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Slide Show from "Integration of Services" Presentation

By Christa Williams

Slide 1:
At Issue…
Aboriginal parents and service providers have consistently pressed for programs that address the physical, intellectual, social, emotional and spiritual growth of children.

One of the barriers to achieving this, however, has been the lack of coordination and communication between agencies and issues that are clearly connected.

Slide 2:
For example:
Some of the problems Aboriginal children are facing in the education system result from undiagnosed or untreated hearing or sight problems.

Slide 3:
Integration of services means bringing down artificial barriers among our respective fields and working together in ways that are better coordinated and more efficient.

The result is the delivery of better quality of services to individuals, families and communities.

Slide 4:
FNESC’s Goal:
The First Nations Education Steering Committee is committed to working with First Nations communities and service organizations to coordinate the delivery of fundamental programs.
Priority areas include
  • education
  • early childhood development
  • information management
  • training and employment
  • governance
Slide 5:
FNESC’s Past Work:
1999 – Report: Integration of Services: from Concept to Reality, by FNESC, BC First Nations Chiefs Health Committee, First Nations Summit’s Child Welfare Committee, and the BC Aboriginal Childcare Society.

The report’s theme was that the quality of services provided to First Nations communities could be improved through the integration of services.

Slide 6:
July 2000 Integration of Services Forum - FNESC co-hosted this two-day forum with the First Nations Chiefs’ Health Committee and the Caring for First Nations Children Society.
About the Forum
  • discussed challenges (and encountered challenges)
  • developed a working agenda
  • resulted in establishment of conflict resolution workshops and creation of a board governance handbook
Slide 7:
July 2002 –Integration of Services Forum – added a new partner: BC Aboriginal Network on Disability Society

Slide 8:
Forum delegates increased their knowledge of one another’s responsibilities and challenges as they brainstormed the following questions:
  1. How do you empower First Nations communities to provide quality service?
  2. What does an effective relationship between First Nations and government look like?
  3. How do we support families with children of multiple ages?
  4. How do we communicate more effectively to make programs more successful?
Slide 9:
Panel Presentations at the Forum:
  • Nzen’man’ Child and Family Development Centre Society
  • Adams Lake Band
  • North Thompson Indian Band
  • Carrier Sekani Family Services
Slide 10:
Nzen’man’ Child and Family Development Centre Society:
  • Programs
  • Prenatal Outreach
  • Infant Development Program
  • Home Portage Program
  • Group Daycare
  • Infant and Toddler, Three to Fives, Out of School
  • Parent Program
Slide 11:
About the Society:
  • Strong funding and program linkages
  • Receives strong support from the local chiefs and council members
  • Governed by a board of directors composed of community representatives
Slide 12:
Priorities:
  • Involving other service providers
  • Developing a referral package and process to access services
  • Developing working agreements/protocols with other agencies that address client sharing and confidentiality issues
  • Developing strong linkages with the education system in the community and knowing the expectations of local educators
  • Involving the community in events throughout the year
  • Building strong funding linkages
Slide 13:
Challenges:
  • geographic range of the communities they serve and transportation issues
  • communication (many community members lack telephones)
  • scarce time resources of health professionals
  • developing and evaluation process and data collection
  • inconsistent funding
  • lack of a building to accommodate all of the programs
Slide 14:
Carrier Sekani Family Services:
Prior to 1987, the Carrier Sekani people had no mechanism to coordinate health and social services, and yet they felt there was a need for a more effective, approach to the serious issues of suicide, abuse, health, child apprehension and adoption.

1987 Memorandum of Understanding with the government led to the formation of the Carrier Sekani Family Services Society.

Slide 15:
Responsibilities:
To develop and deliver health, social and legal services for First Nations people living in Carrier Sekani territory, delivered in accordance with the needs, socio-economic conditions, values and beliefs of the Carrier Sekani Nation. The CSFS is also responsible for the training and the unification of human service personnel within the traditional territory.

Slide 16:
CSFS now provides a wide range of services to member Bands under the governance of a volunteer Board of Directors composed of band representatives.

CSFS offices are based in Prince George and there is a staff of about 62 people

Slide 17:
Services:
  • Community Health Programs – including disease control and reporting, immunization and community health nursing
  • Treatment Services – such as mental health, home care support, pre-natal nutrition, addiction recovery programs, and non-insured health benefits
  • Child and Family Services – child welfare, family care, and alternate dispute resolution
Slide 18:
Benefits CSFS is experiencing
  • Clients access services more easily
  • Less duplication of services
  • Financial and human resource savings
  • Improved capacity to plan strategies
  • Shared responsibility for complex problems
  • Increased support and advocacy for clients
  • More community involvement and participation
  • Greater ability to act proactively
Slide 19:
Challenges
  • Turf protection
  • Differing philosophies and visions
  • Incompatible information management systems
  • Different eligibility requirements for clients
  • Significant investment to establish and maintain integration
  • Lack of qualified staff and services for specialized programs
  • Need for cultural and traditional understanding and sensitivity
Slide 19:
Factors of Success:
  • Strong partnerships built on trust, involving the community, and including ongoing community development
  • Shared responsibility for the problems and solutions
  • Need: failure of existing resources to address problem
  • Shared vision and goals
  • Recognition of First Nations cultural values, beliefs and traditional governance structures
Slide 20:
Community development
  • Empowering community members
  • Focussing on Elder and youth links
  • Building on traditional community structures – i.e. potlatch; elders council
  • Hearing and respecting all points of view
  • Acknowledging that differences will occur and addressing them openly
  • Documenting accomplishments
  • Developing trust and respect
Slide 21:
Key Considerations Communication - Information sharing is critical because the wellness of individuals depends on a number of interrelated factors.   Levels:
  • within First Nations communities
  • between FN and FN provincial organizations
  • between FN provincial organizations and other First Nations provincial organizations
  • between First Nations and Governments
Slide 22:
Includes processes for communication - including working agreements, referral packages, involvement of other service providers, and data management systems.

Slide 23:
Confidentiality:
Much of the information that one would wish to share is legally considered confidential – such as personal health information and a student’s school records.

  2002 Legal Opinion:
FNESC sought a legal opinion in July 2002 from Nancy Morgan and Associates. They developed a framework for the sharing of information between FN schools and First Nations health services agencies. The same model could be adapted to include other services.

Slide 24:
Components of the mode:
  • using consent forms
  • requiring service providers to seek consent
  • developing effective information management systems
  • creating policies/protocols for information sharing
Slide 25:
Effective Governance:
There is a need for greater collaboration among boards and considering prospect of common boards, such as a social services boards, board governance handbooks, workshops, and New Paths

Slide 26:
Information Management:
Technology enables services providers to input data into an information management system and share some of it with other service providers, while keeping other parts confidential.
  • FNESC and the First Nation’s Schools Association’s work relating to data collection is one step
  • ACCESS and other database programs mean that data can be made more easily searchable and standardized
  • School Record Keeping Handbooks and training