Completed

Way Forward Commitment:

In 2017-18, our Government will begin to explore and pilot opportunities to partner with the community sector to improve service delivery and identify system efficiencies. Pilots will be evaluated and expanded where positive outcomes are identified through means that are cost effective. This approach could lead to an expanded role for the community sector as partners in the delivery of services. While the first actions will focus on enhancing services to children, youth and families involved with child protection and related services, enhancement of the role of community sector providers could be expanded to other areas based on lessons learned.

What We’ve Accomplished:

• The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador has implemented and evaluated community sector partnerships with Key Assets and Waypoints, which have shown to be achieving their identified goals at a significant cost-savings. These partnerships have been extended and expanded and Government is exploring additional partnership opportunities.
  • The goal of the Key Asset Family-based pilot is to provide family-based placements and wraparound supports for children and youth with complex needs and/or large sibling groups; and preventing children and youth who can be cared for in family settings from being placed in Level 4 staffed residential placements.
  • The Waypoints Supporting Foster Parents pilot is a collaboration between Waypoints and the Newfoundland and Labrador Foster Families Association to provide support and training to foster families, prevent placement breakdown and increase permanency for children, improve foster home retention, and provide foster parents with additional training to care for children and youth. The evaluation showed a number of children and youth, who would have had to be placed in Level 4 staffed residential placements, were able to remain in foster homes.