Knowledge Exchange Blog
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Access to Integrated Care in Couchiching: A Partnership Between the County of Simcoe Ontario Works and Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital
OMSSA is featuring several 2024 Local Municipal Champion award recipients and their work in the Knowledge Exchange Blog. Please read this entry from the County of Simcoe and Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital.
In the heart of Simcoe County, during a time of ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic response, a transformative partnership emerged between the County of Simcoe Ontario Works Division and Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital (OSMH). This collaboration was born out of urgency as an innovative opportunity to support our vulnerable populations, including those experiencing homelessness, and unattached patients in the community, aiming to increase access to care in the right place, outside of the emergency department. This blog post delves into the innovative strategies and tangible benefits of this partnership, highlighting how it has significantly improved health outcomes and set a precedent for integrated human services.
An Interview with Janine Mitchell
Janine Mitchell has worked in the human services sector for her entire 40 year career, starting off working in licensed child care and eventually making her way to a municipality managing Children’s Services, the delivery of Ontario Works Program and Social Services Emergency Management.
She is also one of the recipients of the 2024 OMSSA Champion of Human Services Award. OMSSA sat down with Janine Mitchell for an interview to discuss her work and career and thoughts on human services in Ontario.
Providing Access to Rural Data for Decision Making: ROI’s Community Wellbeing Dashboard
Rural communities often struggle to find information to support decision making. Not only can rural data be difficult to find, it’s also difficult to work with. Most rural municipalities don’t have a data analyst on staff to gather, analyze, and interpret data. But all municipalities have to make the same decisions, whether or not they have capacity for data analysis. Therefore, it’s critical to make rural data more easily accessible and understandable for decision makers. The Rural Ontario Institute (ROI) has developed a Community Wellbeing Dashboard that improves access to information for decision making.
Towards Reconciliation in Research: Ethical Approaches to Research and Engagement with Indigenous Peoples
The history of unethical research with Indigenous Peoples cannot be undone, but we can recognize this history and shift towards a future where research is decolonized and collaborative. By centering Indigenous data governance and adopting ethical methodologies, we can foster a research environment that respects the sovereignty, knowledge, and rights of Indigenous communities so that research benefits rather than harms Indigenous communities. This shift is not only necessary for healing historical wounds but also an essential part of reconciliation and healing for Indigenous communities.
Walking Together: Bruce County’s Journey Toward Indigenous Reconciliation
Bruce County, located on the traditional territories of the Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation and Saugeen First Nation, collectively known as the Saugeen Ojibway Nation (SON), took the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 Calls to Action to heart. The County’s relationship with these First Nations is amplified by their shared history and geography. Recognizing this, Bruce County embarked on a significant and comprehensive journey toward Reconciliation, marked by the development of the Indigenous Reconciliation Planning Initiative and ultimately the Indigenous Reconciliation Framework, and the Saugeen Anishnaabek Reconciliation Pathway and Action Plan. This blog delves into that journey – its beginnings, milestones, and the steps Bruce County is taking to foster meaningful Reconciliation.
Achieving Equitable Child Care for Urban Indigenous Families in Collaboration with CMSMs and DSSABs
The Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres (OFIFC) represents 31 member Friendship Centres, who have identified that Indigenous-led early learning and child care (IELCC) is a top priority, central to fostering strong, vibrant and prosperous Indigenous children, families and communities. This work is critical to transforming and advancing Ontario’s child care system towards an Indigenous-led model that can support high-quality urban Indigenous early learning and child care programs and services. The OFIFC continues to assert that supporting the right of urban Indigenous communities to self-determination is an action-oriented reconciliation commitment that Service System Managers can advance in collaboration with the OFIFC. Learn more about the work OFIFC is undertaking to move this work forward.
Shining a Light on SAMS Data The City of Ottawa’s Case Management Tool
The City of Ottawa’s Case Management Tool is a successful replacement to working out of the Provincial SAMS reports. It’s more accurate, more timely and more user-friendly. It comes in the form of a suite of Power BI dashboards tailored to the needs of the user groups. These dashboards are operationalized and are the prime sources of information for Ontario Works case management. Prior to this, Ottawa relied on reports from Social Assistance Legacy Information (SALI) for performance metrics and manually-maintained Excel files to keep on top of caseloads. Learn more about the work Ottawa is doing to help their community.
Dufferin County Providing Shelter From the Storm
Although winter is several months away, Dufferin County is already taking measures to ensure the safety of residents and visitors during bouts of severe winter weather or any other emergencies that may arise. A cornerstone of their community preparedness efforts is a fleet of eight (8) new emergency support trailers. These trailers are intended to provide emergency support services personnel with the equipment they need to open a temporary shelter in situations where external aid might not be readily available, such as blizzards, tornadoes, road closures, or residential fires. Learn more about how Dufferin County is preparing for the next emergency.
Highlights of the 2024 Exchange Conference
Over 400 people from the human services, health, child care, and public services participated in OMSSA’s in-person Exchange Conference held on May 7 and 8 in Mississauga. Over these two days there was an opportunity to focus on several important professional development topics, enhance skill sets, and showcase the innovative work happening in each of our sectors to address the most pressing issues in our local communities. Read more about the highlights of our most recent Conference.
Region of Durham Adult Protective Services: Innovative Partnerships and Housing Stability
OMSSA is featuring several 2023 Local Municipal Champion award recipients and their work in the Knowledge Exchange Blog. Please read this entry from the Region of Durham.
The Adult Protective Services (APS) team provides case management and advocacy for over 300 adults with developmental disabilities living in the community. Clients of the APS program are those with mild developmental/intellectual disabilities that can often ‘fall-through-the-cracks’ and can represent some of our most vulnerable citizens in the community.
An Interview with Cathy Cousins
Cathy Cousins worked for the Region of Niagara in Corporate Services for 10 years, until 2005, when she began to hold a variety of roles in Community Services including Director of Support Services, Acting Commissioner, and Director of Homelessness Services and Community Engagement within the Region. She has experience with labour negotiations and job evaluation, and involvement in a variety of committees with the Office of the Fire Marshal and Emergency Management (OFMEM) for emergency management and emergency social services. She is skilled in budget preparation and management, financial reporting and committee presentations. Cathy has previous experience on the OMSSA Board as President and currently serves as Past-President. This interview explores her priorities in human services delivery for Niagara Region, her involvement with OMSSA, and her overall experience and contributions to the human services sector.