7.
ENDORSEMENT OF
211 SERVICE PROVIDER |
That
Council:
1.
1.Endorse
the Distress Centre of Ottawa and Region as the service provider of 211 in
Ottawa and;
2. Direct staff to work with United Way
Ottawa and the Provincial government to pursue a detailed business case that
identifies operating costs and potential funding sources for the implementation
of 211 in Ottawa and to report back to Committee and Council prior to the 2008
budget process.
Recommandation du Comité
Que le Conseil:
1. d’approuver le Centre de détresse
d'Ottawa et de la région avoisinante (Distress Centre of Ottawa and Region)
comme le fournisseur du service 211 à Ottawa;
2. de charger le personnel de travailler
avec Centraide Ottawa et le gouvernement provincial afin de produire une
analyse de rentabilisation détaillée qui indique les coûts de fonctionnement et
les sources de financement potentielles pour la mise en œuvre du
service 211 à Ottawa et de faire rapport à cet égard au Comité et au
Conseil avant le début du processus budgétaire de 2008.
DOCUMENTATION
1.
Deputy City Manager report dated 12 January 2007 (ACS2007-CPS-DCM-0002).
2.
Extract
of Draft Minutes, 1 March 2007.
Report
to/Rapport au :
Community and Protective Services Committee
Comité des services communautaires
et de protection
and Council / et au Conseil
12 January 2007 / le 12 janvier 2007
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 : Donna Gray, Manager
Strategic
Initiatives and Business Planning/ Gest, Initiatives strat & Planif activ
(613)
580-2424 x25684, Donna.Gray@ottawa.ca
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SUBJECT: |
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OBJET : |
APPROBATION DU FOURNISSEUR DU SERVICE 211
|
REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS
That the Community and Protective Services Department recommend that
Council:
1.
1.Endorse
the Distress Centre of Ottawa and Region as the service provider of 211 in Ottawa and;
2. Direct staff to work with United Way
Ottawa and the Provincial government to pursue a detailed business case that
identifies operating costs and potential funding sources for the implementation
of 211 in Ottawa and to report back to Committee and Council prior to the 2008
budget process.
RECOMMANDATIONS DU
RAPPORT
Que les Services
communautaires et de protection recommande au Conseil municipal :
1. d’approuver
le Centre de détresse d'Ottawa et de la région avoisinante (Distress Centre of
Ottawa and Region) comme le fournisseur du service 211 à Ottawa;
2. de charger le personnel de travailler
avec Centraide Ottawa et le gouvernement provincial afin de produire une
analyse de rentabilisation détaillée qui indique les coûts de fonctionnement et
les sources de financement potentielles pour la mise en œuvre du
service 211 à Ottawa et de faire rapport à cet égard au Comité et au
Conseil avant le début du processus budgétaire de 2008.
211 is an easy to remember telephone number that refers people to a full range of non-emergency community health and social services. Certified Information and Referral Specialists answer 211 calls, assess the needs of each caller and link them to the best available information and services. Underpinning the 211 service is a comprehensive, professionally maintained database of services and programs, which is available on the Internet to assist service professionals and to serve those individuals who prefer the convenience and self-help nature of 211 online.
211 was approved for use
nationally by the CTRC in August 2001.
Correspondingly, in November 2001, City Council approved a report
ACS2001-PEO-GMR-0001 that endorsed in
principle the concept of 2-1-1 as a coordinated information mechanism for
accessing information and referral services that serve the Citizens of
Ottawa. That same report directed that
broad support and a collaborative approach be developed with United
Way/Centraide Ottawa and other key community stakeholders.
Many communities across Canada
are preparing to meet the 211 standards set by the CRTC. Toronto launched Canada’s first 211 service
in June 2006. The CRTC decision
includes references to agreed upon standards, sustainability of service
delivery, hours of service required, and coverage of all associated costs (none
to caller). One of the CRTC’s criteria
is that, “organizations providing 211 must receive endorsement from the level of
government for the area served by 211.”
Key components of a 211 service include:
· Qualified information and referral specialists to answer phones and assess caller needs, and qualified resource specialists to manage the database.
· The development of a comprehensive and accurate database of community services to support the work of information and referral specialists.
· Call centre technology and the necessary facility and equipment infrastructure.
In early 2006, United Way organizations across Ontario banded together to collectively call on the Government of Ontario to make “211 accessible to all residents of Ontario”. The Ministry of Community and Social Services provided a $1.4 million grant to develop a business plan for a province-wide 211 system, the telephony architecture and governance model. In addition, it earmarked start up and capital costs for 4 communities – Halton, Thunder Bay, Windsor and Ottawa. $212,000 has been set aside for Ottawa. It also ear-marked $1.4 million for the call centre start-up activities required to launch the 211 service. This funding is conditional on local 211 initiatives first obtaining the operational funding necessary to provide the 211 service for at least one year.
The 211 Ottawa service will play a pivotal role in this
province-wide system in a number of ways.
The plan is for 211 Ottawa to serve citizens across the entire area
served by the 613 area code. This would
encompass most of Eastern Ontario, including Kingston, Renfrew, Cornwall,
Brockville and Belleville. The 211 for All Ontario report also calls
for the 211 Ottawa service to provide information to francophone Ontarians
through the 211Ontario.ca web portal and its call centre. Therefore, 211 Ottawa would become the focal
point for French language services in a consolidated network of call centres,
offering bilingual 211 services across the province.
Le 211
est un numéro de téléphone facile à retenir qui permet aux particuliers d’avoir
accès à une panoplie de services sociaux et de santé communautaires non
urgents. Des spécialistes certifiés en information et en aiguillage répondent
aux appels 211, évaluent les besoins des appelants et les renseignent le mieux
possible ou les dirigent vers le service le plus approprié. Le service 211
s’appuie sur une vaste base de données sur les programmes et services mise à
jour par des professionnels et accessible par Internet. Cette ressource
s’adresse aux professionnels et aux particuliers qui aiment mieux faire leur
recherche seuls et préfèrent le côté pratique du service en ligne.
La mise en œuvre du service 211 a été
approuvée par le Conseil de la radiodiffusion et des télécommunications
canadiennes (CRTC) en août 2001. De ce fait, en novembre de la même année, le
Conseil municipal a adopté le rapport ACS2001-PEO-GMR-0001, qui appuie en
principe le concept du 211, mécanisme coordonné donnant aux résidents d’Ottawa
accès à un service d’information et d’aiguillage. Dans ce rapport, il était
recommandé d’adopter une démarche globale de soutien et de collaboration avec
Centraide/United Way Ottawa et d’autres intervenants communautaires clés.
De nombreuses communautés des quatre coins du
pays travaillent à des projets en vue de satisfaire aux normes 211 établies par
le CRTC. La Ville de Toronto a pour sa part lancé son service 211 en
juin 2006. Pour rendre sa décision, le CRTC tient compte du respect des
normes convenues, de la viabilité du service assuré, des heures auxquelles
celui‑ci sera offert et du fait que tous les coûts qui y sont associés
sont couverts (l’appelant n’en assume aucun). L’un des critères du CRTC est le
suivant : « Les organismes qui
assurent le service 211 doivent obtenir l’approbation à cet égard de
l’ordre de gouvernement responsable du secteur bénéficiant du service. »
Les principales composantes du service 211
sont les suivantes :
·
Des
spécialistes de l’information et de l’aiguillage répondent aux appels et
évaluent les besoins des appelants, et des spécialistes en ressources gèrent la
base de données.
·
Une
base de données exhaustive et exacte sur les services communautaires est créée
pour soutenir le travail des spécialistes de l’information et de l’aiguillage.
·
Le
service 211 utilise la technologie des centres d’appels ainsi que les
installations et l’équipement nécessaires.
Au début de 2006, les organismes Centraide de
partout en Ontario se sont unis pour demander à la Province de rendre le
service 211 accessible à tous les résidents de l’Ontario. Le ministère des
Services sociaux et communautaires a par la suite consenti une subvention de
1,4 million de dollars pour élaborer un plan d’activités visant à mettre
en place à l’échelle de la province un système 211, une architecture de
téléphonie et un modèle de gouvernance. Il a également alloué des fonds de
démarrage et d’immobilisations à quatre municipalités, soit Halton, Thunder
Bay, Windsor et Ottawa. Un montant de 212 000 $ a d’ailleurs été
réservé pour Ottawa. Le Ministère a enfin affecté 1,4 million de dollars
aux travaux de démarrage des centres d’appels qui serviront à assurer le
service 211. Pour pouvoir bénéficier de ce financement, les municipalités
doivent obtenir les capitaux d’exploitation requis pour assurer le
service 211 pendant une période minimale d’un an.
Le
service 211 de la région d’Ottawa jouera un rôle déterminant dans la
province, et ce, pour plusieurs raisons. D’une part, il est censé être offert
aux résidents de tout le secteur dont l’indicatif régional est le 613, ce qui
englobe presque tout l’Est de l’Ontario, y compris Kingston, Renfrew, Cornwall,
Brockville et Belleville. D’autre part, le rapport 211 for All Ontario prévoit qu’à Ottawa, le service 211 devra
aussi être assuré en français tant par l’entremise du site Web 211Ontario.ca
que par les spécialistes du centre d’appels. Par conséquent, le service 211
d’Ottawa deviendrait, à l’intérieur du réseau global de centres d’appels, le
coeur des services en français offerts aux francophones des quatre coins de la
province.
211 is an easy to remember telephone number that refers people to a full range of non-emergency community health and social services. Certified Information and Referral Specialists answer 211 calls, assess the needs of each caller and link them to the best available information and services. Underpinning the 211 service is a comprehensive, professionally maintained database of services and programs, which is available on the Internet to assist service professionals and to serve those individuals who prefer the convenience and self-help nature of 211 online.
211 was approved for use
nationally by the CTRC in August 2001.
Many communities across Canada are preparing to meet the 211 standards
set by the CRTC. Toronto launched
Canada’s first 211 service in June 2006.
The CRTC decision includes references to agreed upon standards,
sustainability of service delivery, hours of service required, and coverage of
all associated costs (none to caller).
One of the CRTC’s criteria is that,
“organizations providing 211 must
receive endorsement from the level of government for the area served by 211.”
211 is a highly visible, easily recalled number for all citizens to call that provides a single point of access to a broad range of community, social, health and government services. 211 will assist people to access appropriate services efficiently by providing referrals to appropriate agencies and organizations with the help of specifically trained information and referral staff. 211 will assist the most vulnerable of our citizens, particularly those with disabilities, low levels of literacy, individuals who do not speak either of our official languages, and seniors, All calls would be answered by a bilingual information and referral specialist who would link them to the most appropriate information and service.
Examples of calls to 211 include:
Key components of a 211 service include:
· Qualified information and referral specialists to answer phones and assess caller needs, and qualified resource specialists to manage the database.
· The development of a comprehensive and accurate database of community services to support the work of information and referral specialists.
· Call centre technology and the necessary facility and equipment infrastructure.
The 211 service complements the 311 service. In Ottawa, 311 has proved very useful in
providing access to non-emergency municipal government services. Similarly, the 211 service would provide people
with information and referral about all human services and programs, regardless
of whether these are delivered by governments or by non-government providers.
In November 2001,
City Council approved a report ACS2001-PEO-GMR-0001 that endorsed in principle
the concept of 2-1-1 as a coordinated information mechanism for accessing
information and referral services that serve the Citizens of Ottawa. That same report directed that broad support
and a collaborative approach be developed with United Way/Centraide Ottawa and
other key community stakeholders.
Following this report extensive consultation was conducted and in 2003 a
Feasibility Study was completed and followed by a July 2004 Review of
Organizational Capacity. The review:
It also included
a capacity assessment of the organizations, which had expressed an interest in
delivering the 211 service. This
capacity assessment, undertaken by third party consultants, was based on each
organization’s response to 130 questions, supporting documentation, interviews
with six other community groups and site visits.
The assessment
recommended harnessing the infrastructure of the Distress Centre of Ottawa and
Region (DCOR) as the managing agency for the delivery of the 211 Ottawa
service. The DCOR was found to have the
greatest strengths in terms of its governance, management and administration,
and extensive call centre operations experience. It delivers four services:
The Ottawa Distress Line, the Outaouoais Distress Line, the Champlain
District Mental Health Crisis Line, and the Grey Bruce Mental Health Crisis
Line.
Building on the
importance of experience and expertise, the review also recommended that the
Community Information Center of Ottawa (CIC) be selected as the 211 Ottawa
database provider. The CIC annually produces The Directory of Ottawa Community Services, maintains a bilingual
database of 1400 community services and provides local information to
provincial portals. The CIC has also
contributed to the development of francophone records, both at a local and
provincial level.
In 2005, a comprehensive business and technical plan was developed, which requested sustained funding over five years to launch the service. Unfortunately, due to budgetary constraints at United Way/Centraide Ottawa, the municipal and provincial levels of government and other funding sources, this magnitude of funding was not forthcoming at the time.
Consequently, in early 2006, United Way
organizations across Ontario banded together to collectively call on the
Government of Ontario to make “211 accessible to all residents of
Ontario”. The Ministry of Community
and Social Services provided a $1.4 million grant to develop a business plan
for a province-wide 211 system, the telephony architecture and governance
model. In addition it earmarked start
up and capital costs for 4 communities – Halton, Thunder Bay, Windsor and
Ottawa. $212,000 has been set aside for
Ottawa. It also ear-marked $1.4 million for the call centre start-up activities
required to launch the 211 service.
However, The Government of Ontario placed restrictions
on the use of this start-up funding.
First, it cannot be used to fund 211 operations. Second, communities must demonstrate that
they have secured adequate funding from other sources to operate the 211
service for a minimum of one year. In
the absence of knowing the full cost implication of implementing 211 in Ottawa,
further analysis is required to move forward on this initiative in an effort to
secure the first year of required operating funds. The United Way and city staff are committed to working together
to define costs, potential funding partners and operating models in a detailed
business case and will present their findings and recommendations to Council
prior to the 2008 budget process.
In addition, the
Ministry of Finance provided a $3 million grant to Find help over three years
from the Strengthening our Partnerships program, to expand and enrich 211. The online service delivery of 211Ontario.ca
is an internet based directory of over 60,000 human services available in
Ontario. This will include new money
for 211Ontario.ca to extend data collection across Ontario and to further its
work on the development of the human services classification system, or
“taxonomy” in both French and English.
By standardizing references to human and social services and needs, this
taxonomy will enable the Information and Referral Specialists using
211Ontario.ca to better search and find the information they need to help 211
callers.
CONCLUSION
The 211 Ottawa service will play a pivotal role in this province-wide system in a number of ways. The plan is for 211 Ottawa to serve citizens across the entire area served by the 613 area code. This would encompass most of Eastern Ontario, including Kingston, Renfrew, Cornwall, Brockville and Belleville. The 211 for All Ontario report also calls for the 211 Ottawa service to provide information to francophone Ontarians through the 211Ontario.ca web portal and its call centre. Therefore, 211 Ottawa would become the focal point for French language services in a consolidated network of call centres, offering bilingual 211 services across the province.
At this time,
the operating budget and funding necessary to access the provincial
grants for 211 Ottawa has not been
finalized . The
City will work with United Way Ottawa to complete a detailed business case
identifying full costing and all potential sources of funding for operating
cost. Once City
staff know the full financial impact of
implementing 211 in Ottawa, they will report back to Committee and Council
prior to the 2008 budget process.
The 211 Ottawa Project Team is
approaching potential funders, including the Federal Government (Service
Canada, Citizenship and Immigration Canada), foundations and corporations
to fund the operating component of the 211 service. In addition, s. Ottawa 211 would
be
requesting financial support from the City of Ottawa prior to the formal launch
of 211 Ottawa in 2008. Preliminary
estimates indicate that the amount of support would be $52,975.00 which
could be a combination of financial support and in kind services.
taff from Community and
Protective Services will continue to explore options with other Departments for
in kind services or other service synergies, prior to the launch of 211
A formal public launch of 211 in Ottawa is
anticipated for early 2008 once operating funds have been secured.
From its inception the 211 Ottawa project has been one of
collaboration, partnership and consultation.
Consultations with community stakeholders around a 211 service in Ottawa
began in December, 2001 Community consultations have continued and the plan is
to hold more formal briefing meetings with community groups during the second
quarter of 2007.
There are no financial implications for 2007, with the approval of the recommendations contained in this report.
SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION
Document 1: 211 Ottawa Launch Business Case - On file with the City Clerk
Community and Protective Services to
report back prior to the 2008 budget process.
ENDORSEMENT OF 211
SERVICE PROVIDER
APPROBATION DU FOURNISSEUR DE SERVICES 211
ACS2007-CPS-DCM-0002 CITY WIDE / À
L'ÉCHELLE DE LA VILLE
Steve Kanellakos, Deputy City Manager
provided a brief introduction to the item, stating that staff are supportive of
this initiative and will be reporting back with more details at a later date.
Michael
Allen, President/CEO, United Way/Centraide Ottawa provided background on
the 211 service and the investment made by the province to developing a province-wide strategy for implementing the
service and to offer start-up monies to participating municipalities. In order to access the funds (which must be
done by 31 March), the City must endorse the delivery of 211 service. Ottawa’s share of the provincial funding is
$212,000.
Mr. Allen recognized that people are
frustrated looking for services and for some, accessing those services can be a
challenge. 211 will allow an individual
looking for service to connect to those services in an efficient and effective
fashion. And, over time, the City will
be able to learn what services are effectively providing support to the
community and where gaps exist. He
noted that 211 will be a tremendous relief for services that are otherwise
dedicated for emergency purposes. Currently,
211 operates in many Canadian and Ontario cities.
Steve Shugar, Chair of the Board, Distress Centre of Ottawa and Region provided background on the Distress Centre, including the number of calls they receive each year (37,000), the geographic boundary that their services cover and the four separate Distress Centres they operate across the region. He explained that one of the advantages of 211 would be to take some of the pressure off the crisis lines so their volunteers can focus on those calls. He hoped the Committee would support the Distress Centre as the service provider for 211.
Councillor Feltmate wondered whether this would be a budget pressure next year. While it was not clear at this stage as to what the exact profile might be, Mr. Allen confirmed there would be no funding requirement this year and the operational components will only begin in October. He believed it is unlikely there would be a need for the City to be involved financially and what the future will hold will be very much depend on what commitment the City can sustain/obtain from the province. He confirmed that the United Way is committing $50,000 this year, which is over and above resources they already committed to like services in the area. The councillor made reference to concerns raised by community agencies that while 211 may refer the caller to a particular service, there may be waiting lists to those services and therefore it may not be as helpful as it is intended. And, since 911, 411 and 311 are paid for through different means, she wondered whether the option of including a charge on the phone bill for 211 had been explored. Mr. Allen confirmed that the community wants to invest in this service and while it could be interpreted as a pressure, it is not unrealistic, given the millions of dollars both the City and the United Way invest in these community services. In relation to concerns about the services not being available once the caller is referred, he suggested that it would be unfair to have services available that people are unable to locate and this is the compelling aspect of 211. In terms of cost, he believed there would be a cost-benefit to the community because so many organizations have to handle calls they are unable to deal with.
When asked whether staff had considered adding 211 to the 311 service already provided by the City, Mr. Kanellakos advised that staff believe it should be a community-based type initiative, not a municipally-run service.
In response to questions posed by Committee members with respect to costs, Mr. Allen indicated that start-up costs are $225,460 with an annual operating cost of $516,000 (2007/08). The provincial contribution for start-up is $212,000 and towards the fall, the existing monies invested in the service as well as the provincial government money and perhaps additional money from the United Way would cover costs. In response to specific questions regarding follow-up, Mr. Kanellakos confirmed that if the recommendation is approved, staff would bring forward a report in 2008 indicating whether or not there is a need for a municipal contribution and what that would be. Mr. Allen added that if the funding is not forthcoming, it is conceivable that 211 would not last more than a year.
Councillor Holmes was very much in favour of having better access to community services but was concerned that service agencies are already full and have long waiting lists. She wondered therefore, whether there would be that capacity to take up callers who are referred from 211. Mr. Allen explained that it is not a question of every agency not working to capacity, but whether or not they are doing all the right work because a lot of their work is spent doing something similar to what 211 offers. He believed that providing the access to people will help the City and the United Way to understand where the needs are and the investment made accordingly. While he had a sense of where the gaps are in the community, he believed 211 would be a helpful tool to inform them where individual clients are being well served and where some have nowhere to turn.
The councillor was looking forward to receiving a list of where there is capacity in local organizations to absorb more clients because otherwise 211 is just a service that sends people to them faster, but there is no service when they get there. Mr. Shugar advised that the Distress Centre is an example of a community service where they do have some additional capacity to handle more calls. However, if they handled less of the information and referral type calls 211 would deal with, they would have more capacity to deal with the real crisis calls.
When asked whether staff had a sense of the available capacity, the Deputy City Manager advised that he did not, but could imagine that people might have to go to two or three places in terms of calls or visits before they land at the right place. He believed, therefore, that if people are trying to find their way through the system, and 211 helps to reduce the calls that normally might be made to the wrong service organizations, that might help capacity. Councillor Holmes asked whether there would be data collection to keep track of referrals and the subsequent action as a result of that referral. Mr. Shugar confirmed they would be collecting such data and Mr. Allen added that there will be a central database of services collected and standards that would be adhered to.
Councillor Bellemare asked whether the possibility of applying to the CRTC to have 211 charges paid for through the monthly phone bill had been explored. Mr. Allen indicated that the CRTC had rejected this suggestion because it determined that it would be the community and those organizations and institutions that are responsible for providing these services that should support it. The decision of the CRTC however, does not preclude future consideration. The councillor felt that should be pursued and believed the same should be done for 311.
Following on this line of questioning, Philip Clarke, Director of Client Services and Public Information advised that the charge for 911 on the phone bill does not cover the cost of the labour to answer that telephone. It simply covers the cost of the telecommunications service provider, to ensure the engineering is in place and that it is functioning as it needs to. He went on to explain that for 311, the City pays a monthly telecommunications service provider cost and costs associated with the labour to provide 311 service are absorbed within the annual budget.
Councillor Qadri expressed concern about the long-term sustainability of this service and wondered if the United Way in other ways rather than investing in a 211 service that could or should be funded by the province might not better use the funding being provided by the province. Mr. Allen explained that this is a very important investment for the United Way and one that will take priority over many other things. He indicated that not only is this initiative able to attract resources from donors and governments, it is a very helpful tool in terms of shaping their investment down the road.
While she heard some concerns voiced by Committee members, Chair Deans posited that 211 is not creating the need because that need already exists. She maintained that this will bring that need into greater focus and with some data collection, there will be a clear picture of where the gaps are. She believed 211 would be an efficient tool to advocate for greater levels of funding.
That the Community and Protective Services
Department recommend that Council:
1.
1.Endorse
the Distress Centre of Ottawa and Region as the service provider of 211 in Ottawa and;
2. Direct staff to work with United Way Ottawa and the Provincial government to pursue a detailed business case that identifies operating costs and potential funding sources for the implementation of 211 in Ottawa and to report back to Committee and Council prior to the 2008 budget process.
CARRIED