘Sales and services occupations’ is the largest occupation class in the CMA with 22.1 per cent of employment while ‘Health Occupations’ is the fastest growing occupation class in the CMA since 2001, with an average annual growth rate of 4.8 per cent.

The Workforce Planning Board of Waterloo Wellington Dufferin (WPB) 2014-17 Local Labour Market Plan (October 2016) highlighted similar trends. The report noted that local youth unemployment rates are high at approximately 16% and that changing demand in the labour market is creating job opportunities in a variety of local industries including, but not limited to, manufacturing, health care, finance and insurance, agriculture, accommodation/food services and transportation/logistics. The number of jobs available to individuals with secondary school education and/or occupation-specific training appears to be increasing.

2.5 Community Engagement

The Region collaborates with key stakeholder groups to improve employment outcomes for OW participants. Feedback that is received from community partners is a critical piece of service delivery evaluation and development. Forming partnerships enables E&IS to be involved in key Regional and Provincial projects, supports innovation in programming, and ensures service is responsive to the needs of the community. This section of the plan will provide a brief overview of a number of these partnerships and initiatives.

Connectivity Table There are two Connectivity Tables, one in Cambridge and one in Waterloo. The table, which brings together professionals from police, social services, health and counselling support agencies for weekly discussions, takes a unique approach to community well-being by providing immediate care to individuals and families facing acute risk of being harmed or causing harm within 24 to 48 hours. E& IS staff sit at both tables and assist families and individuals in a way that respects confidentiality but at the same time provides supports

Employment and Income Support Community Advisory Committee (EISCAC) The EISCAC is comprised of key stakeholders including social assistance recipients, community agencies, Provincial representatives, and the Greater Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber of Commerce. The Committee meets six times a

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year to offer advice on the delivery of services by EIS. The Committee is chaired by a member of Regional Council and reports to the Community Services Committee of Regional Council. The 2016 EISCAC Annual Report is available upon request.

Community Employment Linkages Committee (CELC) and Cambridge Employment Facilitation Network (CEFN) The Region participates as a member on both the Community Employment Linkages Committee (CELC) as well as the Cambridge Employment Facilitation Network (CEFN). EIS staffs serve as Co-Chairs of the CELC and CEFN. These partnerships are developed with the goal of facilitating inter-organizational support for citizens who are job searching and collaboration of service development among member groups. The CELC has been active with the implementation of the Employment Ontario service model in Waterloo region, while EIS is a key funder and sponsor of the CEFN’s annual Employer Recognition Breakfast.

Employment Ontario Service Providers As an Employment Ontario Service Provider the Region of Waterloo attends the Employment Ontario Service Provider meetings, which seek to promote, enhance and ensure collaboration with other Employment Ontario service providers.

Immigration Partnership Council (IPC) Is a federally funded initiative that is a collective of community partners that come together to implement collaborative strategies to facilitate the successful settlement and integration of immigrants and refugees in Waterloo Region. The IPC sits within the Community Services Department and their role is to:

Educate

Inform and Facilitate

Engage

Communicate

Influence and Advocate One of the working groups within the IPC is the Immigrant Employment Awareness Group. E&IS staff are active members of this working groups. This group’s mandate is to assist immigrants find and maintain work within Waterloo Region.

The Workforce Planning Board of Waterloo Wellington Dufferin (WPB) The Workforce Planning Board of Waterloo Wellington Dufferin works to engage communities and community partners in local labour market development and to develop solutions to local workforce development issues. The Region of Waterloo has formed a strong partnership with the WPB and has collaborated on a number of initiatives including the Making Cent$ of Abilities coalition of individuals, agencies and employers to promote the employment of persons with a disability. E&IS staff participate on the Board of Directors of the WPB in an advisory capacity and is a member of the Making Cent$ of Abilities steering

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committee.

Waterloo Region Energy Assistance Program (WREAP) Through its Intake unit, EIS delivers the Region’s Waterloo Region Energy Assistance Program (WREAP). Using a number of different funds (Low-income Energy Assistance Program (LEAP), Community Homelessness Prevention Initiative (CHPI), emergency assistance, and discretionary benefits) staff assists families and individuals with low income including Ontario Works (OW) and Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) participants who need financial assistance to pay their heating and hydro bills. For the discretionary benefits portion of the energy assistance program, the Region contributes 100 per cent regional funding over and above the funding provided by the Province. Agreements with local utility companies to administer the LEAP funds have oversight from the Ontario Energy Board.

Housing Services To further support and ensure housing for Ontario Works (and Ontario Disability Support Program) participants, senior E&IS staff meet regularly with colleagues in Housing Services. These relationships have resulted in enhanced internal communication protocols and a more formal divisional response to crisis support (e.g. in response to emergencies such as evacuation). In this way, housing is stabilized and secured for people who are particularly vulnerable to losing their housing.

The staff from the Employment Services Team and the Housing Services team have joined in a collaborative partnership whereby youth who live in the Housing complexes are hired as summer students to complete housing unit inspections. The youth are interviewed and trained by Employment and Housing staff. 2016 was the first year for this highly successful initiative and it has now become an annual program.

Transit Affordability and Accessibility The Transit for Reduced Incomes Program (TRIP) advisory group, chaired by Grand River Transit (GRT) staff, seeks to identify strategies to increase affordable transportation opportunities for persons with low income. The advisory committee oversees the administration of the Regionally-funded program which provides a concession to the cost of a bus pass for persons with low income. Through the Transit Affordability Pass Program (TAPP), E&IS provides bus passes to Ontario Works participants who are upgrading their education (grade 12 or GED) or participating in its employment placement programs.

In 2013, a survey was conducted with OW and ODSP participants concerning their transportation needs and use of public transit, as well as the benefits of the existing programs. Wide reaching community engagement with stakeholders across the region to gather input for the Region of Waterloo 2015-18 Strategic Plan has again found the issue of affordable transportation as a high priority in the Region.

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The CAO of the Region of Waterloo called together a steering group comprised of himself and the Commissioners who provide oversight to the Community Services, Finance and Grand River Transit program areas. This group struck a working group in 2016 tasked with simplifying the Region’s affordable transit systems and making recommendations for program sustainability. The Working Group was successful in its application in round two of the Treasury Board of Ontario’s Local Poverty Reduction Fund for a research grant to study affordable transportation in the Region of Waterloo. This research will explore the outcomes of reduced transit fares for low income citizens that will then support informed recommendations about future reduced transit fares.

Ontario Municipal Social Services Association (OMSSA) The Region of Waterloo, and Community Services in particular, remain active members of OMSSA. Staff from the division participates on the Employment and Income Network and other relevant working groups. Staff also participate in direct service staff training, the OMSSA annual conference, and other training events.

Provincial and Regional Partnerships E&IS will participate in the following initiatives in 2017:

The Region has been approved as a full-suite Employment Ontario Service Provider which has enhanced the continuum of services and support available to OW participants;

As an Employment Ontario service provider, the Region delivers the Youth Employment Fund. For the 2017/18 year, targets for successfully placed at-risk youth have been increased from nine to 76.

Staff regularly meet with representatives of the MCSS and the local Ontario Disability Support Program offices to discuss issues of mutual concern and ensure effective service coordination (e.g., changes to discretionary benefits program and timely fulsome file transfers);

Staff also participate with Ontario Works Administrators and municipal staff from the Central West Region as well as key Provincial staff from the Regional office of MCSS in the Directors Administrators Reference Group and the Social Assistance Directors Forum;

The Region of Waterloo supports employees by providing funding for job/career related courses, as well as professional development opportunities provided by the Association of Municipal Employment Services (AMES). This organization provides learning opportunities through its yearly conference. E&IS is represented on the AMES executive committee;

Employment Services continues to provide enhanced services through co-location opportunities in its three Employment Resource Centres. Project Read, Conestoga College, and other organizations utilize Resource Centre space for the services they provide and as a site for local employment Job Fairs; and,

The Region continues to support its rural communities through a Rural Outreach project. The E&IS employment desktop and resources can be accessed electronically with Regional staff support available by telephone at four rural sites.

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Currently, E&IS are working on two partnerships that are in developmental/research phases:

Chiropractic Community This partnership is in conjunction with local Chiropractors, the Chiropractic Association and a Research institution to study how chiropractic assessments will help individuals with employment and employability. Chiropractic services will be provided to OW clients at a reduced cost to assist them with employment/physical assessments Concurrent Disorders Program This partnership will provide supports to OW clients that suffer from concurrent disorders and will work in conjunction with our MSW Team.

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Section 3: Program Management

3.0 Introduction

Employment and Income Support (E&IS) offers service out of three locations within Waterloo Region. The Waterloo office is located at 99 Regina Street and provides income support and some employment services including an Employment Resource Area to citizens living in the cities of Kitchener and Waterloo as well as the Townships of Woolwich, Wilmot and Wellesley. Employment programming and services are offered to citizens living in Kitchener-Waterloo and the surrounding Townships largely from the Kitchener office, which is located at 235 King Street. Citizens living in the City of Cambridge and the Township of North Dumfries are provided both income support and employment services at a co-located site situated at 150 Main Street in Cambridge. As an approved Employment Ontario service provider the full suite of employment services are offered at all three locations.

The number of OW FTEs as of January 1, 2017 was 265.9 FTE. The caseworker to case ratio was 1:117. The management to staff ration was 1:12. Please see Appendix B for the Organizational Chart. This section of the plan provides an overview of key organizational drivers and supports and services to participants including Intake and Emergency Assistance, Case Management, and Program Integrity.

3.1 Service Delivery Rationale

E&IS Modernization In the winter of 2016 a staff and management group was formed to look at redesigning Employment Services with the purpose of ensuring that our employment programs were in line with the needs of the individuals utilizing our program. This Working Group developed a number of recommendations. Then in June 2016 a Process Redesign team was formed once again with staff and management on the team. This Process Redesign work was led by a trained Six Sigma LEAN facilitator. This group was tasked with coming up with recommendations on how to modernize Waterloo Region's delivery of OW. Both these working groups mandate was to develop methods to ensure that the individuals and families on OW in Waterloo were receiving client centered - holistic services that increased their quality of life, whether it be through Employment or social inclusion. Changes to programs had to made in order to assist E&IS meet the 4 Ministry Outcomes.

The following diagrams depict the work of both these working groups.

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The Senior E&IS Management team using these principles and recommendations designed the New Service Delivery Model.

The new model of delivery is circular instead of linear as it is a first step towards an integrated model where any service / program can be added at any time to the circle. Our current model is a linear model which doesn’t lead well to integration.

In order achieve this model of service delivery and allow the staff the time to engage the clients in richer and employment focused conversations caseloads need to be lower. To achieve this the management team collapse two programs teams (Community Placement and Extensive case management) and made these staff caseworkers, hence lowering the caseloads.

To ensure that the customer service model is accurate, we have developed a Test Team that will test our "end state" model. This test team will run for 4 months and will run parallel with our current delivery model. Once the 4 months is completed we will analysis the data make any changes and then in February 2018 all of E&IS will shift to the new model. The Community Services Department currently has an Integrated Pilot Team that began January 1, 2017 and will run for one year when a decision will be made about continuing, ending or expanding. This team is comprised of 2 OW

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caseworkers, 1 Childcare Subsidy Worker, 1 Housing Worker and 1 MSW and is located at 235 King St. E in Kitchener. The E&IS new model clearly fits well with this integrated team.

Supports to Participants In response to the capping of provincial funding, the Region contributes an additional $2 million above the provincial funding cap for discretionary benefits. The total Discretionary Benefit expenditure for 2016 was $ 4,660,735.54. (The province contributed $2,234,100.00 and the Region $2,426,635.54.) The Provincial portion of the total discretionary funding covered Dental costs ($1,800,000) and Funerals costs ($445,000) and a few others items paid through SAMS (adult eye glasses). All the other items were covered by the Region. The Provincial cost per case is based on the cost sharing formula is $10 per case. The Region contributed an additional $10.44 per case. The division continually monitors this budget to assess the need and spending usage. A report is going to Council in August with proposed strategies to reduce spending of the Discretionary Benefits.

The Region of Waterloo is again working to support eligible children to access the Canada Learning Bond (CLB), a federal education grant offering up to $2000 for post-secondary education. With 7 out of 10 eligible children in the region still missing out on this fund, the CLB Committee is working to expanding its promotion of grant to families accessing services in Income Support, Children’s Services and Housing. Activities include training staff in these areas, leveraging opportunities to connect with eligible families and removing barriers to accessing the funds through a supportive approach. This initiative works to support the overarching goals of integration within Regional Services, as well as to promote financial literacy and inclusion for children and families.

The Region hosts free tax clinics in its Resource Centres and offers a “drop off” service to assist persons with low income to complete their income tax returns. Tax returns are completed by Regional staff on their own time from various Regional departments.

The Region offers OW services in English and French - including applications and information handouts in both languages. When an interpreter is needed to provide quality service to a citizen, the Region calls an interpreter from the KW Multicultural Centre with whom the Region has an agreement for interpreter services.

In 2016, the Region of Waterloo’s Service First Call Centre (SFCC) supported 19,496 inquiries related to the Employment & Income Support division. SFCC provides a 24/7 contact point for residents of the Region of Waterloo, and is trained to identify available supports that can address a client’s needs. For EIS, this includes a wide variety of topics including directing to a client’s caseworker, explaining the OW application process, providing details on monthly support payment timing, addressing questions related to OW benefits, as well as many other issues.

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Intake, Eligibility Determination and Emergency Assistance Intake staff triage the needs of applicants to determine eligibility and the appropriate level of support. Available supports include: emergency assistance; assistance with utility arrears/disconnection (Waterloo Region Energy Assistance Program); discretionary benefits for Ontario Disability Support Program participants; and/or ongoing Ontario Works assistance as well as discretionary benefits for non-Social Assistance recipients. In June 2013 the Region of Waterloo implemented an Enhanced Intake where Intake staff completed the entire application process, including documentation verification appointments, through to issuance of first payment for enhanced service to participants. With this change and the introduction of the SAMS, the online application process has been promoted. In 2016, an average of 26% of applicants applied for OW online. The numbers of online applications in 2017 is lower than it was in 2016. This process is currently being realigned in an effort to improve our customer service outcomes and performance results.

In addition to the services described above, the Social Services After Hours Emergency Service provides on-call support to assist individuals outside of regular business hours. The First Response Protocol responds to individuals who have lost their housing as a result of a catastrophe. Through an agreement with the Red Cross, immediate shelter and support is provided.

Case Management Income Support Caseworkers manage ongoing cases to enhance service and outcomes to ongoing participants. Caseworkers use the Participation Agreement to work collaboratively with participants to develop a realistic plan to assist the client move toward self-reliance and sustainable employment.

Currently, the E&IS Division has a multiple phase approach to working with clients. This approach has an Intake Team completing the initial verification appointment with the client and then referring the client to an Ongoing Caseworker. This model leads to intake service pressures to see the client in a timely manner. While committed to program integrity and ongoing case management, a current pilot initiative to ensure applicants are granted assistance in a timely manner is being undertaken. This initiative has Case Workers are completing verification appointments with applicants.

Program Integrity The Quality Assurance Unit focuses on aspects of OW program integrity that includes employment focused outcomes supported by effective program design, accountability for funds issued through third party access oversight and evaluation, and information management to inform OW program delivery. This unit continues to partner with SAMO to create the framework for an Accountability Certification program. There are continued efforts on the development and implementation of a file audit system that will inform an overall

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metrics program. As well, Quality Assurance will be involved in the formation of the resumption of the EVP program throughout 2017. A separate EVP unit allows cases to be reviewed from a third party perspective offering greater objectivity and scope for file reviews.

One of the roles of the Quality Assurance Unit is to recover sponsorship debt when a new Canadian is sponsored to come to Canada and then the Sponsor does not uphold her or his obligations. The process for recovering sponsorship debt is outlined below.

Caseworker confirms there is a sponsorship obligation.

The sponsor is normally notified (with some exceptions such as family

violence). There are deferrals for this process where appropriate (such as

Sponsor is on OW).

The amount of sponsorship debt is calculated by our office (ER) up to the point

that the referral is made to the Province.

Referral to Province: SAMS evidence page is populated and sponsorship debt

Case is created and uploaded with the amount of OW payments populated.

The Province then validates the calculations on OW issued, and from there the

Province monitors the BU and adds any additional assistance issued to the

Sponsor’s debt calculations.

The Province monitors any recoveries from the sponsor and the Province also

sends the Region a quarterly report of recoveries which is reconciled only to the

extent of ensuring the sponsored individual was on OW. The Province tells us

when the Sponsor has fully paid the Sponsorship debt.

Once Sponsor has repaid debt, the Region’s ER office notifies Immigration that

the debt is paid

The Region is still learning the EVP process and is developing processes around it.

The Region is bringing staff on-board, but there have been delays, and this means that the Region will not be able to hit the monthly targets yet. Delays are due to:

o Identifying funding for the staffing positions o EOI process o Training capacity o Timing with vacations

The Region is developing office processes about how to manage files who fail to cooperate with the EVP process (do not provide the requested info).

From a Quality Assurance perspective the EVP model is a stand-alone EVP team, this means that:

o CW are not reviewing their own files, so the review is impartial o Over time the EVP workers will develop an expertise for the work that we hope

results in both accurate and quicker completion of the EVP audit

Challenges are the EVP timelines and the SAMS environment

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o The Region finds the 30 day goal challenging. Once the client receives the letter, she/he then hands in the documents the EVP worker needs to review the documents, determine if an in-person or a phone interview is needed, complete the interview, and outcome the case. Quite a few clients need the suspend letter before they follow up.

o The EVP process in SAMS takes longer than it did in SMDT. It’s more of a challenge to navigate the system and find the information needed, as well as it takes longer to outcome than it did in SDMT.

o Files with translators will take longer to complete

Family Support Resource Team FSRT The Family Support Resource Team is in response to legislative changes by the Province to social assistance and provides the Region of Waterloo with an opportunity to mobilize efforts to reduce poverty and the impact poverty has on Waterloo Region residents. It refocuses staff efforts away from pursuing support to reduce the OW allowance and toward pursuing support in order to enhance the household income -making the work of the FSRT a poverty reduction program. With this change, the FSRT focus will expand to a broader focus on all Divisions within Community Services and potentially families receiving services from Public Health and the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) to assist individuals in pursuing child and/or spousal support that will provide a direct benefit to individuals in receipt of social and health care programs. Ultimately, the goal of this change is to increase household income and reduce the negative impacts of poverty.

Participation Agreements Participation Agreements are vehicles to assist participants in obtaining skills that support progress towards sustainable employment. All applicants and participants are provided with access to the supports they need to achieve these goals. Supports are available through several sources, for example:

Employment Resource Areas (ERAs) at three sites;

Job search, support, referral and assessment;

Employment counselling;

Psycho-Social Groups;

Psycho-Vocational Assessments;

Language Counselling and Assessment;

Intensive Case Management including Social Work Intervention;

Group Employment Programs; o Planning for Employment o Toward Employment o Follow-up Group o Employment Options Program o 30 Ways to Shine

Literacy Programs and Services, including the Family Literacy Program;

Community Placement;

Experience Matters (skill based training);

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Employment Placement Services;

Self-Employment Development; and

Learning, Earning and Parenting Program (LEAP).

1:1 assistance with job coaching and resume writing in the ERA; and

Immediate resume writing supports.

3.2 Oversight Strategy

The Region of Waterloo has well established financial management policies and procedures that govern the corporation’s accountability and oversight for public funds. The Region of Waterloo has a Treasury Services team under the direction of the Region’s Chief Financial Officer that is primarily dedicated to support the Ontario Works program. This team is comprised of a supervisor and staff that provide business support to Ontario Works for financial information and processes, including payment administration and budgeting. Although this team receives its formal direction through the Chief Financial Officer, this team is located on site with Ontario Works and is integrated with the Ontario Works management in order to effectively support the Ontario Works service plan.

In addition, the Region of Waterloo is committed to ensuring that the Ontario Works program is delivered in accordance with legislative requirements, program directives and standards as well as to establish appropriate controls to mitigate identified risks. A continued focus on OW program integrity and quality management will be of high priority for 2017-18 due to (a) the impacts of SAMS on the integrity and reliability of data; and (b) the continued implementation of the Province’s Social Assistance Accountability Framework (SAAF).

The Program Development team, within the Quality Assurance unit, is responsible to assist with interpretation, communication and tracking of legislative changes, policies and procedures. All provincial legislation is reviewed and disseminated to staff in a timely manner. When necessary, local policies are developed to assist in the interpretation/implementation of legislated changes. The following processes of accountability and identification of risks and areas for improvement are also currently in place:

Staff accurately track and maintain records and supporting documentation for all

social assistance related expense and recoveries;

The Region participates in the back logged subsidy claim strategy. The online

process is functioning;

Expectations, daily reports and follow-up procedures are enacted so all

overpayment processes receive due diligence to ensure accuracy and

communication responsibilities are met;

A thorough review of exit codes in SAMS is currently underway so that file

termination responsibilities are clear and accurate and all benefits are presented

to users of OW;

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A strategically aligned data metrics system development is underway. This will

allow for continuous program evaluation and informed program improvement

strategies Data and financial reports are reviewed regularly; and identified

issues are addressed;

Paylists are reviewed and approved daily;

Purchase of service agreements are monitored and tracked;

Regular team meetings are used to discuss issues and seek staff input;

Monthly management team meetings are held to review issues, outcome

performance and ideas for improvement; and

The local Administrator and Provincial Program Supervisor meet regularly to

review programme expenditures, performance, emerging issues and outcomes.

3.3 Analysis of Resources

The Region is adequately resourced to manage the financial and administrative activities and responsibilities to support the program. Throughout 2017-18, the Region will continue normalizing service delivery using the SAMS technology. The Region will also be reviewing its resource allocations, service alignment and program delivery models to achieve employment outcomes.

3.4 Overview of Learning Supports

SAIL will continue to be promoted throughout 2017-18 through creative strategies to maintain interest in the concepts as developed by a direct service staff SAIL advisory group. Children’s Services, Community Outreach, Public Health, and Housing Services staff have joined the SAIL advisory group. The next series of SAIL training and staff engagement will be to support the modernization changes toward increased integration.

The Region’s Performance Development Program permits staff, with the support of their supervisor, to shape their own personal development plan. Staff are supported to attend conferences and courses through the Association for Municipal Employment Services (AMES); OMSSA (e.g., FSW training, Policy Writing); as well as local workshops dealing with issues such as addiction and inter-agency events. Our tuition refund program continues to be fully utilized each year as staff use formal education opportunities to upgrade skills.

3.5 Business Practices

In order to improve the service experience of our clients, Community Services is breaking down barriers for clients with a pilot project that involves integrated service delivery. The pilot is located at 235 King in Kitchener and led by Arran Rowles, Manager of Departmental Services. A team of Community Services staff work together to meet the needs of some Kitchener residents – including many clients of OW. Caseworkers in OW work alongside staff from Children’s Services and Housing Services to provide better integrated and wrap-around services for citizens.

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There are several reasons for doing an integrated pilot:

Managers and supervisors identified that integrated service delivery would

be key in providing better client service experience

It will help us understand what it takes to provide more integration services

and which service delivery model is right for us

We want to measure how much staff knowledge and capacity increases in

a co-located model

Allows us to better understand what it takes to deliver service in Kitchener

With easier access to supports and services that are flexible and tailored to their needs, these clients have access to a better quality of life. The intent is to provide seamless services to clients and is not intended or anticipated to change our staffing complements.

Requiring strong coordination and collaboration among team members and divisions, work on the pilot began with determining what clients want and expect from their experience with Community Services; what the current service pathway/experience looks like, what the new pathway/experience will look like, and how clients will access and receive service from the integrated service delivery team. There is also an evaluation component built into the pilot that is helping us to learn as we develop our new integrated processes. The results of the initiative will inform further changes towards more integrated service for the public accessing Regional services and programs.

Wait Time from Screening to Eligibility Income Support Services have recently put a strategy in place to reduce the number of business days from screening to financial eligibility decision to enhance our performance and meet provincial targets. This new strategy is being monitored to ensure targets are being met and resource capacity is being utilized appropriately, while ensuring improved customer service. Other business practices will be reviewed and changed as needed, to meet or exceed service delivery standards, employment outcomes and expectations of participants and staff. We are already seeing a slight improvement in our outcomes and will continue to monitor our performance to enhance our customer service and results indicators.

Risk Management Certificate of Assurance Development The Provincial government is developing a Certificate of Assurance (COA) process supported by risk and control identification and assessment. The intention of this program is to establish a standardized set of issues relevant to all municipalities for the delivery of Ontario Works and the Ontario Disability Support Program. The Region of Waterloo has participated in the development of measurement tools that will be used to identify the effectiveness of processes for the delivery of programs and services. In 2017 all municipalities will participate in a province-wide pilot. The goal is to establish a consistent set of priority risks to

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ensure that each municipality has processes in place to mitigate the likelihood of a negative event happening, or the impact of the situation if it does occur. Once priority risks are established and communicated, processes are developed and managed locally in order to ensure that they are suited to the needs of local clients.

Section 4: Outcome Strategies

4.1 Service Strategy Rationale

Through 2017 and 2018 we will implement and evaluate a redesigned service approach that leverages our Employment Ontario activities with OW employment mandate through the following activities:

A redesigned intake service so return to employment plans are developed early in the

application process;

Reduced caseload sizes so caseworker time can be devoted to deeper conversations

with individuals in low income situations;

A redesigned, modern employment service designed to effect quicker returns to

employment and ensure that no individual is “dropped” from achieving this service

outcome;

Work with MCSS to establish a risk based service management model that achieves

solid accountability while improving OW participants quality of life indictors;

Renewed collaborations and agreements with community partners so resources are

effectively utilized and citizens better served; and

Participation in a corporate and divisional approach to achieve employment related Key

Performance and Results Indicators to monitor service achievement and improvement.

These activities also prepare us for integrated activities within the Community Services Department in the region of Waterloo and emerging provincial integration initiatives. The activities outlined above are meant to be adaptive.

4.2 Linking Strategies to Outcome Measures

The outcome targets for the 2017 budget are an increase of 1.5%. In setting outcome targets for the 2017 budget, the following factors were taken into consideration:

Availability and integrity of SAMS data;

Continued work towards SAMS normalization

The 2014 caseload profile, service delivery statistics and labour market analyses which

report a blend of strong and weak-performing indicators that may impact achievement

of employment outcomes;

Recent economic forecasts for Canada

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Unemployment Rate

Table 4.2.1

Ontario Works Outcomes* 2017 Baseline

2017 Target

Average monthly employment earnings per case

$771.8 $780 (+1%)

% of caseload with employment earnings 13.48% 13.68% (+1.5%)

% of terminations exiting to employment 12.79% 12.91% (+1%)

% of caseload exiting to employment .73% .73% (+1%)

ODSP recipients participating in OW Employment Assistance

206 209 (+1%)

*As reported in the Social Assistance Operations Performance Reports. Some data may not match the SAOPR Report averages and the 2016 YTD Reports data due to the method of calculating quarterly averages that was changed from Dec 2016 to Jan 2017

4.3 Action Steps and Resources

The Region through Community Services continues to participate in local initiatives to reduce poverty including leadership in a poverty reduction strategy for the corporation and implementation of the Canada Learning Bond and free income tax services and supports for those living in low income. E&IS continues to build on its past experience and learning through continued evaluation and ongoing internal working groups, which often directly involve program participants. Much of our energy in the next two years will be going into finishing planning and then implementing the many pieces of the E&IS Modernization. Managers and Supervisors participated in training on Key Performance Indicators in April and May. Staff will be provided training to support E&IS Modernization through SAIL and All Staff meetings. The implementation plan for the E&IS Modernization is available upon request.

4.4 Stakeholder Linkages

A holistic approach is utilized to maximize the employment attainment of its OW participants and the successful achievement of employment outcomes. The community employment agencies the Region funds and refers clients to are: Project READ, Conestoga College, St. Louis Adult Learning Centre, Lutherwood, and The Working Centre. The Region has an internal referral process for Employment Ontario which is located at all three of locations.

Some of the stakeholder linkages that are being leveraged include:

Strong, effective partnerships with other levels of government, including

the Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development (MAESD)

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Purchase of Service contracts with several employment organizations to

deliver services that are targeted to identified caseload needs and

outcomes.

Protocols and linkages with Employment Ontario

Partnerships with Project READ, Conestoga College, and St. Louis Adult

Learning Centre are vital in supporting participants’ progress towards

improved literacy, skill upgrading and career training, in preparation for

employment.

Partnerships with community agencies, such as Lutherwood, to provide a

menu of supports to participants.

Formal and informal connections with the Workforce Planning Board

Waterloo Wellington Dufferin to better understand the local labour market

and industry trends.

Employer connections with Employment Services staff to maintain and

enhance the effectiveness of training and placement programs.

New partnerships with local banking institutions and Service Canada,

through work on the Canada Learning Bond initiative and facilitating

access to bank accounts for participants.

Caseworkers and Employment Services staff work closely with several

community agencies through referrals to appropriate programs and

services.

Ontario Works staff are able to directly connect with other Region of

Waterloo colleagues in Housing Services, Child Care Services and Public

Health to offer an integrated and holistic approach to offering service to

participants.

The division relies upon its relationships with the community through our

Employment and Income Support Advisory Council (EISCAC) made up of

OW and ODSP participants, as well as a wide cross-section of community

agencies, including the local workforce planning board, Chamber of

Commerce, employment agencies, multicultural services, mental health,

community placement, housing stability system, education, literacy and

regional labour council. EISCAC provides opportunity for stakeholders to

provide input to identify service gaps and provide input to improve

program delivery and employment outcomes.

4.5 Addressing Service Gaps

Service gaps are identified through our commitment to service excellence in a variety of ways. Issues can be raised in a forum such as the Employment and Income Support Community Advisory Committee or the Community Employment Linkages Committee for discussion and potential coordinated action. The Social

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Assistance Directors’ Forum for Central West Region has been an excellent resource to identify and potentially resolve issues with Provincial Staff. The annual caseload and labour market profiles ensure the division is current with the needs of program participants and labour market trends.

More recently, the Management Team of E&IS collected the learnings from two recent program reviews, discussed current service gaps, and responded by rolling out an E&IS Modernization plan. Two managers and a Social Planning Associate are dedicated to this E&IS Modernization full time through 2017 and perhaps beyond. The Modernization will include a first phase where a team of E&IS integrated staff (employment staff, income support staff, and social worker) will provide more comprehensive and employment-focused service. The plan is that all staff will follow in the footsteps of this first team after we learn from their experiments and discoveries of what works well.

4.6 Increased Employability Strategies

The Region has put in place a number of strategies to enhance employability. At the core of increased employability strategies are the Caseworker and the principles of SAIL. As stated in section 1.4, one of the division’s priorities for 2017-18 is to revise our client service pathway to ensure an employment-centered service that is adaptive to individual and labour requirements through a variety of strategic and evaluative initiatives.

Currently, the Region offers a variety of employment programs to support positive employment and earnings outcomes for program participants. Programs such as, Individual Supports Towards Employment (iSTEP), and Social Work Intake provide participants with life stabilization supports and basic skills for employment. Creating Opportunities, for example, provides participants with encouragement and a greater sense of hope, and support to identify their strengths, skills and barriers along their career journey. Planning for Employment, Community Placement, and Focus for Change and Working from Home programs are uniquely tailored programs to support participants in preparing for Employment. STAR (Sharing Tips and Resources) provides participants with practical information to live well on a small budget. The Region offers several foundational courses for employment, such as job searching, resume writing, interviewing, and employment placements. Employment Resource Centres provide participants with a variety of resources and staff assistance to support their employment or training goals.

Industry specific job training or skills training program that may be required to move towards employment are also provided through several programs delivered by the Region. The Region has also continued the GED program to support participants wishing to obtain a high school equivalency certificate, in response to the high number of OW participants without a high school certificate (45 per cent

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in 2016 had less than 12 years of education3).

All the above mentioned employment programs mentioned are undergoing a review for continued viability. Recent reviews of our program conducted by a group of management and direct service staffs recommended a renewed and more modern approach to employment services. These will include working with the Employment Ontario structure and its supply demand model to redesign program alignment. It is anticipated this will result in significant staff reallocations, as we reduce caseload levels and increase efforts to market our employment services and client base to employers in The Region of Waterloo

4.7 Monitoring Service Strategies

The division is moving toward a more client-centred and outcome-based approach. All Management and Management Support staff will participate in three full days of training in April and May on Key Performance Indicators to help shift our thinking and work to focus more on outcomes. We will be deciding on specific indicators to track and monitor to better measure our outcomes. We will also communicate better to all staff the targets and other indicators that we are measuring. We will build the monitoring of outcomes into team meetings.

As a corporation, we are adding Lean Six Sigma to the fabric of our culture and work. A Manager of Corporate Performance was hired in 2016 who is a Black Belt in Lean Six Sigma (LSS) and who is rolling out LSS training to 10 Region staff a year. She is also building a community of practice to support LSS projects throughout the Region. The E&IS division has dedicated one staff person to this LSS training and looks forward to including LSS projects and philosophy in our ongoing shift to modernize E&IS. Staff will implement more data-driven E&IS programming in 2018.

The Region also participates in the Municipal Benchmarking Network of Canada (MBN Canada) and the division has additionally set its own Individual Performance Management Targets. These performance indicators or measures further enhance accountability and promote effective service delivery.

Section 5: Next Steps

5.1 Next Steps

The priorities identified at the outset of this document are reviewed by the senior management team regularly throughout the year and updates are shared with staff electronically. In 2018 an update to this plan will be submitted as a Service Plan Addendum. The update will capture changes in external influences such as the labour market and caseload demographics; report any changes in service delivery and/or business processes; and outline any changes in service strategies for 2018.

3 Ontario Works Caseload at a Glance Report January 2017

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Appendix B: EIS Organizational Charts

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