Report to/Rapport au:
Health,
Recreation and Social Services Committee
Comité de la santé, des loisirs et des services sociaux
23 January 2006/le 23 janvier 2006
Submitted
by/Soumis par : Steve Kanellakos, Deputy City Manager/Directeur
municipal adjoint,
Community and Protective
Services/Services communautaires et de protection
Contact Person/Personne ressource : Danielle Massé, Director/Directrice
Employment
and Financial Assistance/Services d’emploi et d’aide financière
(613)
580-2424 x 43080, danielle.masse@ottawa.ca
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Ref N°:
ACS2006-CPS-EFA-0001 |
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SUBJECT: |
ADDICTION SERVICES INITIATIVE FOR ONTARIO WORKS PARTICIPANTS |
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OBJET : |
SERVICES DE SOUTIEN AUX TOXICOMANES INSCRITS
AU PROGRAMME ONTARIO AU TRAVAIL |
REPORT RECOMMENDATION
That
the Health, Recreation and Social Services Committee recommend that Council
approve the establishment of 12 temporary positions for 12 months within the
Employment and Financial Assistance Branch to staff the new Addiction Services
Pilot for Ontario Works participants that will be administered by the City of
Ottawa effective March 2006 and the purchase of addiction services from
community agencies at no additional cost to the City.
Que le Comité de la santé, des loisirs et des
services sociaux recommande au Conseil d’approuver la création de 12 postes
temporaires pour une période de 12 mois au sein de la Direction des services
d’emploi et d’aide financière afin de doter en personnel le nouveau projet
consistant à offrir des services de soutien aux toxicomanes inscrits au
programme Ontario au travail, qui sera géré par la Ville à compter de mars
2006, ainsi que l’achat de services auprès d’organismes communautaires sans
coût supplémentaire pour la Ville.
In
2003, the Ministry of Community and Social Services (MCSS) began introducing an
Addiction Services Initiative across the Province, through the Ontario Works
Program that builds upon the existing framework and employment measures. Employment and Financial Assistance (EFA)
was chosen to pilot the Addiction Services Initiative in 2006. The initiative is designed to assist Ontario
Works participants whose addiction to alcohol, illicit drugs or prescription
drugs is a barrier to employment. As an
employment measure, the initiative provides enhanced supports to Ontario Works
participants to overcome addiction as a step toward finding and maintaining
employment.
The
Employment and Financial Assistance Branch consulted with a network of
addiction services agencies on numerous occasions. EFA and the agencies have agreed on a service delivery model to
address the requirements of Ontario Works participants with substance abuse
problems. The program is to begin
operation by March 2006.
The
implementation plan requires an additional 12 temporary positions for a period
of 12 months within the Employment and Financial Assistance Branch and
purchasing assessment and treatment services from agencies. MCSS will fully fund the Addiction Services
Pilot and will provide one-time funding to set up the pilot, as well as 100% of
the costs associated with the purchase of the assessment and treatment
components of the program from community agencies. In 2007, should the pilots be successful, all Consolidated
Municipal Service Managers (CMSMs) will be required to implement this new
initiative, which would become an additional service available through the OW
Employment Program.
En 2003, le
ministère des Services sociaux et communautaires (MSSC) a commencé à mettre en
place, à l’échelle de la province, un projet consistant à offrir aux toxicomanes
des services de soutien dans le cadre du programme Ontario au travail, lequel
s’appuie sur la structure actuelle et les mesures d’emploi existantes. La
Direction des services d’emploi et d’aide financière (SEAF) a été choisie pour
diriger le projet en 2006. Celui-ci vise à apporter de l’aide aux participants
à Ontario au travail dont la dépendance à l’alcool, aux drogues illicites ou
aux médicaments d'ordonnance constitue un obstacle à l’emploi. Mesure d’aide à
l’emploi, le projet donne aux toxicomanes de meilleurs outils pour vaincre leur
dépendance et arriver à trouver et à conserver un emploi.
La Direction des
services d’emploi et d’aide financière a consulté à maintes reprises un réseau
d’organismes spécialisés dans les services de soutien aux toxicomanes, après
quoi les deux parties se sont entendues sur un modèle de prestation de services
qui répondra aux besoins des participants à Ontario au travail aux prises avec
des problèmes de toxicomanie. Le programme entrera en vigueur en mars 2006.
Le plan de mise
en œuvre exige la création de 12 postes temporaires (12 mois) au sein
de la Direction des services d’emploi et d’aide financière ainsi que l’achat de
services d’évaluation et de traitement à des organismes appropriés. Le MSSC
financera entièrement l’initiative et accordera aux villes une subvention non
renouvelable pour les aider à mettre sur pied le projet pilote. De plus, il
assumera la totalité des coûts associés à l’achat de services d’évaluation et
de traitement à des organismes communautaires. Si, en 2007, les projets pilotes
se sont avérés une réussite, tous les gestionnaires des services municipaux
regroupés (GSMR) devront mettre en place la nouvelle initiative, laquelle
constituera un service supplémentaire offert par le programme Ontario au
travail.
BACKGROUND
Ontario
Works provides a range of employment assistance measures to help individuals
and families relying on social assistance become self-sufficient through
employment. The number of persons
receiving Ontario Works has been declining over the past ten years. However many of the persons remaining on the
caseload have increasingly complex barriers to employment, including substance
abuse problems.
In
2001, the Ministry of Community and Social Services (MCSS) announced the
Government’s five-point action plan designed to ensure Ontario Works was more
responsive to the needs of social assistance recipients. The final phase of this plan was to
implement an addiction services initiative that focused on removing addiction
as a barrier to finding and maintaining employment for Ontario Works
participants.
This
initiative has been implemented in phases.
Phase one involved establishing four pilot sites and the second phase
expanded the initiative to five additional sites. Those initial sites involved smaller CMSMs. The current phase focuses on expanding the
mandatory implementation of the program to larger CMSMs. The Addiction Services Initiative is a
voluntary program for Ontario Works participants in that individuals may chose
to self declare addictions, and then pursue assessment and treatment options.
The
Addiction Services Initiative is designed to provide Ontario Works participants
who present substance abuse as a barrier to employment, with the treatment that
will assist them in the recovery process.
Some of the key features of the Addiction Services Program are:
·
Addressing participants’ problems with
alcohol, illicit drugs, and prescription drugs, when such problems are a
barrier to employment or participation in Ontario Works employment activities.
·
That the program focuses on removing
substance misuse as a barrier to employment while respecting the dignity and
right to informed choice of all participants.
·
Identifying and referring interested
participants to competent specialists for assessment and treatment.
·
Recognizing that treatment can be a
long-term process that may involve one or more relapses.
·
Establishing individualized case
management plans so that participants receive appropriate treatment and
supports.
Participants in
the Addiction Services Program will be able to access employment related
benefits along with their ongoing financial assistance. The benefits are intended to assist
participants in getting and keeping employment or begin to remove barriers to
move a participant along the path to self-sufficiency.
The specialized
case coordinators involved in the pilot will carry reduced caseloads enabling
them to do more appropriate interventions and employment coaching. They will be available to function as
brokers in order to identify and co-ordinate services required by
participants. They will develop case
plans with each participant in coordination with staff from addiction treatment
agencies. Because retention in
treatment is a high predictor of successful treatment outcomes, case
coordinators will assist participants through times of crisis through direct
intervention and provision of needed supports and services.
As a
result of a survey conducted by EFA in 2004, it was determined that
approximately 10% of the participants on Ontario Works had substance
abuse problems that interfered with their ability to find or maintain
employment. With caseload averages
hovering around 18,000 cases in 2005, the total number of Ontario Works
participants with substance abuse problems was estimated at approximately 1,800
cases.
More
recently in June 2005, EFA assessed the capacity available within the network
of addiction service agencies to accommodate Ontario Works participants engaged
in the Addiction Services Initiative.
During the course of the capacity assessment the agencies delivering
substance abuse services estimated that there were approximately 400 Ontario
Works participants already involved in treatment.
DISCUSSION
Since
the 2001 announcement by MCSS, EFA has anticipated the need to develop an
Addiction Services Initiative plan and has therefore consulted widely with the
network of addiction service agencies.
From the outset guiding principles were adopted in concert with community
partners and validated during the development of EFA Branch’s Implementation
Plan submitted recently to MCSS.
Some of the principles of the plan are:
·
Involving participants in the Addiction Services
Program will depend on their willingness to engage in a change process
affecting their life.
·
Involving participants in the least intrusive and
intensive treatment interventions appropriate to their needs and circumstances.
EFA
believes that the Addiction Services Initiative will enhance its existing
service delivery model in that it is congruent with the branch’s employment
principles:
·
Valuing employment as a key determinant of quality of
life and a healthy community.
·
Investing in employment activities in order to
decrease the length of time on social assistance and the rate of reapplication
to social assistance.
·
Providing a range of employment supports such as
Community Placement, Employment Placement, etc., to meet the immediate and
long-term needs of Ontario Works participants.
·
Partnering with agencies and employers to provide
employment opportunities in the community and matching people to these
opportunities to build collaborative communities.
EFA has collaborated with a network of addiction service agencies to develop a service delivery model that will feature the following elements:
·
Provision of substance abuse treatment information to
all Ontario Works clients and opportunities for disclosure and participation in
the Addiction Services Program.
·
Planned early involvement of participants engaged in
substance abuse treatment in employment and/or employment related support
activities.
·
Strengthening partnerships with substance abuse
agencies to the benefit of Ontario Works participants with substance abuse
problems.
·
Specialized case coordinators available to provide
outreach and support to Ontario Works participants engaged in substance abuse
treatment.
The City of
Ottawa is well positioned to implement the Addiction Services Pilot. There is a long-standing history of
collaboration and support between EFA and the agencies in the addiction services
network. EFA will introduce employment
supports as early as possible in the treatment process recognizing that these
initiatives are vital components in restoring dignity to individuals and
sustaining them in their recovery.
MCSS
will fully fund the Addiction Services Pilot in the amount of $1,500,000. In addition MCSS will provide one-time 100%
provincial funding in the amount of $150,000 to set up the program.
The
implementation of the Addiction Services Pilot requires an additional 12
temporary positions including a supervisor, 10 specialized case coordinators,
and a verification specialist.
In consideration of many factors (Addiction Services
Initiative is a pilot, short timeframe to implement, OW client profile,
geographic requirements, capacity issues,) the network of addiction agencies
along with the EFA Branch have determined that it is in the best interest of
the community to proceed with the purchase of service from the following three
agencies:
·
Addiction and Problem Gambling Services of Ottawa
($100,000),
·
Rideauwood
Addiction and Family Services ($80,000)
·
Maison
Fraternité ($20,000)
Initial funding
will be for a period of 6 months to ensure the funding allocations are in
keeping with service level demands.
CONSULTATION
For the past 5 years EFA has organized periodic meetings to keep the network of community agencies apprised of the Addiction Services Initiative. Community agencies support elements of the Addiction Services Pilot including:
·
Voluntary participation of Ontario Works participants
in the Addiction Services Pilot.
·
That drug addiction assessments will be completed by
community agencies delivering substance abuse services.
·
Specialized case management and supports available for
Ontario Works participants.
·
Comprehensive addiction related training will be
provided to EFA staff.
The Champlain
Addiction Coordinating Body (CACB), which facilitates system coordination,
planning and advocacy, and is the voice for the addiction treatment system to
political, government and service sectors of Eastern Ontario, supports EFA’s
plan related to the Addiction Services Program.
In 2004, EFA
convened an Addiction Services Initiative Advisory Committee. Members were drawn from the addiction
services network of agencies, the community at large, and relevant City of
Ottawa departments including Health, Parks and Recreation, and Housing. The mandate of the Advisory Committee
included determining best practices in regards to assessment, referrals, and
treatment options, identifying clients’ needs and community resources, and
identifying gaps in service and possible solutions. EFA will maintain the Addiction Services Initiative Advisory
Committee and will review the terms of reference and membership to ensure its
effectiveness.
OTTAWA INTEGRATED
DRUGS AND ADDICTIONS STRATEGY
The
implementation of the Addiction Services Pilot will provide an additional
strategy to support goals of the Ottawa Integrated Drugs and Addictions
Strategy of reducing the harmful and destructive effects of substance abuse. The Addiction Services Pilot will assist
participants to overcome substance abuse problems and pursue sustainable
employment as an alternative to remaining engaged in a drug-filled way of life.
ENDORSEMENT OF
THE ADDICTION SERVICES PROGRAM
On September 15, 2005 the Community and Protective Services Corporate Strategic Plan for 2005-2007 was approved at a special joint meeting of the Health, Recreation, and Social Services Committee and the Emergency and Protective Services Committee. The Addiction Services Program was discussed in terms of maximizing access to addiction services to support clients with addiction-related barriers to employment and financial stability. Committee members approved the Addiction Services Program as one of EFA’s initiatives in 2005-2007.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
As indicated, the Province is
fully funding the costs of the Addiction Services Pilot in the amount of
$1,500,000 as well as program set-up costs in the amount of $150,000 and
therefore participation in the pilot involves no additional costs to the City.
Employment and Financial Assistance Branch will implement the Addiction Services Program.