- C.6 Significant Recent Activities/Initiatives
- Developed Joint Peel-Caledon Accessibility Advisory Committee (AAC) brochures to clarify mandate, roles and responsibilities of the committee as well as the Regional Accessibility Planning Program and distributed the brochures to Regional Staff and members of the public to raise their understanding of both.
- Implemented an electronic Barrier Identification and Tracking Tool (BITT) to assist management teams in engaging employees at all levels in identifying and reporting barriers on-line, and to use the information collected to manage departmental accessibility tasks by prioritizing and planning for improvements during the Service Strategy and Business Planning (SSBP) process.
- Made presentations to all Regional Departmental Management Teams to provide an overview of the new BITT tool; Region’s obligations under the existing (ODA) and new provincial disability legislation (AODA) while highlighting the evolving strategic approach to improving accessibility of Regional programs, services and facilities.
- The Accessibility Planning Program and the Joint Peel-Caledon Accessibility Advisory Committee initiated and hosted a joint meeting with members of the City of Brampton and the City of Mississauga Accessibility Advisory Committees. Municipal staff and various transportation service providers were invited to begin a meaningful dialogue among stakeholders by discussing best practices and transportation issues affecting Peel citizens with disabilities.
- Members of the AAC and staff visited two Regional facilities, Battleford Recycling Centre and Summerville Pines Senior’s Residence, to conduct an accessibility audit of the facilities.
- Members of the AAC attended a focus group session hosted by the Credit Valley Hospital. Feedback was provided on how to enhance accessibility and accommodation for persons with disabilities within hospitals.
- Organized a full-day internal event to celebrate International Day of Disabled Persons (also proclaimed by Regional Council), conducting five interactive sessions for 165 employees with specific tips on communicating effectively with colleagues and customers with disabilities.
- The AAC presented annual accessibility awards to recognize the efforts of individuals and departments to improve accessibility within Regional programs, facilities and processes.
- The Accessibility Planning Program, along with Housing and Property and Social Services departments, participated in Connections 2005 – the 6th Annual Resource Fair for Persons with Disabilities.
- Twelve training sessions and workshops were organized and delivered during the year to educate staff about different disabilities, including mental heath and learning disabilities, and to meet the specific needs of regional clients with invisible disabilities.
- Established accessibility as an input into the Region’s corporate planning process, specifically departmental Service Strategy Business Plans (SSBP).
- Initiated a project to develop and document procedures that would assist SSBP facilitators to ensure that departmental accessibility Work Plans are adequate and used effectively by the Departmental Management Teams during the development of their 2007 departmental SSBPs.
- Hired Transportation Accessibility Specialist to improve the coordination of transportation services for persons with disabilities.
Appendix III provides readers with detailed information about accessibility initiatives reported by Regional departments since the development of our second Plan that support the objectives of the 2004 Accessibility Service Strategy and Business Plan.
Significant Recent Activities/Initiatives (PDF 201KB, 2 pages)
