BREAKFAST / REGISTRATION 

8:00AM to 9:00AM ET

Room: Mississauga Ballroom Foyer

 OPENING REMARKS AND PLENARY 

9:00 to 10:15AM ET
Room: Mississauga Ballroom (Main Level)

Land Acknowledgement and Opening Remarks: 

• Henry Wall, OMSSA President and Chief Administrative Officer, Kenora District Services Board

The Upstream and Downstream Impacts of Care

OMSSA Members support the most vulnerable populations in environments that are becoming increasingly challenging to navigate. Issues with our health care system, mental health and addictions, housing, child care, income security, and the growing role of private equity, move our targets further away. Join Dr. Andrew Boozary from University Health Network and Armine Yalnizyan from the Atkinson Foundation for a fireside chat as they discuss the current and future state of our care economy and the impact on social services. 

Presenters:

• (moderator) Sue Ritchie Raymond, SLRR Consulting
• Dr. Andrew Boozary, Executive Director, Gattuso Centre for Social Medicine, University Health Network
• Armine Yalnizyan, Fellow on the Future of Workers, Atkinson Foundation

Sponsored by the Regional Municipality of Durham

 BREAKOUTS 

10:30AM to 12:00PM ET

 A  Social Assistance Modernization - Streaming Client Pathways Through Meaningful Conversations

Room: Dundas Room (2nd Floor)

Areas of Focus: Common Asssessment Tool, Person Centric Approaches; Stability Supports

 B  Collaboration and Quality Improvement in Children's Services

Room: Mavis Room (Lower Level)

Presentations:

• Local Municipal Champion: Better Together 2023
• Establishing a Culture of Evaluation and Quality Improvement in Children's Services

Areas of Focus: CWELCC; Cross-Regional Collaboration; Knowledge Sharing; Relationship Building; Workforce Development; Evaluation Framework; Evidence-Informed Decision Making

 C  Improving Homelessness Policies at Both the Micro and Macro Levels

Room: Vista Room (Main Level)

Presentations:

• Addressing Shelter-Based Violence Through Adaptations to Service Delivery, Program Policies, and Data Use
• Evidence-Based Policy Moves to Shift from Addressing Homelessness to Ending Homelessness
• Using Data to Drive Continuous System Improvement to Advance Reductions in Homelessness

Areas of Focus: Homelessness Policy; Ending Homelessness; Homeless Shelters; Violence Prevention; Data Use and Analysis; Training and Interventions

 D  The Ontario Human Rights Commission: A Human Rights-Based Approach for Municipal Services

Room: York Ballroom (Lower Level)

Areas of Focus: Service System Planning; Policy and Program Development; Educational Tools; Inclusivity; Equity; Accessibility

 BREAKOUTS 

1:00 to 2:30PM ET

 E  Supporting Vulnerable Clients Through Low Barrier Service Delivery

Room: Vista Room (Main Level)

Presentations:

• Changing Justice Service Delivery in Populations Experiencing Homelessness to Reduce Returns to Custody
• Durham Region Drop-In Group: A Collaborative and Innovative Approach to Providing Support to Sex Workers and Victims of Human Trafficking
• Local Municipal Champion: Adult Protective Services: Innovative Partnerships and Housing Stability

Areas of Focus: Person-Centric Approaches; Discharge Planning; Wraparound Supports; Cross-Sectoral Collaboration; Supporting Vulnerable Service Users

 F  Culturally Inclusive Programs in Children's Services

Room: Mavis Room (Lower Level)

Presentations:

• Local Municipal Champion: Indigenous-Led RECE Training Program
• Local Municipal Champion: Build Belonging: Inclusive EarlyON Programming

Areas of Focus: Workforce Development; New Service Delivery Model; Culturally-Informed Programming; Equity; Diversity; Policy Changes

Resources:

• Knowledge Exchange Blog: Build Belonging Through Inclusive EarlyON Programming

 G  Innovations in Technology and Data Analysis

Room: York Ballroom (Lower Level)

Presentations:

• Just Scraping By - Understanding Rents at a Neighbourhood Level Using Web Scrapping Technology
• Collaborative Advanced Analytics to Improve Community Safety and Wellbeing

Areas of Focus: Collaboration; Data Analysis; Community Safety and Wellbeing; Capacity Building; Technology

 H  Engaging and Leveraging Lived Expertise

Room: Dundas Room (2nd Floor)

Presentations:

• Co-Designing Financial Literacy Innovations for People Experiencing Low Income
• Meaningful Engagement of Lived Experts in Homeless System Transformation: Experiences from Niagara

Areas of Focus: Lived Experts; Co-production; Low-Barrier Service Delivery; Policy Development

Resources:

• Recommendations from Lived Expert Advisory to Address Homelessness (PDF)
• Niagara's Housing and Homelessness Action Plan
• Niagara Falls Public Library - The Living Library - Stories of Housing & Home

 CLOSING REMARKS AND KEYNOTE/PLENARY 

2:45 to 4:10PM ET
Room: Mississauga Ballroom (Main Level)

Local Interventions and Tools for Healthier Communities

Presentations:

• Transforming Mental Health Crisis Response: The Right Response, At The Right Time
• Navigating the Path and Building Capacity for Community Safety and Well-Being Implementation: Insights from Durham, Halton, Peel and York

Areas of Focus: Integrated Services; Non-Police Interventions; Evidence-Informed Decisionmaking; Equity

Resources:

Durham Region

• Community Safety and Well-Being Plan
• Link to our Community Safety and Well-Being Data Dashboard
• Community Safety and Well-Being Information Hub
• Community Safety and Well-Being Plan 2023 Update
• Contact: cswb@durham.ca

Halton Region

• Halton Community Safety and Well-Being Web Page & Dashboard
• Report to Halton Regional Council – Update on CSWB in Halton (April 2024)
• Halton Community Safety and Well-Being 2023 Engagement Report
• Contact: CSWB@Halton.ca

Toronto

• Report to Toronto City Council (November 2023)
• Toronto Community Crisis Service, One-Year Outcome Evaluation Report
• Toronto Community Crisis Service Infographic on Year One Data
• Visual Story on Service User Experiences

 2024 AWARDS BANQUET 

Time 6:00PM to 12:00AM ET
Room: Mississauga Ballroom (Main Level)

As part of the Exchange Conference festivities, OMSSA is pleased to announce the Awards Banquet will return for 2024. 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. There will be entertainment after dinner. 

Recognition:

• Champion of Human Services Award: David Thomas
• Lifetime Achievement Award: Douglas Bartholomew-Saunders
• Local Municipal Champion Awards:
  • City of Brantford Build Belonging: Inclusive EarlyON Programming
  • City of Ottawa Catherine Street Community Service Hub
  • City of Windsor Asylum Claimant Team
  • County of Simcoe Local Immigration Partnership Ukrainian Response
  • Region of Durham Adult Protective Services: Innovative Partnerships and Housing Stability
  • Niagara Region Indigenous-led RECE Training Program
  • Better Together 2023

Please note: the Awards Banquet is a separate ticketed event. Registration is required to attend. 

 BREAKFAST / REGISTRATION 

8:00AM to 9:00AM ET

Room: Mississauga Ballroom Foyer

 OPENING REMARKS AND KEYNOTE/PLENARY 

9:00 to 10:15AM ET
Room: Mississauga Ballroom (Main Level)

Land Acknowledgement and Opening Remarks: 

• Stella Danos-Papaconstantinou, OMSSA Vice-President and Commissioner of Social Services, Regional Municipality of Durham

Real Talk and Fireside Chat with Lee Airton

Lee Airton (they/them), Assistant Professor of Gender and Sexuality Studies in Education at Queen's University, will discuss contemporary successes and challenges in the work of creating institutions that welcome gender and sexual diversity, particularly in the changing Canadian political context. Dr. Airton will then answer pre-submitted questions from OMSSA conference attendees about specific practical issues that are arising in attendees’ workplaces so we can work to ensure our spaces are affirming for all. 

Please note: For those not attending the conference, we will summarize the session content including the questions and answers from the fireside chat as a resource for all to read after the Conference.

 BREAKOUTS 

10:30AM to 12:00PM ET

 I  Navigating and Debriefing in Complex and Challenging Times

Room: York Ballroom (Lower Level)

Areas of Focus: Person Centered Approaches, Debriefing, Critical Incidents; Complex Situations

 J  Finding Successes in Emergency Newcomer Settlement

Room: Mavis Room (Lower Level)

Presentations:

• Local Municipal Champion: Asylum Claimant Team
• Local Municipal Champion: Local Immigration Partnership Ukrainian Response

Areas of Focus: Emergency Newcomer Settlement; Systems Navigation; Access to Child Care; Child Care Assistant Employment Training 

Resources:

• Knowledge Exchange Blog: City of Windsor Asylum Claimant Team
• Knowledge Exchange Blog: Global Events Have Local Impacts

Sponsored by the County of Simcoe

 K  Local Initiatives in Community and Supportive Housing

Room: Vista Room (Main Level)

Presentations:

• Innovative Supportive Housing Solutions - Setting the Standard for Ontario
• A Collaborative and Evidence-Based Approach to Addressing the Centralized Waitlist for Community Housing in Niagara Region

Areas of Focus: Building Partnerships; By-Name Lists; Mobilizing Data; Community Housing; Supportive Housing Continuum

 L  Connecting for the Dream: Urban Indigenous Homeward Bound

Room: Dundas Room (2nd Floor)

Areas of Focus: Urban Indigenous Homeward Bound; Stability Supports for Urban Indigenous Single-Mothers; Partnerships with Municipal Service Providers; Ontario Works; Systems Navigation 

 BREAKOUTS 

1:00 to 2:30PM ET

 M  Improving Case Management and Wrap-Around Supports

Room: Vista Room (Main Level)

Presentations:

• Local Municipal Champion: Catherine Street Community Service Hub
• Serving Individuals in Haldimand and Norfolk Counties Through One-to-One Support by Community Support Workers
• City of Ottawa's Case Management Tool

Areas of Focus: Case Management Approaches and Tools; Stability Supports; Systems Navigation; EST Change Management; SAMS

Resources:

• Knowledge Exchange Blog: Service Delivery Approach with the Catherine Street Community Service Hub

 N  Beyond the Building: Advocating for a New Outdoor Model of Early Learning and Child Care

Room: Mavis Room (Lower Level)

Areas of Focus: Outdoor Early Learning and Child Care; Licensing; Nature-based Early ON; Expanding Child Care

 O  Building an Equity Infrastructure: Constructing the Foundations of Progress

Room: Dundas Room (2nd Floor)

Areas of Focus: Advancing Reconciliation, Equity and Human Rights; Data for Equity; Preventing Discrimination

 P  Community Collaboration for Health Equity and Resilience

Room: York Ballroom (Lower Level)

Presentations:

• The City of Hamilton's Menstrual Products Pilot Program: Partnering to Provide Free Menstrual Products to Those in Financial Need
• Community Coordination Plan: A Model for Activating Partnership and Centering Equity in the City of Toronto

Areas of Focus: Health Equity; High-Priority Communities; Service Coordination; Collaboration with Community Organizations; Community Resilience-Building

 CLOSING REMARKS AND KEYNOTE/PLENARY 

2:45 to 3:45PM ET
Room: Mississauga Ballroom (Main Level)

Keynote Address by Tricia Williams, Director, Research, Evaluation and Knowledge Mobilization, Future Skills Centre

Tricia Williams brings a strong background across anthropology, sociology and economics disciplines to her role as Future Skills Centre’s (FSC) Director of Research, Evaluation and Knowledge Mobilization. She has particular expertise in the future of work including digital economies, skills development, migration and gender.  

At the FSC, Tricia leads a pan-Canadian research strategy focused on advancing the FSC’s strategic goals. She also collaborates closely with their on the broader evidence agenda, ensuring that knowledge is both generated and mobilized effectively for uptake and usage.