THE GOOD NEWS ABOUT ONTARIO WORKS
By Samantha Frost
 Peel’s
Ontario Works division has a history of breaking
ground and delivering top-notch service to residents
seeking employment. In 1975, Peel was the first
municipality in Canada to initiate direct deposit
payments to eligible social assistance recipients.
Twenty-five years later, Ontario Works in Peel
remains on the leading edge of service delivery,
not only to Peel residents, but to social assistance
applicants in Central West Ontario, as well.
For the past two years, Peel has
operated a Financial Assessment Unit (FAU). Ontario
Works in Peel Director David Szwarc describes
it as "a mix between a call centre and an on-line
help desk." According to Szwarc, the FAU provides
fast, but in-depth assistance to people seeking
financial assistance. This past spring, Peel successfully
won the opportunity to manage the call centre
for Central West Region (Dufferin, Halton, Peel,
Waterloo and Wellington) – one of seven regional
centres in Ontario. Under the new system, Central
West Region residents calling their local welfare
office seeking financial assistance are now transferred
to Peel’s regional call centre to begin the
application process.
Commissioner of Social Services
Paul Vezina is pleased the province selected Peel
as one of the regional call centres, or intake-screening
units. "Our success in managing Peel’s FAU
for two years gives us the chance to expand the
model and provide service to Central West Region,"
says Vezina.
Breaking New Ground
Peel’s three-step process breaks
away from the standard way of determining financial
eligibility. With Peel’s model:
- The Intake Screening Unit (ISU) provides
telephone screening to determine applicants’
financial eligibility for social assistance
up-front and then co-ordinates emergency intervention
services as required. This is a change from
an intake worker collecting basic information
over the telephone, then a Caseworker meeting
with the applicant to determine financial eligibility.
- Eligible applicants in Peel attend a mandatory
pre-employment workshop before receiving financial
assistance. Currently, pre-employment workshops
are not mandatory in Central West Region. The
provincial government is now making pre-employment
workshops mandatory.
- Eligible applicants meet with Caseworkers
to verify financial eligibility and have case
plans developed.
Inter-departmental Partnerships
Make ISU a Success
The Region’s Information Technology
(IT) Services and Business Solutions staff and
Property Services staff each played a key role
in making ISU a success. IT upgraded the telephone
system and implemented telephony software to queue
and route incoming calls to other call centre
destinations and integrated Ministry software
with Peel’s applications.
Property Services staff quickly
located and transformed a 3,000 sq. ft space into
a comfortable home for the ISU employees.
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