1.2.1 Community Involvement
Section 1.2.1 covers agency involvement in the community through work with other human services systems and community participation in the work of the agency. It applies primarily to mandated child
and family services agencies and, with respect to the use of volunteers,
to licensed adoption agencies.
Legislation
The Child and Family Services Act
The Adoption Act
The Child and Family Services Act
The Declaration
of Principles state, among other things, that communities have
a responsibility to promote the best interests of their children
and families and have a right to participate in services to their
families and children.
Subsection
7(1) requires a child and family services agency to work with
other human services systems to resolve problems in the social and
community environment.
Section
11 provides for assistance to community groups and the participation
of volunteers in the work of an agency.
Section 3 of the Child
and Family Services Regulation sets out the requirements
for child abuse registry, criminal record and prior contact checks.
They pertain to any person who provides work or services to an agency,
whether as an employee, volunteer, student trainee or in any other
way.
The Adoption Act
Section 4 of the Adoption
Agencies Licensing Regulation sets out the requirements
for child abuse registry, criminal record and prior contact checks.
They pertain to any person who provides work or services to an agency,
whether as an employee, volunteer, student trainee or in any other
way.
Policy
Community involvement refers to agency work with other human services
systems and community participation in the work of the agency.
Agencies have a duty under clause
7(1)(a) of The Child and Family Services Act to work
with other human service systems to resolve problems in the social
and community environment. They may carry out this duty in a variety
of ways with due regard to the social needs and cultural practices
of a community. Other human services must include health services,
mental health services, educational authorities, the police as well
as other social services available to families.
Under section
11 of the Act, agencies are expected to assist interested community
groups in resolving community problems and to facilitate the participation
of volunteers in the provision of services. They have discretion
as to how best to carrying out these responsibilities subject only
to community expectations and policy direction from their mandating
authority.
It is important to note that statutory responsibility for services
under the Act remains with an agency and cannot be delegated or
assigned to a committee or volunteer.
Standards
The standards in this section fall under the following headings:
Community Development – policies and practices with regard to identifying service needs,
working with other human service systems, and community participation
in the work of the agency.
Community Committees – committees established by an agency to assist in the work of the
agency.
Use of Volunteers –
the recruitment, training and use of persons to work as volunteers
for an agency.
Community Development
- Community Development Policies – An agency has written policies in regard to responding to community
needs, working with other human services, and community participation
in the work of the agency. The policies include requirements for
community profiles and inventories and for service planning and
resource development. They may be developed under the direction
of or in collaboration with the agency's mandating authority.
They may also include culturally relevant policies and standards.
- Community Profiles – An agency
maintains current profiles on the communities it serves. The profiles
include community characteristics, needs and problems that impact
negatively on the ability of families to care adequately for their
children. The profiles are shared at least once a year with agency
staff and board members and with the agency's mandating authority.
- Community Inventories – An
agency maintains inventories of other community services and resources
essential to the delivery of agency services to families in a
community. The inventories list individuals, groups and organizations
that may assist in meeting the needs of families. They include
the names, addresses, phone numbers and a brief description of
services provided and are readily available to agency workers
and supervisors. An agency may develop inventories in collaboration
with its mandating authority, other child and family services
agencies and authorities, and other human service organizations.
- Community Development Planning – Agency planning processes and activities include a community
development component which involves:
- community participation in the identification and articulation
of community needs and problems
- strategies for addressing community needs including agency
initiatives, advocacy and collaboration with other human services
- implications for organizational and human resource planning
- expectations and mechanisms for reporting activities and
results
- Community Resource Development – Agency community development policies include requirements for
identifying community needs and gaps in services. Efforts to identify
community needs and develop resources may be carried out in collaboration
with other human services and participation of community groups.
- Assistance to Community Groups – Consistent with the intent of subsection
11(1) of The Child and Family Services Act, all requests
for assistance in resolving community problems are recorded and
reviewed by a person or persons designated to work with community
groups. The agency advises a person or group requesting assistance
of its decision or plan of action within one month from
the date it received the request.
Community Committees
- Establishing Community Committees – No community committee is authorized to perform or otherwise
participate in the work of an agency without the written approval
of the agency's mandating authority. For non-government agencies,
the agency board may approve the creation of a committee or may
delegate this authority to the executive director. For regional
offices of Family Services and Labour, an executive director
may approve the creation of a committee or may delegate this authority
to a regional manager.
- Committee Terms of Reference – An agency community committee must have written terms of reference
that include the following:
- name, address or location, and region, community or neighbourhood
served
- purpose and objectives
- applicable roles and responsibilities including:
- accountability to agency management and, when applicable,
the board
- responsibilities for identifying and communicating
concerns about community needs, problems and issues
- recommending strategies and policies for dealing with
community needs, problems and issues
- participation in agency planning activities
- involvement in case planning and evaluation (see Standard
9 below)
- legal and other limitations relating to such matters as
involvement in cases, conflict of interest, confidentiality
and access to information
- membership (for example, who, terms of admission, rights
and obligations, termination)
- composition and structure (for example, executive positions,
length of term, removal)
- meetings (for example, types and frequency, how decisions
are made, minutes and records)
- financial management (for example, fiscal year if applicable,
budget, signing officers, expenses, accounting and auditing,
non-budget expenses)
- Involvement in Case Planning and Reviews – When the role of a committee includes involvement in case planning and evaluation, the terms of reference
include a statement that the committee does not have authority
to make case decisions. The statement limits the role of the committee
to providing advice and making recommendations regarding the case
management process case.
- Agency Records of Community Committees – An agency maintains a list of proposed, approved and terminated
community committees. The list is updated at least once every
six months and whenever there is a change in the status of a committee.
The record also contains:
- any proposals received from a community group, a summary
of agency work with a community group and any correspondence
or other communication
- the approved terms of reference for a committee
- a current list of community members (see Standard 11 below)
- the date a committee ceased to operate and the reasons
for termination
- Community Committee Member Records – When the role of a committee includes involvement in case planning
and evaluation (see Standard 9 above), the agency also maintains
a record for each committee member that includes:
- identifying information (name, age or birth date, sex)
- the results of a child abuse and criminal record check
and, when required by regulation, a prior contact check
- recruitment interviews and screening assessments (see Standard
13)
- reasons for a person ceasing to be a member
Use of Volunteers
- Volunteer Program Management – An agency assigns the management and co-ordination of an agency
volunteer program to one or more persons who are designated as
a volunteer coordinator or supervisor.
- Recruitment and Screening of Volunteers – Agency practices for recruiting and selecting volunteers, including
persons volunteering for work on an agency committee, include:
- identifying and publicizing available agency volunteer
work though appropriate methods such as bulletin boards, communications
to staff, contact with community members and advertising in
the media,
- screening of each volunteer applicant including a child
abuse registry, criminal record and, when required by regulation,
a prior contact check as well as references from three persons
other than a parent or guardian, spouse or partner, sibling
or child of the applicant,
- a recruitment interview with each volunteer applicant to
assess the person's strengths and interests, select appropriate
people for particular work and counsel applicants into other
avenues when indicated,
- a written description of the roles and responsibilities
for each volunteer function including the nature of the work,
time commitments, skills and qualifications required, orientation
or training required, supervision to be given and documentation
required of the volunteer.
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