Goals, Objectives, Strategies and Results

Ministry Goals and their Linkage to the Five Great Goals

The Government's five great goals for a golden decade include:

1. Make B.C. the best educated, most literate jurisdiction in the continent.
2. Lead the way in North America in healthy living and physical fitness.
3. Build the best system of support in Canada for persons with disabilities, special needs, children at risk and seniors.
4. Lead the world in sustainable environmental management, with the best air and water quality, and the best fisheries management — bar none.
5. Create more jobs per capita than anywhere else in Canada.

The ministry supports Government's five great goals in a number of ways. The ministry is responsible for services that assist women, and their children, who have experienced abuse or are at risk of abuse, for providing support to the Premier's Council on Aging and Seniors' Issues, and for policy work to support seniors, women and their children, those living in inner-cities and communities in transition. This work will contribute to Government's second and third goals of leading the way in North America in healthy living and building the best system of support in Canada.

Urban planning, including regional growth strategies and infrastructure grants for water and sewers to ensure that urban areas have the capacity to grow in ways that are sustainable, supports the Government's fourth goal to lead the world in sustainable environmental management. Revitalizing inner-cities contributes to the fifth goal for creating more jobs per capita than anywhere else in Canada. The BladeRunners program, which gives at-risk youth the opportunity to enter the construction industry, directly relates to this goal for employment as do efforts to maximize economic opportunities for women, for those living in inner-cities and for those in communities in transition. The ministry's work to provide access to information, such as the one-stop access to information for seniors and resource guides, to the public, clients and local governments supports the Government's first goal of having the best educated, most literate jurisdiction in the continent.

The ministry performance plan summary (next page) highlights the ministry's goals, objectives and measures that hold the ministry accountable for these responsibilities. The goals and objectives have been revised to support Government's five great goals.

Ministry Performance Plan Summary

The ministry has updated its goals and objectives to reflect the business focus of the new Ministry of Community Services. The previous plan was based on a much larger range of programs. A number of new objectives and performance measures have been added.

Performance Plan

The ministry has a unique role in government, working collaboratively with a variety of partners to support strong, safe and healthy communities. It provides various tools and services to local governments to address diverse community needs. The ministry works in collaboration with all orders of government, businesses, community agencies and communities to support safe and economically viable inner-cities.

The ministry supports local governments by providing a modern legislative, regulatory and policy framework, expert advice, problem-solving expertise and best practices tools. It has also developed and led the implementation of the Community Charter. The Charter ensures local governments have the right balance of flexibility and accountability to meet the needs of their citizens.

Key strategies include:

1. Supporting local governments to address community needs by using the powers provided by the Community Charter;
2. Working with regional districts to develop regional growth strategies;
3. Assisting local governments with incorporations, amalgamations and boundary extensions;
4. Facilitating productive relationships between local governments and the Province;
5. Developing strong, mutually beneficial partnerships with the federal government; and
6. Facilitating productive relationships between First Nations and local governments.

Performance Measure:

Regional planning: Communities benefit from the opportunities provided by population growth but must also prepare for the challenges that growth brings, particularly in the high growth areas of the province. The ministry works with local governments to ensure that planning policies are in place to accommodate significant population growth. The number of regional districts in identified high population growth areas that have completed regional growth strategies is a measure of the ministry's success in assisting communities to plan for growth effectively.

The ministry supports local governments by providing the legislative, regulatory and policy framework that helps establish the long-term sustainability of communities and encourages local governments to adopt the principles of environmental stewardship when planning for and utilizing locally available resources. British Columbia's sustainability is improved through the allocation of funds for "green" infrastructure projects that enhance the quality of the environment and protect human health.

Key strategies include:

1. Encouraging efficient and effective use of public funds to maximize the impact of capital infrastructure funding;
2. Managing sewer and water infrastructure capital funding programs; and
3. Negotiating the extension of federal-provincial infrastructure capital grants programs.

Performance Measures:

Drinking water and environmental protection in British Columbia: The Canada/BC Infrastructure Program (CBCIP) contributes funds to communities to enhance the quality of drinking water or sewage treatment. Project funding under the CBCIP moves British Columbia forward as a leader in drinking water quality and sustainable environmental management. The drinking water and sewage treatment systems indicator is the proportion of British Columbians that receive services from municipal drinking water and liquid waste management systems using infrastructure that meets emerging standards.

Collaboration among orders of government, businesses, community agencies and communities is critical to address inner-city issues such as poverty, homelessness, unemployment, public safety, addiction, other health issues and economic revitalization.

The ministry is experienced in fostering partnerships to reduce barriers and work on common issues affecting inner-city communities. The ministry does not deliver programs or services. Instead, the ministry has been successful in using a horizontal approach through urban development partnerships to further the creation of vibrant inner-city communities across the province.

Key strategies include:

1. Increasing the capacity of government and communities to address issues facing inner-cities in B.C.;
2. Implementing the Inclusive Olympic Commitments¹¹ with partners;
3. Facilitating the employment of at-risk youth through the BladeRunners program; and
4. Facilitating systematic policy change that results in improvements for residents and businesses in inner-city communities.

Performance Measures:

Inner-city partnerships: The number of partnerships formed is an indicator of the first step towards success in addressing inner-city issues. The best known example of this is the Vancouver Agreement. This agreement is a federal/provincial/municipal initiative to support sustainable development in the city's Downtown Eastside neighbourhood. Discussions are underway with Prince George, Surrey and Victoria which have also expressed interest in partnership agreements.

New revitalization initiatives: The number of revitalization initiatives for Vancouver's Downtown Eastside demonstrates success in collaboration among the three orders of government in addressing and resolving inner-city issues. Examples of initiatives include implementing the 2010 Inner-city Inclusive Commitments with the 2010 Vancouver Organizing Committee and economic revitalization through working with the other governments, business and residents.

At-risk youth moving into employment: The number of BladeRunners participants moving into employment is a measure of success of this program. Successful BladeRunners participants have increased self-reliance which in turn reduces the cost to the province for income assistance.

The ministry supports a number of initiatives designed to ensure seniors and women have enhanced opportunities to participate in community and economic life and improve their well-being. The ministry builds relationships, collaborates with and informs other ministries, other orders of government, private sector stakeholders and community groups about the issues affecting seniors and women. Success in this area depends on the efforts of these many partners.

Key strategies include:

1. Delivering shelter programs to women and their children leaving abusive relationships;
2. Delivering counselling services to women who have experienced abuse and their children; and
3. Making outreach services available to women.

Performance Measures:

Women and their children leaving abusive relationships who received shelter: The number of women and children sheltered through transition house programs indicates the number provided with safe shelter when leaving abusive relationships.

Women and their children counselled to address the effects of domestic violence: The ministry funds counselling for women who have experienced abuse and children who have witnessed abuse. The number of women and children receiving counselling is an indicator of those who will be better able to cope with the after-effects of abuse, or the impacts of witnessing abuse.

Women who received outreach services: The ministry funds outreach workers to support women at risk of violence or who are recovering from violence. These workers also support community-level violence prevention initiatives. The number of women served is the measure of women who receive assistance from an outreach worker.

The ministry is committed to promoting and supporting women's participation in every facet of life in British Columbia. Working with other orders of government, across sectors and in communities, the ministry strives to ensure the unique needs of women are addressed and integrated into public policy, legislation, programs and services. The ministry identifies and communicates emerging trends and key issues affecting women to government and the public to inform policy development, program direction, and decision-making regarding the needs of women.

Key strategies include:

1. Designing a mentoring program for women entering or re-entering the labour force; and
2. Developing resources to enhance women's awareness of options for participating in the economy.

Performance Measures:

Mentoring program for women entering and re-entering the labour force: A mentoring program is being designed for women who have never been in the workforce or who are re‑entering after a long absence. This measure provides women with support to participate in the economy.

Resources to enhance women's awareness of options for participating in the economy: Examples of these resources include guides for starting a small business and for growing a business. The measure demonstrates that the ministry is providing resources to women to facilitate their participation in the economy.

Awareness and understanding of the unique needs of an aging population are critical to preparing communities to address issues regarding transportation, health care and access to information about government programs and services.

Key strategies include:

1. Building awareness and understanding of issues related to planning for an aging population;
2. Providing seniors with greater access to information; and
3. Providing support to the Premier's Council on Aging and Seniors' Issues.

Performance Measures:

Seniors' Access to Information: The ministry will develop, in consultation with senior-serving ministries, information to facilitate access to government programs and services for seniors. The number of resources added is a measure of the success of these services.

Premier's Council on Aging and Seniors' Issues: The ministry provides support to the Premier's Council on Aging and Seniors' Issues and works with staff in other ministries to provide support to the Council on addressing issues such as health, housing, home care, retirement and quality of life.

This ministry promotes a positive work environment built upon respect and collaboration between employees and employers in a culture where learning and development are continuous and innovation is welcomed, recognized and championed at all levels. In this environment, employees are provided with the tools and support to deliver the ministry Service Plan.

The Human Resource Plan for the ministry addresses the competencies and development needs identified in employees' performance and development plans. It also ensures staff are able to successfully deliver the ministry's goals and objectives and to further their career progress.

Key strategies include:

1. Developing and implementing the ministry's Human Resource Plan;
2. Assisting employees in developing and enhancing competencies for their respective positions; and
3. Supporting managers' and supervisors' ability to enhance employee performance.

Performance Measures:

Employee Performance and Development Plans: Participation rate is key to successfully implementing this new feedback tool. Each staff person has an individual performance plan that is linked directly through their branch plan to the ministry's Service Plan and in turn to the government's strategic plan. This ensures that everyone knows how they are contributing to the ministry's and government's overall goals and direction.

Human Resource Plan: The ministry Human Resource Plan is integrated into the existing service and budget planning cycle to ensure that staff can successfully deliver the ministry's goals and objectives. Implementation of the plan will support the ministry in developing a culture where human resource best practices are applied.