Community Living Ontario

The Developmental Services Human Resource Strategy is comprised of six sub-committees working to position Ontario’s Developmental Services Sector as a career of choice with a professional workforce.  The Human Resource Strategy is a collaborative project between the Provincial Network and the Ontario Ministry of Community and Social Services.

On February 23^rd 2010 the Core Competencies Pilot Project was launched. We are pleased with the excellent response we received from across the sector and we are confident that the agencies selected represent the diversity of agency characteristics within our sector.

We are also pleased that the core competencies which have been developed for seven key agency positions have been endorsed by the Provincial Network for Developmental Services as well as the Boards of Directors of Community Living Ontario and OASIS (Ontario Associations Supporting Individuals with Special Needs).

The Shared Interests Committee, a subcommittee of the Developmental Services Human Resource Strategy and comprised of both union and management representatives of both union and non-union agencies, has developed the document “The Intention of Core Competencies” which describes the principles which we believe should guide the understanding and implementation of core competencies across the sector. This document reflects the fact that the Developmental Services Human Resource Strategy is committed to ensuring that the concerns and interests of all stakeholders are respected thus enabling the eventual implementation of core competencies on a province-wide basis. For a copy of the “The Intention of Core Competencies” document please contact the Project Coordinator, Holly Duff at hollyduff [at] sympatico [dot] ca (hollyduff [at] sympatico [dot] ca).

The Awareness and Marketing Committee has begun their work with a marketing firm to develop an awareness and marketing strategy as well as tools to promote Developmental Services as a ‘career of choice’ at both a local and provincial level.

The Agency Based Training Committee and the Program Standards Committee have been working collaboratively towards having agency-based training recognized for credit at the college level. The Agency Based Training Committee continues to examine the results of their extensive province-wide survey on current agency training practices with the objective of making recommendations for future competency-based agency training across the sector.  The HR Strategy Steering Committee was able to provide the Ministry of Training, College and Universities (MTCU) with a Gap Analysis Report comparing the Core Competencies with the Developmental Services Worker Diploma Program Standards and the Apprenticeship Program’s Learning Outcomes, in anticipation of a program standard and learning outcome review by MTCU to commence later this year.

The Human Resources (HR) Best Practices Committee continues to work on delivering a catalogue of the best HR practices and tools both in our sector and the corporate world for implementation by agencies at the local level.

Representatives of the Steering Committee will be doing presentations at a number of conferences for a variety of organizations including the Ontario Association on Developmental Disabilities (OADD), Alberta Community Disability Services, OASIS and American Association of People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. 

In sum, we are very pleased with the sector support and participation this initiative has received thus far from across the province. To date, we have established a foundational partnership with the Ministry of Community and Social Services (MCSS), and subsequent partnerships with Queen’s University, MTCU and the Bargaining Agents representing many of our employees across the sector. We have 5,336 employees who will be directly impacted by the Core Competencies Pilot Project, 69 employees from across the province participating on various committees, and 167 agencies who have donated time and resources to this initiative. We look forward to further support and progress as we continue our work in 2010.

Steven Finlay, MSW

Co-Chair,

Developmental Services Human Resource Steering Committee

Executive Director,

Community Living Oshawa Clarington