Top 3 Priority Basic Need Goals

1. The Coalition will help ensure all children and youth in Simcoe County have their basic
    needs met by supporting its members in the following ways:

• Helping Coalition members gain greater understanding of aspects of poverty in SC as reflected in community data, relevant studies, statistics and personal stories
• Facilitate the sharing of best practices (program models, policies and service delivery approaches) that support client access to resources that meet their basic needs
• Explore other groups in the area that are involved in poverty reduction, leveraging their strengths and developing relationships as appropriate to ensure maximum impact on poverty, identify duplication and gaps

 

2. Access to Adequate Resources

• Ensure families have smooth access to services resulting from coordinated access points, streamlined assessment, team-based service delivery, and the identification of barriers to access (e.g. waiting lists, transportation, physical access, childcare, fees etc.)

NOTE: recommend to identify all the components of a coordinated service system for children youth and families but to focus in 2009 on strengthening the initial access into the system by creating a coordinated system of access points.

 

 

3. Strong Sense of Belonging/Inclusive-ness of all Members

Ensure that Coalition projects and practices benefit from the diversity of Simcoe County through:

• Encouraging inclusion of Francophone and Aboriginal populations in Coalition work by enhancing mainstream organizations’ understanding of & sensitivity to Francophone & Aboriginal communities
• Encouraging inclusion by helping to enhance capacity in Francophone and Aboriginal organizations
• Reflecting changing Simcoe County demographics in Coalition planning and identifying minority groups that may need special attention.

 

Action Steps

• Create a page on the website that links to useful sources of data; survey CYFS members for their data needs; identify members with analysts on staff who might help others acquire skills
• Hold Data Day fall 09 that highlights sources of data, identifies skills needed to use it effectively & offers training
• Investigate offering access to Social Data on Stats Can site as part of CYFS fee

 

 

 Best practices

 

• Create space on CYFS website for sharing best practices re. clients’ basic needs
• Use BNTG to collect innovative examples from their agency and one other agency
• Draft a CYFS Children’s Rights Charter

 

Other anti-poverty organizations

reach out to e.g. United Way, Barrie Community Health Centre, North Simcoe Muskoka LHIN, Alliance to End Homelessness, Health Unit etc. to determine how we can help each other serve children, youth and families better

 

 

 

Help create coordinated access points:

 

with comparable standards, shared resources where appropriate,
and clear understanding of how to help clients navigate different service pathways

     •  Identify major access point providers and compare characteristics (e.g. # of calls, kinds of inquiries, 
        reports and documentation, standards based service)
     •  Explore value of sharing some resources (e.g. database of services, after hours coverage, multi response,
         training materials)
     •  Explore interest in developing common standards and protocols for effective information and referral into
         the service delivery system-explore opportunities for joint training
     •  Identify more minor access point providers and begin to determine their needs
     •  Develop a series of navigation maps that can help access point providers understand and communicate
         the service pathways for children youth and families
     •  Identify places in the interface between access point providers and service providers where enhanced

        communication, training or protocol development are needed

 

 

Help ensure streamlined assessments

Encourage team-based service delivery 

Identify and begin to alleviate barriers to access

 

• Create an inventory of best practices in mainstream organizations that are Coalition members, using existing data where possible
• Identify additional capacity requirements among Francophone and Aboriginal organizations that might be met by Coalition projects
• Identify minority groups in Simcoe County whose needs may not be currently met and bring forward to next planning cycle for consideration