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Ontario Releases 2025 Provincial Budget
Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy released the 2025-26 Ontario Provincial Budget titled "2025 Ontario Budget: A Plan to Protect Ontario." The document revises economic growth projections downward and this year's deficit projection upward from earlier projections in...
An Interview with Polly Smith
OMSSA sits down to speak with Polly Smith, Director of Employment and Social Services at the Municipality of Chatham-Kent about the importance of human services delivery, her career, and involvement with OMSSA.
Making York Region EarlyON Child and Family Programs More Accessible for Families Through the New EarlyON Registration Tool
OMSSA is featuring several of our 2022 Local Municipal Champion award recipients and their work in the Knowledge Exchange Blog. Please read the entry from York Region. In April 2022, the York Region EarlyON Child and Family Programs and Ontario Child Care Management System (OCCMS) teams in collaboration with CMSMs/DSSABs came together to develop and implement a system-wide, centralized online registration platform for EarlyON programs.
A Summary of the Region of Waterloo’s Encampment Decision
On January 27th, 2023, Justice M. J. Valente of the Ontario Superior Court rejected The Regional Municipality of Waterloo’s application for an injunction to evict individuals who were encamped on Region-owned property due to those individuals being in breach of a local By-Law prohibiting such actions. While the Justice praised the valuable work that the Region has already done to address homelessness, he nevertheless denied the injunction on the basis that the By-Law violated the homeless residents’ Charter right to life, liberty, and security. More recently, the Region announced that it has decided not to appeal the ruling. There are several significant takeaways that can be gleaned from this first-of-its-kind-in-Ontario decision. The decision represents the need for a serious shift in thinking around how OMSSA Members will address the issue of encampments moving forward.
The District of Thunder Bay Social Services Administration Board: Community Resource Centres
OMSSA is featuring several of our 2022 Local Municipal Champion award recipients and their work in the Knowledge Exchange Blog. Please read the entry from the District of Thunder Bay Social Services Administration Board. Over the past five years TBDSSAB has worked to create community resource centres for tenants and clients, creating centralized access for neighbourhood engagement and service enhancement.
An Interview with Henry Wall
OMSSA sits down to speak with Henry Wall, Chief Administrative Officer, from the Kenora District Services Board about the importance of human service integration and the issues of housing and homelessness in Northern Ontario communities.
Peel’s Youth Caseworker Team
The Region of Peel is dedicated in creating a community where every person experiences a sense of belonging while having access to all services that may be required through each stage of life. As a result, the Peel Youth Caseworker team was founded, to provide integrated services to youth while being devoted to assisting residents out of poverty.
OMSSA Report on the 2023 Federal Budget
On March 28th, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland delivered the 2023-24 Federal Budget. The budget was themed around the cost of living, dentalcare and clean energy. Learn more about some of the highlights relevant to OMSSA Members and the municipal human services sector.
OMSSA Report on the 2023 Ontario Budget
On March 23rd, Ontario’s Minister of Finance, Peter Bethlenfalvy, delivered the 2023 Ontario Budget. The budget comes at a time when Ontario is facing a housing crisis, homelessness crisis, pandemic recovery, inflation, and global economic uncertainty. Learn more about some of the highlights relevant to OMSSA Members and the municipal human services sector.
Lambton County Integrated Team
OMSSA is featuring several of our 2022 Local Municipal Champion award recipients and their work in the Knowledge Exchange Blog. Please read the entry from the County of Lambton. With early uncertainty regarding COVID-19 and strong awareness of the heightened vulnerabilities for those experiencing homelessness, the County of Lambton was tasked with ensuring the shelter and safety of households experiencing homelessness. They had varying needs, levels of support, and sources of income. It was understood within the Social Services Division that a unique approach to helping these households begin their journey to a new home would be required. This is where the concept of the Integrated Team originated.
A Municipal Approach to Employment Service System Leadership
OMSSA is featuring several of our 2022 Local Municipal Champion award recipients and their work in the Knowledge Exchange Blog. Please read the entry from the County of Bruce. The Employment Service System Manager for the Stratford-Bruce Peninsula took a truly local approach to service system management. Within the Employment Service Transformation, the Bruce, Grey, Huron, and Stratford consortium is the only Service System Manager that formally brought together the four CMSMs into an integrated model to deliver employment services to the catchment area.