The DTSSAB announces appointment of new CAO, Mark Stewart

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On behalf of the DTSSAB Board of Directors, I am very pleased to announce the appointment of Mark Stewart to the position of Chief Administrative Officer for the District of Timiskaming Social Services Administration Board effective March 21, 2022.

Mark’s appointment reflects the Board’s confidence in his ability to lead the organization in achieving success with current and future initiatives. Mark’s commitment to leadership, his perseverance to ensure the needs of individuals we serve are met, as well as his professionalism, open communication, and integrity are all essential qualities for this important role.

Mark is a familiar face to many, as he has been an integral part of the DTSSAB’s Senior Leadership team as Director of Client Services over the past fifteen years, supporting effective DTSSAB Board and Senior Leadership decisions. Mark has demonstrated progressive leadership skills throughout his 23-year career at DTSSAB, having worked within the human services sector for 25 years.

Our Board believes that Mark’s dedication to the organization, his experience and knowledge of our programs and services, his community partnerships, as well as his leadership qualities position him for working effectively with management and staff to deliver on plans which are in line with our Vision, Mission and Values.

As Mark prepares to begin his new responsibilities, the leadership role of Director of Client Services will be recruited promptly.

On behalf of the Board, I would like to congratulate Mark on his new role and extend our deepest gratitude to Kelly Black for her steadfast leadership as CAO since 2019.

We look forward to working with Mark in this new capacity and ask you to join me in welcoming Mark as your new Chief Administrative Officer.

Derek Mundle

Chair, DTSSAB Board of Directors

The DTSSAB announces funding for the launch of Community Paramedicine Long-Term Care

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The DTSSAB is pleased to announce the district is receiving funding in the amount of $2.5 million dollars from the Ontario Ministry of Long-Term Care for the development and delivery of the Community Paramedicine Long-Term Care (CPLTC).

The DTSSAB has been delivering the Community Paramedicine High Intensity Program since March of 2021 which has had a positive impact in our communities for the health and well-being of our patients. The funding through the CPLTC is to be disbursed over 2.5 years ending in March 2024 and will be used for the creation of the delivery of Community Paramedicine program, specifically addressing the needs of long-term care patients building on the success of the High Intensity program.

The ability for DTSSAB EMS to provide care to long-term care patients within their home will benefit the district’s entire health care system through reduced 911 calls, emergency room visits, hospital admissions, and stabilization of long-term care waitlists. The increased integration between home, community, and primary care can also help bring peace of mind and a sense of stability to individuals, families and caregivers who are waiting for long-term care placement. The Community Paramedicine Long-Term Care Program’s intention is to work in collaboration with existing practitioners to enable management of chronic health conditions at home, hopefully minimizing instances of patients going into crisis. In the future, this program may also include the use of Remote Patient Monitoring, which will increase the capacity of patients the program can undertake.

The delivery of the CPLTC will reflect the collaboration and partnership between the DTSSAB EMS and Home and Community Care who will determine eligibility of individuals for the CPLTC making referrals to the DTSSAB EMS for receipt of services.

“The DTSSAB is grateful to the Province for the funding allocation for the delivery of the CPLTC within the district of Timiskaming” states DTSSAB Chair Derek Mundle. “The delivery of CPLTC will make a difference in the lives of many residents in our communities”.

The DTSSAB EMS is presently in the process of recruiting additional community paramedics to support the additional patient caseload. The DTSSAB anticipates having the CPLTC ready for roll out by April 2022. The program is being tailored to be maximally effective for the Timiskaming District to assist as many patients as possible.

2022 DTSSAB Budget Approved

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The District of Timiskaming Social Services Administration Board (DTSSAB) passed its 2022 budget at its meeting on February 16, 2022. Board Chair Derek Mundle stated “in 2022, as in every year, the DTSSAB is cognizant of the impact of our budget on our municipal partners. The Pandemic continues to impact municipalities and we worked diligently on maximizing the financial contributions from the senior levels of government to minimize the impact on the municipal budget.”

The overall 2022 DTSSAB budget is $39,087,424 which is a 10.69% increase over 2021. The budget funds the following four programs in the district: Ontario Works ($11,803,507), Children Services ($10,312,427), Housing Services ($7,279,902) and Emergency Medical Services ($9,651,488). The increase in the overall budget is due to one-time Provincial funding provided to our Emergency Medical Services and Children’s Services Programs, an increase in our Homeless Prevention funding and a projected increase to our Ontario Works Caseload resulting in approximately $3,400,000 increase to the overall budget. Increases in our Housing Services and Emergency Medical Services programs have resulted in an increase to the municipal apportionment of 2.97% ($199,149). This year the Board chose to remove funds from our working fund reserve in the amount of $200,000 to reduce the billing impact to municipalities and the unincorporated townships.

“The 2022 budget is a good budget for our municipal partners. The DTSSAB delivers these services on behalf of the district municipalities, and we strive to ensure that our operational costs do not exceed the expectations of the municipalities. This year we were able to deliver a 2.62% increase despite much higher increases to costs to operate our programs and especially with increased costs due to the pandemic.” commented Chair Derek Mundle

The municipal share of the overall budget is $6,902,043 (17.7%), the Territories Without Municipal Representation (TWOMO) contributes $1,830,911 (4.7%), federal/provincial share is $30,075,170 (76.9%) and contributions from reserves of $279,300 (0.7%) comprise our revenue sources.

“Over the years the Board has kept the municipal apportionment as close to 0% as possible despite increases in salary and benefits and operating costs such as hydro and fuel, by using contributions of our reserves. Since 2008 we have used $2,324,100 from our working fund reserves.” noted Mr. Mundle. The Board, which consists of seven appointed municipal representatives and two elected representatives from the territories without municipal representation, bring the viewpoint of the local taxpayer and their municipality to the table and ensures that the budget is fair and responsible in delivering the services that the DTSSAB has been mandated to deliver. Our focus is always maintaining or increasing our services without having a negative impact on our municipalities.

For further information on the budget, please contact Kelly Black at 705-567-9366 ext. 3253 or 705-568-7791.

Timiskaming Community Safety and Well-being Plan

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Community Safety and Well-being Plan

The District of Timiskaming is creating a Community Safety and Well-being Plan. Community Safety and Well-being Plans combine the strengths of partners in the community with the unique needs of the area to work towards being a safer, happier and more cohesive community.

Community Input

The community will help to shape the plan and focus on key issues. The survey includes questions about your day-to-day life, health, education, employment, safety, leisure, and recreation experiences, as well as what you think about living, working and playing in your community. By sharing your experiences and what matters to you, you help to shape life in your community, determine key priorities, and indicate where you think change is needed most.

Please only complete this survey if you live in of the District of Timiskaming or Temagami region. The Timiskaming District includes all residents who live in Matachewan in the west to Kearns in the east, and Sesekinika in the north to Temagami in the south, and all areas in between.

This survey should take approximately 15 minutes to complete. The survey responses are being confidentially collected and only overall results will be shared. There are no questions that ask for individual identifying information.

There are no mandatory questions. If you wish to participate you are free to fill out only the questions you are comfortable answering.