National Initiatives

National Settlement Service and Standards Framework

APPENDIX C
Summary of Responses to Questionnaire on National Settlement Framework and Standards

Conducted between December 2002 and April 2003
Total number of valid responses: 69
Response Rate: 42% outside of Quebec and 2 responses from organizations based in Quebec

A summary of the feedback is provided below with selected comments in italics.

Definition of Settlement

Settlement may be divided into short-term (initial orientation), intermediate term (adaptation), and long-term (integration) processes. The ultimate goal of settlement is for an immigrant to be able* to participate fully in, and contribute to the economic, social, cultural and political aspects of Canadian life.

Ninety percent of the respondents agreed with this definition of settlement. Many observed that the settlement process is neither neat and discrete nor a one-directional progression; rather, that it takes place in a complex societal context and is not necessarily accomplished in a prescribed time frame.

• Settlement is a long-term, dynamic, two-way process through which, ideally, immigrants would achieve full equality and freedom of participation in society, and society would gain access to the full human resource potential in its immigrant communities.
• Settlement is a continuum, with people entering and exiting at different points.

Definition of Settlement Services

Settlement services are interventions (or activities) designed to achieve the goals of immigrant and refugee settlement. Different service types/modalities covering a range of service areas commonly provided have been summarized and proposed as follows: (Table as in Chapter 2)

Ninety-four percent of the respondents agreed with this definition of settlement services and found that the range of settlement services their agencies provide are included in the service types. Ninety-three percent of the respondents found that the service areas named reflect services provided by their agencies. Some of the service areas are felt to be unnecessary for agencies in rural areas.

• The 14 service areas are specific. The data collected and categorized is very general. The nature of settlement work is vast in description. The captured data does not entirely represent the essence of the work.

The common positions that specialize in specific services may be categorized as follows:

1. Employment-related:
   • Employment counsellors, job-search workshop facilitators, job-search workshop liaison workers
   • Employment consultants for foreign trained professionals
   • Job developers (make employer contacts for local job leads; create opportunities for job placements and volunteer work experience for clients)
   • Technical career facilitators in pre-employment programs (help with resumes and basic computer skills)
2. Housing-program workers [eviction prevention workers] (define barriers to securing and maintaining housing, and help clients overcome them; negotiate with landlords; work in conjunction with placement programs)
3. Social workers, family resource workers, case managers, seniors workers, youth workers, and pastoral workers in family support programs, peer support programs with trained community members in first language or ESL format, or domestic violence treatment programs
4. Adult education officers in citizenship preparation programs, ESL/LINC programs coordinators and instructors, CLBA assessors, and child-care workers
5. Volunteer coordinators, coordinators of community-bridging or volunteer programs, qualified professional volunteers for psychological therapy related to trauma
6. Anti-racism and cultural diversity trainers in programs and services related to multicultural health, gambling, leadership development, mentoring, recreation, or race relations.

Indicators and Benchmarks of Settlement

While 92 percent of respondents believed it would be helpful to conduct a longitudinal study of clients to study service impact after three or six months, and at intervals of one to three years, such a study appears highly infeasible for settlement agencies. An overwhelming number of respondents cite the lack of financial and human resources and expertise for a longitudinal study. Other practical considerations cited are high mobility of the client population, lack of clear indicators, client concern about privacy, language barrier, and difficulty in attributing client changes to the services of the receiving agency. The evaluation methods commonly adopted by settlement agencies are logic model, outcomes model, informal consultation or focus groups, anecdotal information from clients, client referral or complaints, client satisfaction survey, performance-based outcomes, goal-attainment scaling, annual client evaluation forms or surveys, and analysis of quantitative statistical information on demographics, number of services and clients. Some agencies have generously shared their relevant documents; some have been mentioned or appended in this document. Other agencies are prepared to share documents in a workshop setting.

Factors preventing longitudinal studies from being conducted:

• There are many variables affecting the settlement of an immigrant. The lack of coordination in the service systems of HRDC and CIC keep the supports for social and economic integration from being delivered in a holistic way, and thus stand in the way of the development of an outcome measurement of true settlement. As well, there is a lack of resources to track outcomes.
• Development of tools; language barriers; staff time/financial resources; privacy issues and possible misunderstanding of intent.

Agency Accountability Through Competent Board Governance

Seventy-four percent of the responding agencies have benefited from discussion or information on board recruitment, composition and succession guidelines compared to 16 percent that have not. Sometimes the board’s nomination committee will review the skills set required, or implement recruitment plans. Some agencies provide development or training for their board and a board manual that discusses rotation and succession. Some agencies have their own resources, while others access community resources such as local bodies or provincial umbrella bodies. However, in smaller communities these may not be as readily available.

• Our by-laws call for rotation of board members and a nomination committee to recruit candidates.
• Our board of directors has an active governance committee that organizes and implements a board training program that includes internal and external information exchange and use of outside consultants.

Seventy-seven percent of the agencies have had discussions or information sessions on board roles and responsibilities versus management roles and responsibilities, while half have done the same for governance practices.

Agency Accountability Through Competent Management

Nearly 80 percent of the agencies have benefited from information sessions or discussions on strategic planning know-how to develop vision, a mission, and measurable objectives, compared to 10 percent that have not; 10 percent did not answer. The varying responses reflect the range of agencies across Canada: from small or young agencies that have never discussed these items to those that conduct planning annually, biennially, or every three or five years. Some use external consultants while others attend workshops provided by provincial bodies.

• The area of measurable objectives is fairly new. Efforts to provide some agency training and resources for staff and board members would be beneficial to expand knowledge in this area.

Eighty-three percent of the agencies have had discussions or information about policy development in various areas such as human resources, confidentiality, anti-discrimination, volunteer management, and conflict of interest, while 9 percent have not.

In terms of financial planning, monitoring and reporting, 80 percent have had information or discussions about the subject, and only 12 percent have not. Most agencies have their financial planning monitored by board committees and an external auditor as well as by funders.

• We have a finance manual developed by our accountant.

Program Standards

Agencies use a variety of approaches to settlement services, but the comments largely reflect a client-centered approach and attempts to set parameters while remaining flexible. Most respondents checked off more than one response. Forty-two percent provide services as long as their clients require them, and make up for the shortfall in funding through voluntary or fundraising efforts. Thirty-two per cent provide services within funder-imposed limits, 15 percent provide services within agency-imposed limits, and 9 percent provide services that the settlement staff decide to be appropriate.

• The settlement staff use their discretion and are guided primarily by the needs of clients.
• For us, we have to take 3 factors into consideration: 1) community need; 2) staff capacity, and agency capacity; 3) risk factor to the organization and staff.

In terms of program planning and delivery, 54 percent of the agencies adopt an organic and informal approach, often seizing an opportunity, while 24 percent adopt a more formal and involved planning process, often linked to a strategic planning process. A significant number (23 percent) did not indicate whether their agencies have standard procedures or guidelines for program planning and delivery. Delivery in some agencies is based on funders’ guidelines, and a few larger agencies have written service delivery protocols.

• We have a formal annual planning process that culminates in a service plan and budget for the following year. This process involves analysis of service trends and data, identification of gaps, review of performance of existing programs, review of budget trends and performance, client feedback, and the priorities of funders.

Core Competencies of Settlement Practitioners

Among the respondents, 59 percent of the agencies have a standard performance evaluation tool or procedure for settlement service workers, while 28 percent do not; 13 percent did not respond. Again, a wide range is found among agencies, from no tool to performance management that is based on outcome or worker competency profile, annual priorities and other values. Besides the conventional supervisor evaluation, other methods of evaluation in one agency also include peer evaluation, self evaluation, video evaluation, and client evaluation.

• The performance management system is outcome based, depending on annual guidelines and priorities (60 percent). The other component is based on values, such as initiative and dependability (40 percent). All are discussed and agreed upon by staff and supervisor.

When asked if they have a pay/salary scale for settlement staff and perform annual salary reviews, 60 percent responded in the affirmative while 35 percent responded negatively and 5 percent abstained. The process for reviewing salaries varies widely. The salaries at some agencies, mostly in Alberta, have been frozen for several years. There are also agencies with no pay scale but ad hoc salary increases, and some with a systematic way of dealing with salary increases, including collective bargaining.

• We have a salary administration system where staff dependent on their position is assigned a salary grade. Six incremental step increases are made over a 10-year period based on the employee’s length of service.

The median length of stay is more than four years for seventy-four percent of settlement staff, compared with 49 percent with a median length of stay of over six years. Nineteen percent have been there between two and three years, while only 1 percent has been on staff for less than a year. Five percent did not respond.

• It varies from one year to 11 years. It depends on the program stability and pay. A number of the staff moves on to other agencies due to higher pay and stability of programs. It is difficult to provide individuals an increase in wages or stability without core or multiyear funding.

In terms of qualifications, 77 percent of settlement staff have language skills that allow them to relate to client groups, along with social service work experience; 71 percent also have college diplomas or bachelor degrees in a related field, and a further 25 percent hold masters degrees or a PhD. This means that 96 percent of staff is highly educated in a related field. Staff also claim competence in a number of other important skills, including cultural sensitivity, knowledge of community services and resources, and sensitivity to and knowledge of immigrant and refugee issues. Five percent abstained from answering the question.

Increasing the Profile & Recognition of the Settlement Sector

Over half of the respondents were somewhat satisfied with the current level of outreach to make newly arrived immigrants and refugees aware of settlement services, but only 7 percent were very satisfied. At the other end of the spectrum, one-quarter were somewhat dissatisfied and over 10 percent were strongly dissatisfied with the current level of outreach. Three percent abstained from responding. There is a significant level of concern over the role of CIC in delegating outreach authority to a single agency and over the fact that many immigrants are still unaware of settlement services upon landing, sometimes for a prolonged period of time.

• Pamphlets at the airport are effective but are not available to all immigrants. CIC should invest in advertising in the ethnic media.
• Some CIC information (such as information to family-class immigrants) has actually informed some immigrants that they are not entitled to services.

Among the responding agencies, 44 percent are strongly or somewhat satisfied with the current level of collaboration with other sectors, such as linkages with employers or education sector. Fifty-four percent are not satisfied, and 3 percent did not answer.

• Linkage with employers as a core activity of settlement service should be part and parcel of the funding so that clients receive a continuum of services with employment being the first need considered in the initial to intermediate phase of settlement process.
• Whereas other agencies, health care, social assistance, educational agencies are helpful and easy to access, it is a big challenge to find cooperation from the professional bodies and employers.

Seventy-eight percent of respondents disagree, including 57 percent that strongly disagree, that the settlement sector has reached the maximum level of advocacy with various politicians and levels of government to gain legitimacy and funding support, and the sector is under-funded, with underpaid highly skilled workers. Multi-year funding is also advocated. It is felt that the long-term benefits to our society of integrating newcomers have been under-recognized.

• We also need to encourage the creation of professional associations across the country to enhance the profession, monitor standards, and promote professional development opportunities on a provincial and/or national basis.
• The lack of awareness and support among politicians and levels of government about the settlement sector and the needs of immigrants is appalling. The fact that Citizenship & Immigration Canada has increased its immigration targets but has not increased its budget for settlement services indicates that there is inadequate support, from the top down.

A remarkable 78 percent either strongly or somewhat agreed that a national body dedicated to settlement issues would be critical to raising the profile of and support for the settlement sector, while nearly one in five were either strongly or somewhat against the idea. However, the comments reveal a significant number of qualifications behind the support, with concerns about another layer of bureaucracy, limited funds directed away from direct services, duplication with existing national and provincial bodies, and the effectiveness of a national body in addressing local and regional issues. Many respondents also indicated that achieving the goals would require the strengthening of existing local, provincial and national bodies.

• The time is long overdue for providing resources to help the development of a Settlement Workers Professional Association.
• Depends upon things such as representation, funding, and mandate.
• It is important to have a dialogue, undertake a feasibility study and environmental scan to determine the viability but the dialogue needs to occur.
• The CCR already has a settlement working group which could provide the focus and foundation for a national body. In the private sponsorship sector we have RSTP and the NGO-Government Committee.

Index