The ACTEW Blog

A new study has been released by Street Health and ACTEW member agency Sistering documenting the brutal impact of homelessness on the lives of women in Toronto. Calling homelessness a "life-threatening" condition for women, the study reveals staggering rates of sexual assault among homeless women, and documents health impacts that significantly reduce life expectancy.

Featured as the top story of the Toronto Star on June 23, 2008, the research finds that homeless women in Toronto are 10 times more likely to be sexually assaulted and twice as likely to have a mental illness as homeless men. Yet despite their poor health and extreme vulnerability, women aren't getting the health care and social support they urgently need.

The study, which interviewed 97 women, documented the reality that homeless women live in extreme poverty. Although few women in the study cited formal employment as a source of income, only half receive government income supports. In fact, 42% reported that they lived on $2,400 or less per year. One of the women interviewed was quoted in the report:

“You can’t get out of poverty, no matter how you try. Nothing works together. They have systems but they don’t work together. Believe me, I have tried every possible way but you can’t. For three years I’ve been going around in a circle. And I can’t get out of it. I’m very resourceful, I’m intelligent and I’m not lazy. I’m sure people give up but I keep going.”

ACTEW attended the forum on homelessness and poverty held by Sistering on June 23 and heard many other versions of this story of hopelessness. Honourable Deb Matthews also attended the event.

The new study, under “Research Bulletin #2: Women and Homelessness” can be downloaded from the Street Health web site at: http://streethealth.ca

>Read the Toronto Start article

Labels: Issues_and_Trends, Resources_and_Research

The Canadian Coalition of Women in Engineering, Science, Trades and Technology (CCWESTT) conference ran May 27 and 28 in Guelph, Ontario. ACTEW attended the Saturday sessions. Highlights of the day included:

• CCWESTT's "Welcoming Women into Trades and Technology Workplace" workshops and resources for employers which was piloted with great success in Saskatchewan and Newfoundland. Let's hope these resources will soon be available in Ontario. For more information, contact Carolyn Emerson at carolyn.emerson@earthlink.net
  
  
• "Women Unlimited" -- a program co-sponsored by the WEE Society and the Hypatia Association in partnership Nova Scotia Community College, in which diverse women access training in non-traditional fields while employers develop strategies to ensure that their workplaces are women-friendly.
  
  
• Canadian Council of Technicians and Technologists launched their new program, GoTechGirl, which promotes careers in technology to girls and young women. For more info, contact Rick Tachuk at 613-293-5250, or rtachuk@cctt.ca.
  
  
• The Honourable Deb Matthews described politics as another non-traditional workplace during her keynote luncheon presentation. She urged the audience to consider joining politics and spoke on the perspective women bring to governance.

For more full presentations, view the conference proceedings on the CCWESTT web site.

Labels: Meetings_and_Events, Resources_and_Research

This is a reminder to service providers and other stakeholders that information on the new Second Career Strategy will be available on the Employment Ontario Partners’ Gateway site at www.eopg.ca by June 1, 2008.

The Second Career Strategy (SCS) is designed to provide financial support to recently laid-off, unemployed workers, who require training in high-demand, high-skill occupations. SCS was part of the Skills to Jobs Action Plan announced in the Provincial Budget in March. Almost all of the money to be invested in Skills to Jobs will come from the Labour Market Agreement (LMA) which was earmarked to serve marginalized workers, such as those ineligible for Employment Insurance.

A letter sent to all service providers and community stakeholders on May 16 by the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities explains that SCS will now be part of the suite of EO’s services and programs:

"During the implementation stage, the assessment and recommendation of SCS clients to MTCU will be integrated into the Ontario Skills Development program processes and practices now in use by EO assessment centres."

Visit www.eopg.ca for more information on SCS. If you did not receive the May 16 letter, please contact Mercianna.Fernandes@ontario.ca at MTCU, or ACTEW at policy@actew.org.

Labels: MTCU_Updates

The Northern Ontario Women's Economic Development Conference took place April 29 and 30 in Thunder Bay. Organized by PARO, and sponsored by ACTEW among others, this event brought together entrepreneurs, community workers, academics and local government workers to look at a wide variety of issues related to northern women’s economic security.

Highlights include:

• Women's stories of economic success: Woven throughout the conference were stories of women's success as entrepreneurs, politicians and community activists. In establishing a business women, such as gallery owner Louise Thomas or contractor Pamela Johnson, often consciously focus on positively affecting the social economy of their community as well as bringing in revenues.
  
  
• Technology: Five communities, including reserves with no road access, attended the conference remotely and participated in workshops via web casts. Roz Lockyer, Executive Director of PARO, reported that northern women want to utilize technology more for learning and professional development according to PARO's recent survey of the region. There was strong interest in participating in the technology training opportunities that Lynda Beavis, ACTEW's northern representative of the Content-Sharing Constellation Network, will provide in coming months. (To learn more about these workshops contact lori@actew.org.)
  
  
• Transportation: "Northern Women on the Move" was a workshop that explored how transportation affects women's economic security. Siobhan O'Leary and Maggie McDonald, researchers with Rural Women Making Change Research Alliance, presented the outcomes of surveys of women living in rural communities in Ontario. Workshop participants, including three web casting remote communities, shared strategies for overcoming women’s varied transportation issues.
  
  
• Activities at the local and municipal level: Kathy Poling, Mayor of Sioux Lookout, described breaking down systemic barriers within municipal government in order to be more inclusive of the aboriginal community, women and youth. Jody Rebek-DiCerbo, Managing Director of Destiny Sault Ste. Marie, explained her city's economic diversification strategy. Dr. Gayle Broad of Algoma University explored the economic and social benefits of social enterprises, such as farm circles in Northeastern Ontario and worker ownership of local industries.
  
  
• An economic overview of the region: Dr. Bob Rosehart, Northwestern Ontario Economic Facilitator, described some of the region's challenges and his recommendations for stabilizing and enhancing its economy and communities based on his recent report: "Northwestern Ontario: Preparing for Change".

Labels: Issues_and_Trends, Meetings_and_Events, Resources_and_Research

Deanna Yerichuk and Paula Wansbrough attended the April 17 Employment Ontario Service Delivery Advisory Group (SDAG) meeting. The following items were discussed:

Skills to Jobs Action Plan

Kevin French, Assistant Deputy Minister of Training, Colleges, and Universities reviewed the Skills to Jobs initiative announced in the provincial budget earlier this month. SDAG community members had questions around the Second Career Strategy. TCU was clear that this program applies only to workers recently laid off (as of June 2007) and they have not yet determined if part-timers would qualify for this program but did say that training money will go directly to the client after rigorous assessments and training plan development, rather than be provided as block training or in voucher form.

Of the $475 million to be invested in Skills to Jobs, almost all -- $345 million -- will come from the Labour Market Agreement (LMA). The LMA is a federal investment of nearly $1.2 billion in Ontario's labour market over the next six years. Since so much LMA money is to be channeled into the Skills to Jobs initiative, community SDAG members will be watching the implementation closely to assess how much it actually reaches the marginalized workers it was designed to serve.

(Read more on the LMA in this blog.).

EO Transformation

"Planned, measured change" was the key phrase used by Kevin during his presentation on the next steps for Employment Ontario. Here is the timeline:

• May 2008 - the planning process, tools and guidelines will be completed
  
• June 2008 - selected approach(es) implemented
  
• July 2008 – approved external accountability framework
  
• September 2008 – staff training on guidelines, tools and contracts
  
• October 2008 – contract negotiations commence with service providers
  
• February 2008 – approved internal accountability framework
  
• March 2009 – staff training on internal accountability
  
• April 2009 - initial phase of the delivery of Employment Services
  
• July 2010 – Employment Ontario vision fully realized

A "capacity assessment" is underway across the province that will further inform the transformation. At a regional level, this will look at the service capacity of local agencies, service gaps, labour market characteristics and socio-demographic factors. ACTEW asked whether gender would be one of the socio-demographic factors considered, and TCU indicated gender would be a part of the data collected. The outcomes of the province-wide assessment will be released to the public.

Integrated Service Delivery Focus Groups

Susan Underhill presented feedback and themes from the focus groups, surveys, interviews and workshops held with the service delivery network in February and March, involving 500 – 600 people.

The research took place with both MTCU staff and service providers, and as a result, there were variations in views on how to best achieve Integrated Service Delivery. TCU staff thought about how to best manage service delivery while service providers thought about the best ways to deliver services. TCU staff favoured Approach A (Lead Provider) over Approach B (Distributed Model), which was the service provider favourite. When Susan expressed disappointment that there were few alternative models suggested by participants, SDAG community members noted that focus groups did not leave time to explore alternatives. To see a copy of this presentation, please contact ACTEW’s office at policy@actew.org.

Employment Service Design

Sue Forrester presented on the now completed transformation project, Employment Service Design. This project was described by Kevin French as "a real model" because of the successful integration of community perspectives through the external service delivery reference group. (Download a presentation on the project by participant, Honey Crossley, Executive Director of Working Skills Centre to ACTEW membership in February 2008.)

The group proposed a number of formulas and definitions for assessing program and agency success, as well as funding model information for employment services:

• service delivery quality standard - allots 50% for effectiveness (participant profile plus service impact, i.e. employment), 30% for customer service (customer satisfaction plus service coordination), and 20% for efficiency. The calculation takes into consideration how barriered the client is, although employment is the most heavily weighed outcome.
  
  
• organizational capacity indicators – will measure customer satisfaction and service delivery; how an agency uses local labour market data to inform programming; the stability and efficiency of its administrative processes, its financial performance, and its governance; and the agency’s ability to coordinate services with others in its community. This formula is currently a work in progress.
  
  
• funding decision model based on an agency’s effectiveness – consists of three components: compliance with the MTCU contract, evidence of organizational capacity and the service delivery standard achieved (see above).
  
  
• proposed funding model – agencies meeting appropriate levels of effectiveness will receive operating grants to deliver services that recognize economies of scale; performance incentives will be available and will not be part of the organization’s base operating grant but must go back into improving services; funding will be sustained based on the organization’s ability to achieve service delivery quality; grants are for services that will serve 100 or more clients, although this will vary depending upon the location of the agency.

Note that both SDAG community members and MTCU determined this external stakeholder reference group to be one of the most effective uses of community expertise in planning. MTCU has committed to using similar processes in other transformation projects, particularly the Employment Service Delivery, Training Service Design/Delivery and Information Technology.

It’s Your Call

On the request of MTCU, Josie Dizio of OCASI presented the new report, It’s Your Call, as an example of the execution of a Call for Proposals process, with clear recommendations that this particular process was not appropriate for ongoing service delivery. MTCU gave a commitment that this is not a process they are considering, and both community members and bureaucrats voiced the importance of working together to determine what kinds of processes should be used, particularly in determining new service delivery.

Labels: Issues_and_Trends, MTCU_Updates

Today, Deanna attended the provincial forum at Queen’s Park led by the 25 in 5 Network for Poverty Reduction. Nearly 500 stakeholders attended, representing social services, municipal governments, health, labour, and people affected by poverty as the Network launched the 25 in 5 Declaration. The Network asks the provincial government for a plan to reduce Ontario poverty levels by 25% in 5 years and by 50% before 2018. According to the Network, it should address 3 priorities:

1. Sustaining employment


2. Livable income


3. Strong and supportive communities

Minister Deb Matthews, chair of the Poverty Reduction Cabinet Committee, spoke at the event (for more information on Ontario’s Poverty Reduction Strategy, visit our blog from Jan 22, 2008). Minister Matthews talked about the “foundational principles” the committee has agreed upon in engaging this process, which include:

• An “opportunity-based” approach—building on strengths rather than pathologies and ensuring the plan is focusing on providing opportunities for success to individuals experiencing poverty


• Develop person-centered strategies—rather than services and supports that are fractured and actually work against each other in reducing poverty


• Every person has a role to play in reducing poverty—this includes business and community leaders, a cross-section of provincial ministries, and requires the federal government to be at the table in discussions. This also includes municipal governments and local communities


• “Get smarter with the money being spent”—invest in evidence-based social policy to evaluate outcomes of programs and approaches, and invest in programs that are achieving outcomes that lift people out of poverty

Note that the committee will be undergoing an “engagement process” over the next few weeks across Ontario—as we hear of consultations and opportunities for communities, agencies and individuals to provide input into this important work we will send information along.

Labels: Issues_and_Trends, Meetings_and_Events

The Income Security Advocacy Centre has provided some information encouraging people who receive OW or ODSP and who have dependent children to ensure they file their tax return for 2007 before the end of April.

This is because the new Ontario Child Benefit starts in July, and OW / ODSP rates are being changed to reflect the new benefit. People with children will only receive the Ontario Child Benefit if they meet the eligibility criteria, which includes having filed their tax return.

ISAC has created a notice to inform people about this issue, which is available at www.incomesecurity.org/resources.html. The link is titled "OW and ODSP Recipients Should File 2007 Tax Returns".

Please ensure your agency's eligible clients are aware of this, and forward the information on to other networks.

Two recent items pertaining to women in non-traditional occupations:

• The Canadian Coalition of Women in Engineering, Science, Trades and Technology (CCWESTT) will have its 12th annual conference in Guelph, May 29-31. In keeping with this year's theme of "building on success", the event will highlight women’s contributions and build upon successful initiatives that have advanced women in science, engineering, trades and technology. You can learn more and register online at the conference website. Be sure to check out the statistics on Canadian women in the non-traditional sectors on the coalition's home site.
  
  
• The Canadian Association of Women in Construction (CAWIC) applauds the government of Ontario’s $1.5 million investment for the Women In Skilled Trades program. The training will reach over 150 women through trades training centres in Burlington, Hamilton, Hawkesbury, Kenora, Fort Frances, Waterloo and Toronto.
  
  Yet training is only one piece of the effort needed to integrate women into the labour short trades. In an article in the Daily Commercial News and Construction Record, Angela Wilson, Chair of CAWIC, noted that,

  "Trade unions and independent contractors must be on board and embrace the notion of women in skilled trades by supporting, encouraging and providing opportunities for women. It would be short-sighted to provide funding to train women and subsequently for them to encounter difficulties in acquiring jobs within the industry."

Labels: Issues_and_Trends, Meetings_and_Events