Program Details

Program-at-a-Glance

Please note: Speakers may change and will be added as we get closer to the Exchange Conference and Conference program may change at any time without notice. The itinerary for our Exchange Conference can be viewed here


May 8, 2023

 WELCOME RECEPTION / REGISTRATION 

The Exchange Conference Welcome Reception begins at 6:00 p.m. Members looking to register ahead of the start of the Conference on May 9th can visit the Registration Desk to pick up their badges starting at 5:00 p.m. 

Room: 106 F/G


May 9, 2023

 BREAKFAST / REGISTRATION 

8:00 to 9:00AM
Room: TBD




 OPENING REMARKS AND KEYNOTE 

9:10 to 9:40AM
Keynote: Senator Ratna Omidvar
Room: TBD




 PLENARY 

9:40 to 10:40AM
Client Stories: Successes and Opportunities
Room: TBD




 BREAK 

10:40 to 10:55AM
Room: TBD



 BREAKOUTS 

10:55AM to 12:25PM

 A  Delivering Digital Equity: Bringing Digital Resources to Remote, Rural, and Urban Settings
 B  Breakout B

 C  From Pain to Purpose: Mobilizing a Community in Crisis
 D  De-Escalate with Confidence: Guidelines for Managing Emotional Situations


 LUNCH 

12:25 to 1:25PM
Room: TBD



 BREAKOUTS 

1:25 to 2:55PM

 E  Person-Centric Case Management in Practice
 F  Building Community Responses to Racism and Discrimination
 G  Expanding Access, Inclusion, and Collaboration in EarlyON
 H  Breakout H


 BREAK 

2:55 to 3:10PM
Room: TBD



 KEYNOTE 

Keynote: Leilani Farha
3:10 to 4:00PM
Room: TBD




 2022 AWARDS BANQUET 

6:00PM
Room: TBD


May 10, 2023


 BREAKFAST / REGISTRATION  

8:00 to 9:00AM
Room: TBD




 OPENING REMARKS AND PLENARY  

9:00 to 10:45AM

Local Municipal Champions: Addressing Needs Through Integrated Services
Room: TBD



 BREAK  

10:45 to 11:00AM
Room: TBD



 BREAKOUTS 

11:00AM to 12:30PM

 I  Finding Solutions in Early Childhood Educator Recruitment and Retention
 J  The Personal is Political: A Workshop on Trauma, Oppression, and Healing
 K  Early Successes and Opportunities in Employment Services Transformation
 L  Rapport Talk, Not Report Talk: Navigating Complex Cases


 LUNCH  

12:30 to 1:30PM
Room: TBD



 CLOSING PLENARY  

1:30 to 3:00PM
Room: TBD



Session Descriptions & Speakers 

 TUESDAY, MAY 9 

 OPENING REMARKS & KEYNOTE   

Keynote Speaker: Senator Ratna Omidvar
Room: TBD

The Honourable Ratna Omidvar, C.M., O.Ont.

Senator for Ontario, The Senate of Canada

Ratna Omidvar is an internationally recognized voice on migration, diversity and inclusion. In April 2016, Ms. Omidvar was appointed to the Senate of Canada as an independent Senator representing Ontario. Currently, Senator Omidvar is the Chair of the Senate’s Social Affairs, Health and Technology Committee and the Vice-President of the Canada-Germany Interparliamentary Group. She previously served as Deputy Chair of the Special Senate Committee on the Charitable Sector.  

Senator Omidvar is a Director at the Century Initiative, a Councillor on the World Refugee and Migration Council, a Founding Committee Member of Lifeline Afghanistan and Chair Emerita for the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council. She is also a Juror for the Global Centre for Pluralism’s annual Pluralism Award.

Previously at Toronto Metropolitan University, Senator Omidvar was a Distinguished Visiting Professor and founded the Global Diversity Exchange. Senator Omidvar received a Honorary Degree, Doctor of Laws, from Toronto Metropolitan University in 2018 and from York University in 2012.

Senator Omidvar is co-author of Flight and Freedom: Stories of Escape to Canada (2015) and co-editor of Five Good Ideas: Practical Strategies for Non-Profit Success (2011). 

Senator Omidvar was appointed to the Order of Ontario in 2005 and became a Member of the Order of Canada in 2011, with both honours recognizing her advocacy work on behalf of immigrants and devotion to reducing inequality in Canada. In 2014, Senator Omidvar received the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in recognition of her contribution to the advancement of German-Canadian relations.

Session description to come shortly. 

 PLENARY   

Client Stories: Successes and Opportunities
Room: TBD

With overwhelming caseloads, complex housing needs, recruitment and retention issues, and insufficient resources, it can feel like the work being done by the human services is just a "drop in the bucket." However, it is important to remember that all efforts have definite impacts to the lives of service users, and that every action is a crucial part of a larger continuum of care. In this plenary, you will hear from current and former service users who will speak about successes and opportunities related to support they received for employment and income, housing, and child care. This session aims to underscore the value of the important work being done by OMSSA Members and demonstrate the impact on the lives of service users.


 BREAKOUT SESSIONS   

 A  Delivering Digital Equity: Bringing Digital Resources to Remote, Rural, and Urban Settings

Room: TBD

A key challenge OMSSA Members are faced with is ensuring their most vulnerable service users have access to the resources and services that are available to other members of society. Whether it’s being able to attend appointments with medical professionals, participate equally in virtual hearings, or to communicate with family, access to digital resources is a fundamental component of an equitable society. In these presentations from the District of Thunder Bay Social Services Administration Board, Wellington County, and the City of Ottawa, we will learn how each of these OMSSA Member Organizations has approached addressing the digital equity needs of their communities in remote, rural, and urban settings. 
Bridging the Digital Divide in Northern and Southern Ontario: How Wellington and Thunder Bay are Helping Clients Connect

Innovative Solutions in Digital Equity


 B  Breakout B - Title TBD

Room: TBD

Breakout B session description to come shortly. 

 C  From Pain to Purpose: Mobilizing a Community in Crisis

Room: TBD

On June 6, 2021, Canada gained international attention following the Islamophobic terror attack that took the lives of members of a visibly Muslim family and devastated the London community.  Within days, politicians from every level of government and from across the country attended a vigil in honour of Our London Family.  They talked about the need to rid ourselves and our communities of Islamophobia and they promised change.  The Muslim community also spoke up. They demanded action - not words.   City of London Council directed their staff to engage with the local Muslim community and key community partners to take action to eliminate Islamophobia on a local level.  This session will discuss how a community in crisis came together to find purpose within their pain and commit to creating change through the creation of "A London for Everyone: An Action Plan to Disrupt Islamophobia."

Presenters:

  • Rumina Morris, Director, Anti-Racism and Anti-Oppression, City of London 
  • Ahmer Khan, Muslim Community Liaison Advisor, City of London

 D  De-Escalate with Confidence: Guidelines for Managing Emotional Situations

Room: TBD

It is quite common for us to tense-up and get thrown off balance when faced with an emotional situation involving another person.  When this happens, our first reactions are how to make it stop, how to calm down the other person and how to ensure our own safety.

The topic of de-escalating tense encounters pushes us toward wanting to know "how" to do it.  However, if we first understand "what" is occurring and "why" it is occurring, we will have a better path to figuring out "how" to manage the occurrence. 

In this workshop we will explore interpersonal situations and, specifically, how our brain creates predictable patterns of behaviour that result in escalated conflicts.  Knowing this can unlock the steps we need to take and alter tension into compassion. 

By the end participants will walk away feeling confident in their ability to keep a bad situation from getting worse and being able to better manage their own emotional reactions in the process.

Presenter:

  • Sharad Kerur (Q.Med, C.C.Med, CCMC, ACC, CDP, WFI) CEO, Resolution Pathways

 E  Person-Centric Case Management in Practice

Room: TBD

As a result of the challenging housing, mental health, and addiction needs of service users, this session will look at how specific OMSSA Member organizations have transformed the delivery of Ontario Works. You will hear from Case Mangers from Durham Region and Norfolk County about the shift towards a holistic, integrated, and person-centric approach that meets service users at their needs. They will also share their experiences of building community partnerships that help to provide wraparound services oriented towards stability supports.  
Social Assistance Modernization Challenges and Strategies: Shifting from Employment Case Manager to Life Stabilization Case Manager

Rethinking Casework: Supporting Clients on Their Path from Homelessness to Home


 F  Building Community Responses to Racism and Discrimination

Room: TBD

Breakout F session description to come shortly. 
#ITSTARTS: A Public Education Campaign to Reduce Racism and Discrimination


 G  Expanding Access, Inclusion, and Collaboration in EarlyON

Room: TBD

Breakout G session description to come shortly. 
Building Partnerships and Innovative Programs to Expand EarlyON Programming

Local Municipal Champion: York Region Children's Services Portal


 H  Breakout H - Title TBD

Room: TBD

Breakout H session description to come shortly. 

 KEYNOTE   

Keynote Speaker: Leilani Farha
Room: TBD

Leilani is the Global Director of The Shift, an international movement to secure the right to housing, and the former UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Housing (2014-2020). The Shift was launched in 2017 with the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and United Cities and Local Government. It works with multi-level stakeholders around the world, including with several city governments in North America and Europe.

Leilani’s work is animated by the principle that housing is a social good, not a commodity. She has helped develop global human rights standards on the right to housing, including through her topical reports on homelessness, the financialization of housing, informal settlements, rights-based housing strategies, and the first UN Guidelines for the implementation of the right to housing. She is the central character in the award-winning documentary PUSH regarding the financialization of housing, directed by the Swedish filmmaker Fredrik Gertten. PUSH is screening around the world and, to continue its momentum, Leilani and Fredrik now co-host a podcast – PUSHBACK Talks - about finance, housing, and human rights.

Session description to come shortly. 

 2022 AWARDS BANQUET   

Room: TBD

As part of the Exchange Conference festivities, OMSSA is pleased to announce the Awards Banquet will return for 2023. The Awards Banquet is an opportunity to recognize our OMSSA Awards recipients (see more information below) and to gather for an evening to celebrate as a sector.

As we get closer to May, we will offer more information on our Awards Banquet, in addition to our exciting program and confirmed speakers.


2022 Award Recipients


 WEDNESDAY, MAY 10 


 OPENING REMARKS & PLENARY   

Room: TBD

Local Municipal Champions: Addressing Needs Through Integrated Services

This year the work of a number of the Local Municipal Champions award recipients have notably featured an integrated approach bringing together local human services in one location or teams to assist service users with their specific needs. In response to urgent circumstances such as COVID 19, these programs adapted their service management approach due to a heightened need for children services, income, housing, mental health, and addiction supports. In this session, four of this year's award recipients will tell the story of the programs that were developed for their communities, with particular emphasis on the successes they have seen and the challenges they have overcome. With the hope that other OMSSA Members can learn from their experiences, this session's presenters will discuss County of Lambton's Integrated Homelessness Prevention Team, City of Windsor's Housing Hub, District of Thunder Bay Social Services Administration Board’s Community Resource Centres, and City of Ottawa's Outreach and Mobile Services Team.


City of Ottawa: Outreach and Mobile Services Team

County of Lambton: Integrated Homelessness Prevention Team

City of Windsor: Housing Hub

The District of Thunder Bay Social Services Administration Board: Community Resource Centres


 BREAKOUT SESSIONS   

 I  Finding Solutions in Early Childhood Educator Recruitment and Retention

Room: TBD

It’s abundantly clear that the primary mechanism to improve the recruitment and retention of Early Childhood Educators (ECEs) is stable, predictable funding to improve ECE wages and benefits. A solution needs to be found here in order to maintain stable and affordable child care under the Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) program. Outside finding ways to increase remuneration, OMSSA Members have developed other approaches to help solve some of these concerns. This session will include presentations from the City of Greater Sudbury, the Regional Municipalities of Halton, Durham, and Peel, and the City of Toronto about the programs they have developed to improve recruitment and retention locally. 
Pedagogical Mentoring Program: Pilot Project for Leadership Capacity in Child Care

GTA ECE Recruitment and Retention Consortium


 J  The Personal is Political: A Workshop on Trauma, Oppression, and Healing

Room: TBD

Experienced Social Worker, trauma therapist, consultant, and educator, Karine Silverwoman will lead an interactive workshop on trauma, vicarious trauma, and trauma-informed practice from a social justice lens. This workshop is designed to give you a greater understanding of the fundamentals of trauma (brain, body, nervous system) from an anti-racist, anti-oppression perspective, with the goal of building your confidence in working with persons and communities that have experienced trauma. We’ll explore how our own lived experiences impact our work and how structural oppression intersects with trauma-informed practice. We’ll introduce trauma-informed approaches and tools to use in our work (whether for ourselves, our clients, or our communities). You will learn to consider the connections between social justice, oppression, and trauma, while also building on service users’ strengths instead of their perceived weaknesses. With a focus on social justice, this session will benefit both those who have prior training in trauma-informed care, as well as those who are new to this approach. 

Presenter:

  • Karine Silverwoman, Social Worker and Consultant

 K  Early Successes and Opportunities in Employment Services Transformation

Room: TBD

The rollout of the Employment Services Transformation over several years combined with the use of different Service System Managers (SSM) has meant that OMSSA Members have sometimes had starkly different experiences with the project. For instance, Bruce County and its partners were the first municipal SSM in the province, whereas Hamilton has worked closely with a non-profit organization as its SSM. This session will delve into what has been learned in these two experiences, with a focus on their initial successes and how they have adjusted and adapted as new opportunities have arisen. We will also hear from a Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development counterpart, Alissa Savage, who will provide insight into the work that the Employment Services Transformation Secretariat is doing to continuously improve the program. 
Municipal SSMs: Integration of Employment and Social Assistance

Our Journey so Far, the City of Hamilton's EST Experience - Lessons, Opportunities, and Growth

Overview of Experience with the Employment Services Transformation


 L  Rapport Talk, Not Report Talk: Navigating Complex Cases

Room: TBD

As CMSMs and DSSABs move towards stability supports, the interpersonal communication skills required to develop a rapport and improve relationship building starts with very different questions and outcomes than the verification interviews of the past. What are the key questions that help to build a relationship and trust? How do you mitigate the complexities of positional power? In this session, we will examine several complex cases through the lens of local practices, and we will break down commonly encountered barriers into small achievable steps. Emphasis will be placed on the role of honest dialogue between case managers and service users, with a specific focus on the priorities of the service user.

Presenters:

  • David Thomas, OMSSA Facilitator 
  • Chris Kindy, Case Manager, Haldimand Norfolk Health Unit Health and Social Services Division, Norfolk County and Mental Health Worker, Canadian Mental Health Association
  • Gynette Moise, Budget Counsellor, EBO Financial Education Centre

 CLOSING REMARKS & PLENARY   

Room: TBD

Session description to come shortly.