CITY CLERK Clause embodied in Report No. 10 of the Community Services Committee, as adopted by the Council of the City of Toronto at its meeting held on October 2, 3 and 4, 2001.
18 Christmas Bureau (City Council on October 2, 3 and 4, 2001, adopted this Clause, without amendment.) The Community Services Committee recommends the adoption of the following report (August 3, 2001) from the Acting Commissioner of Community and Neighbourhood Services; and further that, upon adoption by City Council, the Clause be forwarded to the Budget Advisory Committee for consideration of the funding aspects during the 2002 Operating Budget process: Purpose: The purpose of this report is to describe the work and ongoing evolution of the City’s annual Christmas Bureau Program administered by Toronto Social Services (TSS). The report also discusses establishing a more formal funding arrangement that will sustain the Bureau in the future. Financial Implications and Impact Statement: As discussed in this report, Toronto Social Services’ 2002 Operating Budget submission will include a specific provision for a funding allocation of $135,000.00 gross, $67,500.00 net, to the Christmas Bureau, for review during the 2002 budget process. Recommendations: It is recommended that: (1)
City Council reaffirm its commitment to continuation of the City’s annual Christmas Bureau Program; and
(2)
the appropriate City officials be authorized and directed to take the necessary action to give effect thereto.
Background: The Christmas Bureau was initially established in 1956 under the supervision of a central volunteer staff complement. In 1971, operation of the Christmas Bureau was assumed by the Social Services Division on behalf of the Metropolitan Toronto Community Services Department. This arrangement has been continued post-amalgamation by TSS. However, as the
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Christmas Bureau’s role and responsibilities have expanded, ensuring its effective management presents an increasingly complex challenge for the Division. Over time the Christmas Bureau has evolved into the core co-ordinating organization responsible for ensuring that as many low income children and families as possible in Toronto receive gifts during the holiday season. The current range of services provided by the Bureau includes co-ordinating donations, referrals to agencies, information sharing and monitoring for duplication of assistance. In essence, the Christmas Bureau helps to connect donors with recipients and communicates necessary information to distributors. This work is undertaken across the City on behalf of a wide variety of organizations, including various community agencies (almost 600 during the 2000 campaign), major corporations such as the Toronto Star and CHUM/City, and the Province. Through its achievements, the Christmas Bureau has assumed a leadership role in the co-ordination of Christmas gifts and donations to Toronto families and individuals in need, many of whom are on social assistance. The Bureau is committed to building service relationships with its community partners and their clients in order to ensure an effective service is provided to assist those in need. Further, from another vantage point, the Bureau provides reassurance to those who make donations during the holidays that their contributions will be forwarded to deserving recipients. Evidence of the Christmas Bureau’s success is illustrated in the number of children and families who received assistance this past holiday season. Through the Christmas Bureau, the Toronto Star distributed 32,871 Star Gift Boxes to children of Ontario Works (OW) and Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) clients under the age of thirteen. The CHUM/City Christmas Wish Fund assisted a total of 78,795 families and children. This included 68,422 children who received toys through the Christmas Bureau’s registry, 9,023 children who attended CHUM/City Christmas Wish Fund parties and 600 families who received grocery store gift certificates distributed through TSS’ fourteen office locations. An additional 750 children aged thirteen and fourteen who did not qualify for a Star Gift Box due to their age, received gift certificates. In all, the Christmas Bureau played a key role in the distribution of gifts to more than 111,000 children during the 2000 holiday season. Discussion: (I)
Managing the Christmas Bureau: TSS’ Role:
At the most basic level, the Christmas Bureau’s aim is to ensure the equitable and efficient distribution of charitable Christmas gifts and donations to needy families and, in particular, their children. To achieve this, the Bureau serves the community in the following ways: (1)
provides information, registration and/or referrals to agencies, organizations and individuals who are offering help;
(2)
provides information, registration and/or referrals to agencies, organizations and individuals who are requesting help;
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(3)
maintains a central computerized registry. The registry lists individuals who have requested help from any agency or program registered with the Bureau and identifies any duplication; and
(4)
works closely with the local area offices and facilitates the access of social assistance recipients to Christmas help programs.
In recent years the scope and scale of the Christmas Bureau’s responsibilities has continued to expand. For instance, this past year TSS played an integral role in fulfilling the Premier’s promise that every child in Ontario would have a gift on Christmas. Through the Christmas Bureau, TSS co-ordinated the screening of persons applying for these gifts in order to identify those applicants who had not previously received a gift from another source. Additionally, based on an agreement between the City and Province, for the past two years TSS has co-ordinated the provision of Star Gift Boxes to children of ODSP clients. (II)
Christmas Bureau Functions:
As alluded to previously, the primary objective of the Christmas Bureau is to co-ordinate efforts of various organizations to provide gifts to as many low income families as possible during the holiday season. To achieve this, the core function of the Bureau centres on the management of a database containing a list of all persons receiving gifts from registered agencies, as well as lists of OW and ODSP clients with children who qualify for a Star Gift Box or gift certificate. Efficient centralized management of the database facilitates identification of potential duplicate applications (i.e., persons applying to receive gifts from multiple locations within the City). The central database is compiled through a number of processes relating to agency registration, registration of a family or individual, and the distribution of Toronto Star Gift Boxes and CHUM/City Christmas Wish Fund donations. A description of these processes is provided in Attachment 1. (III)
Sustaining the Christmas Bureau:
Expansion of TSS’ and the Christmas Bureau’s, roles and responsibilities in this period of limited resources, raises a number of issues. In particular, consideration of what is required in order to maintain the current level of service that the Bureau has provided, along with how to go about improving upon what has been achieved, is integral to ensuring ongoing success. The following section summarizes some of the key issues in this regard. (A)
Improved Co-ordination:
Effective co-ordination between the Christmas Bureau and community agencies and gift providers is fundamental to ensuring that the Bureau and its partners meet their goals. This is especially so given that while requests for toys has been increasing, donations have been decreasing. For example, CHUM/City reported at the 2000 closing meeting of the Bureau that although donations had decreased by 50 percent this past year, gift requests were up 60 percent. This is due in part to the reduced popularity of adopt-a-family programs that focus on individual families, as agencies are instead opting to disperse gifts more widely in the community. Also accountable for the increased demand were the extra requests of the Ministry of Community and
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Social Services (MCSS) in 2000 associated with fulfilling the Premier’s promise to ensure all of Ontario’s children receive Christmas gifts. In response, TSS has taken several steps to improve co-ordination between the Christmas Bureau and its partners. These include: (1)
liasing with agencies who were registered with the Bureau the previous year in the early fall to verify that all necessary information is updated. Through this exercise current and accurate agency information is made available to Bureau staff, thus helping to ensure that appropriate referrals are made;
(2)
meeting with representatives from the Toronto Star and CHUM/City Christmas Wish Fund to review and revise methods of obtaining and providing client data to the agencies while adhering to Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act guidelines;
(3)
promoting staff continuity at the Bureau from year to year;
(4)
providing off-site remote computer access to agencies in an effort to streamline referrals to the Bureau and to eliminate the need for agencies to have staff present at the Bureau location; and
(5)
incorporating recommendations from Christmas Bureau staff regarding revisions to the database technology that will help improve access and service delivery.
In addition to improvements that have already been implemented, several other recommendations have been proposed that will ensure better co-ordination. These include providing agencies with brochures or pamphlets that clearly explain the role of the Bureau, CHUM/City and the Toronto Star, using the Internet to communicate information to agencies, encouraging more agencies to use the Internet or e-mail to forward referrals, and identifying agencies offering donations to specific areas of need (e.g., there was a critical shortage of donations for teenagers and seniors in 2000). Finally, closer networking with MCSS officials is needed to ensure that if a repeated commitment to provide gifts for Ontario’s children is made by the Premier during the 2001 Christmas season, better co-ordination occurs. (B)
Working With the Community:
Given the intricacies of co-ordinating the distribution of gifts through hundreds of community agencies, it is imperative that effective communication channels exist between the Christmas Bureau and its partners. In order to solicit feedback from the various community groups involved in the performance of the Christmas Bureau, TSS holds an annual closing meeting with agency representatives to discuss the results of the past year, identify issues and make recommendations for improvements. At the 2000 Christmas Bureau closing meeting held in February 2001 and attended by representatives of the City of Toronto, Toronto Star, CHUM/City Wish and various other community agencies, the general view expressed was that the City of Toronto Christmas Bureau
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is an effective and necessary service. However, there were also several issues raised. Examples included the difficulties associated with adhering to area boundaries due to some areas of the City lacking agencies registered with the Christmas Bureau, the need for outreach to other community agencies on the importance of registering with the Bureau, a lack of staff continuity at the Bureau, and the necessity for the Bureau to reflect the needs of the community when contacted by potential donors (i.e., to stress the need for donations for specific groups such as teenagers and the elderly). TSS and the Christmas Bureau continue to work with the community in an effort to remedy these, and other concerns. Resourcing: For more than thirty years, TSS’ predecessors managed and co-ordinated the City’s Christmas Bureau with a set and distinct budget. However, in 1991, as part of City-wide budget reductions, the Christmas Bureau’s dedicated budget allocation was eliminated. Since that time, and despite ongoing budget constraints and Bureau growth, TSS has continued to operate the Christmas Bureau by diverting existing Division staff, resources and funds. Due to mandatory Provincial OW program targets and standards that must be met by TSS, the Division can no longer readily borrow existing staff, equipment and supplies to operate the Christmas Bureau in the required manner. As a result, there is a clear need to once again establish a distinct budget for the Bureau. Accordingly, TSS’ 2002 Operating Budget submission will include a specific provision for a funding allocation of $135,000.00 gross, $67,500.00 net, to the Christmas Bureau, for review during the 2002 budget process. These funds would cover the costs of a small number of staff allocated to the Bureau for up to six months, office equipment and supplies, and other ancillary needs. Conclusion: The City’s Christmas Bureau continues to play an integral role in co-ordinating the distribution of gifts to thousands of low income families and children. The ongoing success of the Bureau has encouraged more and more agencies to participate. This growth, coupled with an increase in requests for assistance during the holidays, and the added responsibilities associated with fulfilling the Premier’s Christmas promise to Ontario’s children, have generated uncertainty regarding TSS’ ability to maintain the Bureau’s current level of service. In response, this report has identified several issues that are key to ensuring the effectiveness of the City’s Christmas Bureau is sustained and its achievements built upon. These include improving co-ordination between the Bureau and participating agencies and organizations, continuing the close working relationship with community partners, and the provision of required resources (particularly a specific budget allocation). Contact: Heather MacVicar General Manager, Social Services Division Tel: 416-392-8952/Fax: 416-392-8931 Email:
[email protected]
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List of Attachments: Attachment 1: Christmas Bureau Functions _________
Attachment 1: Christmas Bureau Functions The Christmas Bureau’s various functions necessitate several processes integral to ensuring that the appropriate gifts reach the appropriate recipients. The processes relating to agency registration, registering a family or individual, and distribution of Toronto Star Gift Boxes and CHUM/City Christmas Wish Fund donations are described below. (A)
Agency Registration:
The Christmas Bureau operates publicly from early November to the end of December. However, administrative activities are initiated in August and are ongoing through to January. The Toronto Star and CHUM/City are the largest organizations involved with the Christmas Bureau, although many smaller agencies and volunteers also independently provide support to ensure that toys and gift certificates are distributed. To register with the Christmas Bureau an agency must first be of a “charitable” nature. If this is the case the agency then only needs to contact the Bureau at which time it will be assigned an identification number. Currently, 593 agencies are registered with the Bureau. This total is expected to grow further as gift providers continue to require registration with the Christmas Bureau as a prerequisite for agencies seeking to receive assistance on behalf of their clients. (B)
Registering a Family/Individual:
For a family seeking assistance at Christmas, the process is initiated by applying at a local community agency. The agency then completes a Christmas Bureau registration form on each family enrolled in its Christmas program and forwards it to the Bureau. The registration forms from each agency are then entered into the central database which lists individuals or families who have requested help from any agency or program. The database is then used to identify any duplicate requests for assistance at different agencies. A list of duplicates is printed on a daily basis and notice of duplication is forwarded to the second agency who has registered the same family and will be providing the same form of Christmas assistance. It is the agencies’ philosophy that the original agency to register the individual or family be considered the assisting agency. (C)
Toronto Star Gift Box:
The Toronto Star Gift Boxes are distributed to the children of OW and ODSP clients under the age of thirteen. To identify who qualifies to receive a Star Gift Box, TSS produces a list of families on OW or ODSP caseloads with children within the specified age range. Ongoing
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information (e.g., confirmation of the number of children under the age of thirteen, clarification of addresses, telephone numbers) is then provided to the Toronto Star as it undertakes delivery of the Gift Boxes. Additional lists are then provided as more Gift Boxes become available. (D)
CHUM/City Christmas Wish Fund:
The CHUM/City Christmas Wish Fund provides assistance in the form of toys and gift certificates. For toy allocation, the Christmas Bureau identifies and categorizes each registered agency into three general areas based on its needs: (1) large toys; (2) stocking stuffers; and (3) parties. Each agency is then assigned a toy registration number which verifies to CHUM/City that the agency has been registered with the Christmas Bureau and recipients have been checked for duplications. The gift certificates are intended for children aged thirteen and fourteen who did not qualify for a Star Gift Box due to their age. To accommodate this, the Christmas Bureau produces a list of families on OW or ODSP with children in the required age range. The gift certificates are then logged in the database and mailed to the families by TSS staff with an accompanying letter. This past year grocery store gift certificates were also made available by the CHUM/City Christmas Wish Fund. These were distributed upon request to families on social assistance by staff at the fourteen TSS office locations throughout the City.