Regional
Councillor Report
Submitted by:
Colleen Jordan, Regional Councillor Wards 3 & 4
Date:
Sept. 26, 2005
Health &
Social Services
H.A.C.
(Housing Access Centre)
A report from Regional Housing staff recommended that the
Region assume responsibility of administration of the centralized
waiting list for rent geared to income housing after expiry of the
contract in Dec. 31, 2005. It
also recommended that the satellite offices, such as Durham Region Non
Profit Housing and the Community Development Council, who handle
applications for the waiting list receive increased funding and that
housing providers not be charged for their mandatory participation in
the centralized housing system.
A third party review
by SHS in 2004 recommended, due to a number of deficiencies found, that
the Region assume direct delivery with some services contracted out to
third parties. Currently
HAC funds its operations through member fees paid by social housing
providers. Durham housing
providers are the only housing providers in the Province who pay for a
service that the Region is mandated by law to provide.
Should the Region assume responsibility, fees would no longer
have to be paid by the providers and Regional subsidies to providers
would not be reduced should HAC fees no longer be required.
The Region,
currently through their satellite office at Durham Region Housing
services is now responsible for 46% of the applications, including 63%
of the Special Priority applications and 52% of all housing access
telephone and walk in traffic. Yet
currently reporting relationships are through the volunteer Board of
Directors of HAC ,which SHS found created confusion for satellite office
staff.
The Region currently
incurs annual costs of approximately $166,000.00 related to the
administration of the list but has no control over the delivery of this
critical service. The
Region has calculated that the total costs to administer the list would
decrease if they assumed delivery and that any additional costs could be
assumed through a restructuring of existing staff resources.
The HAC board
(and Ajax Municipal Housing) continue to object to the Region
assuming delivery citing that they have corrected a number of the issues
identified in the SHS report and that they will hire a part time (6 - 8
hours a week) Co-ordinator.
The issue has been
referred to a special Health & Social Services Committee meeting.
Best Start
Health &
Social Services endorsed the recommendation that the Region accept the
100% Provincial funding for the Best Start program. In July 2005 Mary
Ann Chambers, the newly appointed Minister of Children and Youth
Services announced the Ministry’s plan to improve access to high
quality, convenient child care by delivering an unprecedented
investment in early child development while from this point forward
relieving municipalities of their legislated share of the cost of
operating new child care spaces.
A key component of Best Start is to strengthen early
development so that children arrive in Grade 1 ready to learn.
The province is planning to create more licensed child care
spaces and subsidies, strengthen early years programs and provide
funds to improve wages for child care workers. In 2005 the amount of
funding for Durham is about 2.5 million increasing to 16.5 million in
2007/08.
The target over
the next three years is that Durham
Region create 770 new licensed child care spaces.
Ontario’s immediate priority is to provide children in junior
and senior kindergarten with quality care in non school hours and
ultimately children will benefit from an integrated full day of
learning and care at the same location or in close proximity.
Durham’s Children’s Services Division will work closely
with the school boards and child care community to develop plans to
meet the goals of Best Start.
Currently 1184
Durham children are on the waiting list for subsidized day care.
About 100 applicants are received monthly.
Vaccine
Preventable Diseases
A presentation was
received by the Committee regarding vaccine preventable diseases.
It was reported that vaccination coverage rates for daycare and
elementary students are 90 - 97%.
It was noted that
there has been a resurgence in whooping cough cases.
There were 48 cases reported in 2004 which was the highest
since 1999. A new vaccine
booster was introduced for adolescents which should provide increased
protection. Measles
peaked in 1991 but there have been no new cases since 2001.
There was a mass 2 dose measles campaign in 1996 where 100,000
children were vaccinated which seems to have been effective.
There have been no cases of rubella (German measles) since
1991. In 2005, vaccine
against meningococcal disease was been added to the Ontario
immunization schedule.
The Health
Department provides clinics for students and Durham residents,
distributes provincially funded vaccines to workplaces, physicians,
health care providers and long term care facilities, monitor any
adverse effects and provide education on vaccines and the diseases
that they prevent. The
Health Department also conducts annual inspections to insure vaccines
are stored under strict sanitary and temperature conditions.
In addition; The Health Department monitors and assesses the
immunization status of school age children.
Non compliant students are suspended until proper vaccinations
and documentation are received.
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