Issues & Advocacy

With a volunteer board, a small staff team, and many issues to address, we choose our areas of focus carefully. These decisions are based on our member’s feedback, consultation with our partners and allies in the sector, and analysis of the potential impact and the alignment with our values and strategic priorities.

At times we will take the lead on an issue. At other times we offer support to another organization better suited to the work required. And we are in constant communication with the organizations we have formal partnerships with to ensure our advocacy efforts are coordinated and efficient.

Some of these issues only demand our attention for a limited time. Others, like our commitment to an improved system of care for children and youth in care, have been a constant focus since the inception of The Federation.

On this page…

Wages and Compensation in the Community Social Services Sector
Recruitment and Retention in the Community Social Services Sector
Childcare Resource and Referral (CCRR)
Supports for Young People in Care
Reconciliation & Resurgence
Community Social Services Health & Safety

Wages and Compensation in the community social services sector

The community social services sector has a highly educated workforce where most positions require post-secondary education. But compensation has been too low for too long. Public service jobs, like those in the health and education sectors, are often paid at a higher salary which adds another layer of complexity to our sector’s already challenging labour market. Moreover, the nature of funding for the sector—a mash-up of federal, provincial, municipal dollars combined with grants and fundraised money—makes finding a common strategy to address compensation issues across the sector very challenging.

Why it matters

BC’s community social services sector has a workforce that is stressed, overworked, and strained with high turnover rates.
Low wages make it difficult to recruit people into jobs and difficult to retain existing staff.
Compared to other sectors, lower compensation rates may also affect people considering whether or not to enter the field as a career in the first place.

Our approach

Advocacy with the BC Provincial Government
With a significant portion of the sector’s wages linked to provincial contracts, we continually make the case for improved compensation through ongoing direct advocacy (meetings with politicians and government staff) and in our formal presentations (such as those government Select Standing Committees).

The Roundtable
In the spring of 2019, the Provincial Government created a Social Services Sector Roundtable (chaired by Minister Simpson from MSDPR) to bring together the social care ministries and representatives from the community sector to work on strategies to address compensation and sustainability issues in the sector.

Research
We are also working hard to support the collection of good data that tells the story of how low wages affect this sector and BC’s communities. We do this by supporting data-gathering efforts by CSSEA and through an ongoing Labour Market Research Project in partnership with the Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Training and SparcBC.

Updates to Members

April 23, 2020
Projects & Issues Updates: Roundtable, COVID-19, MCFD Services HUB

July 18, 2019
Advocacy and Opportunities: The New Social Sector Roundtable

April 11, 2019
Addressing Recruitment & Retention: Phase Two of the Social Services Labour Market Research Project

March 21, 2019
Federation Projects & Issues Update

Timeline

Spring 2020: Roundtable Reference Group

In the spring of 2020, the community organizations that are a part of the Roundtable called together a wider group of umbrella organizations to serve as a Reference Group. From the start, we recognized that the Roundtable did not fully representat the entire community social services sector. To address this, the Reference Group will meet regularly and inform the work of the 6 Roundtable member organizations and what they bring forward to the Roundtable.

Spring 2020: BC Budget Funding

In the 2020 BC Provincial Budget, funds were earmarked to (1) training and sector health and safety and (2) to address pressing compensation issues. The funds for training and health and safety were considered “one time only” and will be managed by a several umbrella groups (including The Federation) on behalf of the entire community social services sector. Plans for the design and implementation of these training programs has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic but we have been assured that the funds are protected.

The funding for compensation was to come out of provincial contingency funds. However, further details from Treasury Board about these funds, the amount, and how they will be designated, have also been delayed due to COVID-19. All members of the Roundtable have made clear that these funds need to be made available to the sector as soon as possible.

Fall 2019: Roundtable & Budget

The Roundtable has been meeting through the summer and have tabled a list of recommendations to begin to address some of the pressing issues facing the sector (relating to wage inequity, training, and health and safety). Minister Simpson will be including these recommendations in his budget submission to Treasury Board for consideration in the 2020 Provincial Budget. The Roundtable will continue to meet and be a forum for addressing other complex issues affecting sector sustainability.

Summer 2019: Roundtable

Progress with the Social Sector Roundtable is encouraging. The focus thus far has been on sector compensation, procurement, funding for administration, and the importance of non-Nation Indigenous involvement in the ongoing process.

Recruitment and Retention in the community social services sector

BC’s social services sector has long experienced challenges with attracting and keeping staff. The sector is competing for workers in a tough labour market and the added complexity, skill, and personal connection required in this line of work only adds further challenges. Efforts to take a systems-level approach have been complicated by the lack of data about the sector. There have been several studies over the past 10 years that look at various aspects our field but none that have been able to paint a full picture of the whole sector in comparison to others and the labour market in general.

Why it matters

The constant turnover of staff creates additional stress on organizations and negatively affects service delivery.
Successtion planning and leadership development within the sector are complicated by staff wanting to leave (or not work in this sector in the first place).
There are significant resource costs for the frequent and repeated hiring, screening, and orientation of staff.
This also hinders future recruitment efforts by painting an image of this sector as one that is unstable and unpredictable.

Our approach

In 2019 we launched a Labour Market Research Project in partnership with SparcBC and CSSEA with funding provided by the Ministry of Advanced Education Skills and Training. Our hope is that this project will provide the broad and detailed data we need in order to be able to work with the provincial government on designing a new labour market strategy for the social services sector.

Funding

Funding for this study is provided through the Canada-British Columbia Labour Market Development Agreement’s Sector Labour Market Partnerships (SLMP) Program administered by the BC Ministry of Advanced Education, Skills and Training.

Updates to Members

December 10, 2020
Federation Projects & Issues Update

August 6, 2020
Federation Projects & Issues Update

August 1, 2019
The Community Social Services Health & Safety Council

April 11, 2019
Addressing Recruitment & Retention: Phase Two of the Social Services Labour Market Research Project

March 21, 2019
Federation Projects & Issues Update

January 10, 2019
Building Strong & Sustainable Community Social Services

October 18, 2018
Projects and Issues Update

Timeline

Summer 2021: MCFD Update on Unspent Funding

In response to advocacy and outreach by The Federation and our sector partners, the Ministry of Children and Family Development released a letter announcing additional funding to support recruitment and
retention effective April 1, 2021.

Spring 2021: MCFD Update on Unspent Funding

In response to advocacy and outreach by The Federation and our sector partner, the Ministry of Children and Family Development released a letter allowing organizations to retain unspent recruitment and retention funding for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2021. The ministry also confirmed that recruitment and retention funding would continue through March 2022.

Spring 2021: SSLMRP Final Report Released

The Final Report and the Aggregated Data of the Social Services Labour Market Research Project are approved for public release by the Ministry of Advanced Education & Skills Training. The report is shared with Federation members, partners, and presentations begin with the SSLMRP team being invited to the present to the Social Services Sector Roundtable.

Fall 2020: SSLMRP Final Report

The Final Report of the Social Services Labour Market Research Project is submitted to the Ministry of Advanced Education & Skills Training for review and approval.

Spring 2020: SSLMRP Draft Report

Our draft of the Social Services Labour Market Research Project final report is currently being reviewed by our funder and advisory committee. The anticipated public release of the report is end of July 2020. In fall of 2019, we presented the early findings of the study to members, study participants, and shared our research at the ASPECT conference.

Fall 2019: SSLMRP Progress

Data collection and analysis has been completed. In November, we will host webinars with stakeholders to report our preliminary findings and get feedback and ideas for recommendations to be included in the final report.

The webinars will take place on Tuesday, November 5th from 1:30-3:00 PM and Wednesday, November 6th from 10:00-11:30 AM (PST). Registration and login information will be circulated in October through our weekly update emails. Subscribe here.

Summer 2019: SSLMRP Progress

During the spring of 2019 we conducted interviews, focus groups, and surveys spent the summer analysing the data. We plan to host a series of webinars in the fall presenting our initial analysis back to the sector for feedback and validity testing. The final report, with recommendations, will be submitted to the provincial government in the spring 2020.

Childcare Resource and Referral (CCRR)

In Spring 2019, following an influx of new funding into Childcare Resource and Referrals (CCRR), the province announced that there would be a new RFP process for CCRRs in 2020. This is standard procurement practice when there is significant new funding and when services have not recently gone to tender. However, The Federation has heard from many members who are concerned about the impact of this process (having noticed other troubling patterns in social service procurement decisions). In addition, the unknowns of the new RFP process make it challenging for organizations to plan and retain staff in these programs.

Why it matters

CCRRs play an important role in supporting access to quality childcare across the province.
The Early Years sector went through significant change over the last year and so further changes are adding additional uncertainty and increasing workloads within the sector.
Recent procurement trends have had some unintended consequences that threaten the capacity and stability of the sector—particularly in small, rural, and remote communities.

Our approach

MCFD is currently working with Ernst and Young to conduct a review of their contracting practices; the Federation has been involved in this process and members have been interviewed. The impact of procurement processes has also been discussed at the Community Social Services Roundtable.

While we work on addressing this specific issue, we are also working at the systems level to bring about more broad and permanent changes to procurement practices in the social services.

The Federation has outlined our concerns about lack of engagement with the sector in relation to CCRR and encouraged MCFD to involve the sector in the plans for change before decisions are made. The Federation has also offered to provide feedback on the procurement process, recognizing that there are lessons to be learned from recent RFP processes.

Updates to Members

April 6, 2020
Update from MCFD on the provincial CCRR Program’s Application for Funding

March 25, 2020
Update from MCFD on Child Care Resource and Referral centres during the COVID-19 outbreak

Timeline

Spring 2020: Application for Funding Cancelled

In fall of 2019, the BC government launched an Application for Funding (AFF) for CCRR. Contracts were due to be awarded in the spring of 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the AFF was cancelled in early April to ensure continuity of service through the pandemic and recovery period. You can read the letter here.

Fall 2019: Application for Funding

A Noice to Vendor has been posted on BC Bid and MCFD will be using an “Application for Funding” procurement process. The Application for Funding is expected to be launched in October 2019. An application for funding is being used rather than an RFP as it allows for more flexibility in the negotiating process, something that the sector advocated for.

Summer 2019: CCRR Planning Process

The Federation has met with MCFD and sent a formal letter to MCFD expressing concerns and requesting that the sector be involved in the planning process. The Federation has also convened calls with CCRR providers from across the province. The Federation will be meeting with MCFD in late August.

Supports for young people in care

This has been a long-standing focus of The Federation. In 2012, The Federation and MCFD released a joint review of Residential Services which outlined recommendations to improve services and supports for young people in care. Since that time, The Federation has been working to have the recommendations implemented. In the interim, many other reports from the Representative for Children and Youth, a report by Grand Chief Ed John, and the Calls to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission have also been released echoing the sentiments contained in the 2019 Residential Redesign report.

Why it matters

The health and wellbeing of young people in care should matter to every British Columbian.
Outcomes for young people in care across many measures are considered to be less than for the general population of young people. We can and should do better.

Our approach

This issue has been a frequent focus of reports to government, letters to the media, interviews with the media, and discussion with both political and senior bureaucrats. We have worked with the Strategic Initiatives division in MCFD for the past 5 years on different strategies to support implementation of the recommendations. Throughout the process, The Federation has advocated strongly that any changes made to the system need to include the input and expertise of the community sector. We have continually advocated for a “one sector” approach to planning that recognizes the pivotal role the community sector plays in government’s social care strategies.

Updates to Members

November 14, 2019
Working with MCFD: CCRR, Early Years, CYSN

November 16, 2017
Considering Secure Care in BC

May 19, 2016
Residential Review and community engagement

March 2, 2017
The Residential Review Report five years later: new funding, new focus, and new opportunities

Timeline

Spring 2020: COVID-19

The community social services sector’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the particular impact that this emergency has had on programs and services that provide a home to young people in care (including staffed residential services and foster care) have highlighted many of the gaps and challenges within the current system. As we work with MCFD on the go-forward plan for BC’s community social services, we will be taking these lessons and examples forward and will use them to inform our efforts around system change. In many ways, COVID-19 has shed light on the precariousness of our professional caring systems across service areas and magnified many of the issues that were surfaced in the 2012 Residential Review Report.

Spring 2020: Temporary Changes to AYA

Temporary measures were put into place to ensure continuity of support for young people during the COVID-19 state of emergency, including regulatory changes to the Agreements with Young Adults program.

Fall 2019: Community Engagement

We expect that community engagement around the planned shifts in MCFD’s practice to support families involved in the child welfare system will take place in late 2019 or early 2020.

Summer 2019: MCFD Strategy

MCFD has been developing a new strategy for serving children in care. Federation members have been invited to give input into the strategy along the way. Over fall and winter 2019 we anticipate further outreach to the community sector as plans begin to unroll.

June 2012: Residential Review Report

The Residential Review Final Report is completed. It recommends a course of action for both MCFD and service providers that will build on strengths, address gaps and weaknesses, and achieve a planned system of residential care that better meets the care and treatment needs of children and youth, thereby supporting more positive life outcomes.

Reconciliation & Resurgence

This is not a project but an ongoing effort to change our way of being and approach to doing our work as people and as an organization. Our commitment to social justice for Indigenous people is a lens that runs through all our work. As a non-Indigenous organization, it is important that we not speak for Indigenous community members or organizations; however we can strive to be good allies and help amplify their message.

Why it matters

This is an issue of human rights and social justice.
The wellbeing of every Canadian is impacted by our collective approach to reconciliation.
The social care sector is complicit in the harm done to Indigenous, Metis and Inuit people both in the past and currently.
As a sector we must take responsibility for a new way forward in how we work with, support, and get out of the way of Indigenous rights to self determination.
Many have noted that the current rates of child apprehension from Indigenous families is this generation’s “sixtie’s scoop” and our sector must work to end this cycle of trauma inflicted on Indigenous people.

Our approach

Our approach to reconciliation draws on the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), the Calls to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and our ongoing relationships with Indigenous organizations and allies. At each Federation conference we have made a commitment to have reconciliation-focused content.

Knowing that 80% of Indigenous people do not live in their land-based Nation (nor may have any connection to that Nation), we remain committed to speaking up for the inclusion of a lens that takes into account the experiences and needs of Indigenous and Métis people who live in urban areas.

We are also supportive of the BC Métis Nation’s efforts to bring back jurisdiction over child welfare of Métis children.

As our members are mostly non-Indigenous organizations (but serve Indigenous people), we also focus our efforts on supporting our member’s learning and development as it relates to reconciliation.

Updates to Members

June 13, 2019
National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Final Report

June 14, 2018
Introducing the Reconciliation Book Club

June 15, 2017
Reconciliation in Action: Moving forward, together

May 11, 2017
Reconciliation in action: creating opportunities to think about things differently

November 24, 2016
Living into reconciliation: moving forward

Timeline

Spring 2020: Reconciliation and Resurgence

In the winter of 2019, The Federation board met for a full day (hosted by Kim Haxton) to consider how The Federation lives into reconciliation from a governance perspective. Following this session, the board executive met for a day to create ideas for action. The board discussed how the word “reconciliation” doesn’t really reflect being in the service of growth and power for Indigenous communities themselves. As a result, the word “resurgence” was added to our commitment to reconciliation.

The board also discussed Federation membership and Indigenous representation at the board level as ways of measuring whether the organization is a safe and inclusive place of ally-ship for Indigenous organizations and leaders. The board reaffirmed its commitment to focusing on reconciliation and resurgence at all Federation Events (check out our interrupted but continuing cultural agility training with Tammie Myles here) as well as the need for The Federation to use our collective voice more strategically and powerfully in support of Indigenous community members and organizations.

Fall 2019: Cultural Safety Training

We are currently planning Cultural Agility learning events that will take place across the province in Spring 2020. More information will be shared in October. This is in response to calls from our members to provide more local learning opportunities that continue to support living into reconciliation.

Summer 2019: MMIWG Final Report

We are currently exploring how we may as a Federation respond and activate the recommendations out of the MMIW Final Report. The Federation board and senior staff have committed to reading the report in full for further discussion in Fall 2019.

Community Social Services Health and Safety

Part of The Federation’s goal of creating a stronger and more sustainable community social services sector includes focusing on the health and safety of those working in this sector. For many years, the rate of workplace injuries in the sector were among the highest in BC. However, the issues that lead to workplace injuries and acts of aggression are complex and require complex solutions grounded in compassion and understanding.

Why it matters

The health and safety of those who choose a career in community social services is important for any number of reasons.

Supporting employees to feel safe in their roles.
Enabling people to grow and develop their careers in the sector.
Providing support in ways that ensure no-one is fearful for their safety.
Enabling community members to get the help they need when they need it.
Treating employees like valued members of the community.
The sector needs to be a safe and helpful place for both staff and clients, and grounded in trauma-informed and de-colonizing approaches.

Our approach

For several years, our submissions to the Select Standing Committee of Finance and Government Services have highlighted the high rate of workplace injuries in the community social services sector. We noted how costly this issue was (resulting in a high rate of claims), the long-term impact is has on the staff and clients within the sector, and how it adds to recruitment and retention difficulty.

As part of our approach on this issue, we have worked to avoid pitting employees needs against the needs of those seeking support and services. We have made clear that this is a complex issue that will not be solved by adding a security presence or acting out of fear. We have urged responses that look at the complexity of issues experienced by those being served and the training and experience of those working in the sector, while acknowledging the desperation that many people find themselves in when seeking services.

From 2016-2019 a pilot project attempted to reduce the historically high rate of WorkSafeBC claims in the community social services sector. This project was a partnership between WorkSafeBC, the Community Social Services Employers’ Association (CSSEA), and the Federation. For more information on the pilot project see:

Updates to Members

August 1, 2019
The Community Social Services Health & Safety Council

May 30, 2019
Projects and Issues Update

May 17, 2018
Federation Projects & Issues Update

April 26, 2018
The CSS Health & Safety Handbook

January 18, 2018
Federation Projects & Issues Update

Timeline

Summer 2020: Funding Earmarked

As part of BC Budget 2020, the provincial government earmarked $1.4 million to support Health and Safety Council initiatives that develop and/or acquire and deliver training and support programs to union and non-union community social service sector agencies. The training and programs must ensure healthy and safe workplaces and improve injury prevention in the sector. Since the council’s governance model is still being established, the funds are being held by The Federation until such time as they can be dispersed to the council for this work.

Winter 2020: Council Established

In early 2020, following many years of effort by both the Community Social Services Bargaining Association and organizations within the community social services sector, the Community Social Services Health and Safety Council was established. A dedicated health and safety council is a significant step towards increasing the safety and wellbeing of those who work in the community social services sector as well as those who access support and services.

Fall 2019: Support for Council

Organizations who are registered within the Counselling or Social Services (CU#766007), Life and Job Skills Training (CU#766010), and Residential Social Services Facility (CU#766017) classification units were asked to confirm their support for the creation of the council.

Issues & Advocacy

On this page…

Wages and Compensation in the community social services sector

Why it matters

Our approach

Updates to Members

Timeline

Recruitment and Retention in the community social services sector

Why it matters

Our approach

Funding

Updates to Members

Timeline

Childcare Resource and Referral (CCRR)

Why it matters

Our approach

Updates to Members

Timeline

Supports for young people in care

Why it matters

Our approach

Updates to Members

Timeline

Reconciliation & Resurgence

Why it matters

Our approach

Updates to Members

Timeline

Community Social Services Health and Safety

Why it matters

Our approach

Updates to Members

Timeline

Contact Info

Reconciliation

Resources

About The Federation