Analysis Of Ministry Of Community And Social Services' Community Development Program Essay.

1.Identifying Data (Describe the program you are evaluating).

2.Why is the agency involved (Describe the history of the program and how the agency became involved)?

3.Presenting Problem (What are the challenges and/or weaknesses of the program. This information may be available through previous program evaluation reports or participant surveys or through a survey you create to gather this information).

4.Multi-Dimensional Framework (In what ways do any of the dimensions impact the way the program is able to run i.e. lack of funding is a structural barrier in running a good program.)

5.Strengths of the program.

6.Interventions (What can the agency/program evaluator do to address program weaknesses).

7.Plan of Action (Describe the short-term goals and tasks that you and or the agency will undertake to address challenges/weaknesses in the program).

Background of the Community Development Program

“Ministry of Community and Social Services” is a Canadian Province that is responsible for social services or programs like Welfare, disability support program and community service programs to support the social problems such as homelessness, domestic violence, adoption and assisted housing for people. The objective of the paper is to analyze a program of a selected social service agency in Toronto within Canada and for such reasons “Ministry of Community and Social Services” is selected.  Moreover, the paper will also analyze the strengths and challenges by the agency in implementing the program successfully for native community of Toronto, Canada.

“Community Services Program” of “Ministry of Community and Social Services” facilitates in supporting individuals to recover from hardships along with regaining control of their lives. The services offered by the agency in this program are gathered to be funded by ministry and delivered by the community social services organizations, First Nations and Municipalities. This program also covers services such as successfully following “Indigenous Healing and Wellness Strategy” for indigenous individuals and families and certain indigenous organizations. This program supports indigenous individuals and families living on-reserve and in rural and urban communities through offering a series of contemporary health care services with traditional approaches for healing and wellness. The community wellness workers are responsible for offering education and prevention programs in schools and communities of rural areas, referring families and individuals to the treatment and counseling programs along with offering health care facilities from individuals and families. This program is also focused on offering necessary resources to support the persons with disabilities along with working on welfare and poverty issues so that social causes of food insecurity and hunger can be dealt with. Moreover, the responsible people associated with the programs also offers necessary healthcare services under this program such as health cards, primary health care, hospital and continuing care along with funding and coverage for pharmaceuticals.

In the mid 1990s, “Ministry of Community and Social Services” was developed with a policy framework with necessary principles, values and outcomes in betterment of the community within Toronto, Canada. With involvement of Canadian health care system increasing costs for hospital and medical services offered to the native people and progressive health care professionals through arguing that health care is a social good. This viewpoint was challenged when it was highlighted in Toronto that individuals must accept responsibility for their own along with their facility’s health care through private and development plans by agencies those have to be responsible for offering necessary healthcare benefits to deprived people with government support. Moreover, in the year 2008-2009, the Toronto government shut down the last three residential institutions for individuals with a developmental disability. In such scenario, more than 1000 people moved to new community based homes with attaining help of families, province and agencies. After closure of such institutions, the native community of Toronto Canada was observed to deal with issues regarding basic health and safety services, particularly the people those are not financially sound to support their own healthcare issues. Focused on such issue the “Ministry of Community and Social Services” developed “Community Services Program” in order to support the basic healthcare services offered to the deprived people of the community.

Challenges Faced in Implementing the Program

In implementation of “Community Services Program” of “Ministry of Community and Social Services” it has been gathered that the agency is dealing with certain challenges and problems associated with this development program. In explaining the problem faced within this program, a survey was conducted with a colleague working within the “Community Services Program” of “Ministry of Community and Social Services”. From the survey conducted it has been gathered that the colleague faced the issue is work overload. The colleague expressed a viewpoint that due to less number of healthcare workers are available in addressing a wide range of healthcare services offered by this program, the workers are facing the issues of accepting excess responsibilities. The colleague that was surveyed stated that he is taking on additional responsibilities that are above his comfort level. Moreover, he is not able to divide significant workload that is bringing exhaustion and issue of decreased job satisfaction in him. Moreover, the colleague also revealed another changing faced by him through the survey that he does not get to spend enough time with the patients that is affecting the efficiency of the program. Due to such concern, the college who was surveyed identified that umber of healthcare providers per patient is getting worse and the deprived community is not getting adequate support from the development program. In addition, the college also highlighted that in inadequate in-house skills training affected on-reserve and in rural and urban communities in offering a series of contemporary health care services with traditional approaches for healing and wellness.

A multi-dimensional framework is prepared for analyzing the dimensions those impact the manner in which Community Services Program” of “Ministry of Community and Social Services” is able to operate in Canada. This framework is indicated below:

Despite facing certain challenges in implementation of “Community Services Program” by “Ministry of Community and Social Services”, the program has certain strengths. The community development program was focused on offering education and prevention programs in schools and communities of rural areas, referring families and individuals to the treatment and counseling programs along with offering health care facilities for individuals and families. The strengths or benefits of this program are that it is well-planned, initiated and supported by the community members and fulfills all social, economic and community development responsibilities. After implementation of the “Community Services Program”, certain befits have been provided to the native community in offering emergency and basic health care services to the low-income or deprived people including children, low-income parents and disabled individuals in the native community of Toronto, Canada. Moreover, the program also improved lives of derived people in low-income group places of Toronto through supporting them with basic healthcare services. These include healthcare and medical provisions, food assistance, housing subsidies, energy and utility subsidies, education and childcare assistance along with offering subsidies and assistance for certain other basics services. The “Community Development Program” supported the community successfully through attaining high degree of public involvement for provision of health care and free medical treatment to the poor patients.  

Multi-Dimensional Framework to Analyze the Program

The “Ministry of Community and Social Services” agency can implement certain initiatives for dealing with the weaknesses those are identified in the “Community Development Program”. The program must focus on developing the skills among the community health workers involved in this program through providing them necessary training in building relationships, working as a team and understanding the needs assessments for offering right services to the right individual in an initiative of improving health of native community people in Toronto, Canada. Moreover, the number of workers within the program must be increased so that services offered within this program can be equally segmented among specific group of workers. In accomplishing this initiative, the issue of poor healthcare service offering to deprived people can be addressed along with decreasing the job responsibilities burden on single healthcare social worker. Moreover, the agency must also consider offering training to the workers within this program regarding community perspectives and cultural norms along with educating them on navigating to operate the social service systems effectively in the targeted communities of Toronto, Canada. In addition, the agency must also consider dealing with the issue of in-house skills training affected on-reserve and in rural and urban communities in offering a series of contemporary health care services. This can be ensured through offering workers with necessary training on empowering workers on participating in family, individual, community and systems improvement along with acting as advocate for individuals.

The short term goals those are necessary to be developed by “Ministry of Community and Social Services” in order to address the challenges faced by social welfare agency n offering “Community development program” are explained below:

To attain an increase in the recruitment of workers within the “Community development program”-The agency must reach out to cultivated contacts at local workforce development from the community colleges and community service organizations. Attaining such contacts from these sites can facilitate in enhancing through understanding of the job responsibilities in the program. Through attaining this goal the agency can ensure that it is recruiting highly skilled workers within this “Community Development Program” those can understand the job role efficiently and offer exceptional community services.

To increase training programs for the workers working in association with the program- In attaining this goal can be attaining through training workers in developing team work and in accomplishing shared responsibilities through allocating each service to each group of individuals. Attaining such goal can enhance the community development services offered through the program to targeted group of deprived people in Toronto, Canada. Moreover, in attaining such goal, the agency will consider implementing certain employee engagement and motivation programs. Moreover, time management skills must also be provided by the agency in managing time effectively for addressing the issue of each individual and for supporting the deprived people. The training content will be in a way that it involves and engages setting norms that the participants must follow in benefiting people of the targeted community.

Conclusion

The objective of the paper was to analyze a program of a selected social service agency in Toronto within Canada and for such reasons “Ministry of Community and Social Services” is selected.  It was gathered from the paper that the community wellness workers are responsible for offering education and prevention programs in schools and communities of rural areas, referring families and individuals to the treatment and counseling programs along with offering health care facilities for individuals and families. Moreover, the number of workers within the program must be increased so that services offered within this program can be equally segmented among specific group of workers in enhancing effectiveness of the community development program.