Early Bird Deadline for OMSSA's 2022 Exchange Conference is Wednesday!

OMSSA Exchange 9:00AM-12:30PM Daily

Register by April 27 to take advantage of our Early Bird rates. If you register five or more people, save 20% with our group rates!

REGISTRATION RATES

PROGRAM DETAILS

DAY 1 PROGRAM

OPENING KEYNOTE: Transformational Leadership in the Post-Pandemic

Dr. JP Gedeon is an award-winning corporate and motivational speaker and one of North America’s foremost experts on Personal Transformation and Transformative Leadership. He has developed a model of Transformative Leadership that bases itself on the empirical insights of scientific research in transformative psychology and combines it with the stark realities of the business environment.

In this presentation, Dr. Gedeon will help attendees think through the complexities of pandemic recovery. How do we lead at this time of profound social and economic change? Not only will his talk appeal to managers within CMSMs and DSSABs, but his work will also provide practical skills whereby all staff can nurture their ability to be leaders within their organizations.

Breakout A: National Child Care: Expert Insight As We Move Towards Implementation

Ontario has signed a deal to implement the National Child Care program with the hope that it will bring affordable childcare throughout the province. Now, the question on everyone’s mind is how do we effectively implement this program within our CMSM or DSSAB? In this session we’ve invited child care and early years experts who will discuss what this program could and should look like here.

Breakout B: Building an Effective Hybrid Workplace Culture

Over the last two years, efforts to create more flexible workplaces have accelerated. This panel will include a discussion of successful hybrid workplace programs in Ontario. Additionally, experts will provide insights into the benefits of providing remote work flexibility and will raise awareness around Ontario’s Right to Disconnect law, which is set to come into effect on June 2nd, 2022.

Breakout C: Improving Intake and Assessment: Using Equity-Based and Trauma- and Violence-Informed Care Approaches

This session will look at ways for improving intake and assessment from equity-based and trauma- and violence-informed approaches. Experts will discuss the benefits that come from these approaches, and we will hear from a CMSM that has been successfully incorporating these approaches to enhance their common assessment tools.

DAY 2 PROGRAM

OPENING PLENARY: Moving Forward Responsibly with the National Action Plan for MMIWG2S+

The 2021 National Action Plan (NAP) was developed in response to the Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, and the many demands to eliminate violence against Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGTBQQIA+ people.

This plenary lead by Gertie Mai Muise, a member of the Urban Sub-Working Group for the NAP, and Chief Executive Officer of the Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres, will introduce participants to the urban chapter of the NAP entitled Urban Path to Reclaiming Power and Place, Regardless of Residency. Participants will be Informed on who the USWG is, hear important highlights of the work around the National Action Plan for MMIWG2S+ and how to responsibly move the work forward in a good way.

KEYNOTE: Mitigating Unconscious Bias in Human Services

Unconscious bias can influence decision-making and health and wellness and organizational performance, and thus have a profound effect on the service users that CMSMs and DSSABs are assisting. This plenary session will introduce you to essential strategies for identifying biases and mitigating their impact.

It will be facilitated by Catherine Chambers, a social researcher and organizational development consultant. Catherine will provide an overview of structural and cognitive biases while elaborating on specific actions that can be taken to reduce their impact on staff development and the provision of human services. She will also share relevant insights from her work with organizations in a number of industries and sectors.

Breakout A: Supporting the Housing-Related Needs of Vulnerable Populations

In this presentation, you will hear MCCSS funded service providers provide insights about supporting the housing related needs of specific vulnerable populations, namely, survivors of human trafficking, survivors of domestic violence and adults with developmental disabilities. This session, highlighting both challenges and opportunities, will share leading collaboration and practices with service system managers.

Breakout B: Programs in Action: Anti-Black Racism and Workplace Equity

Last year’s OMSSA Exchange brought together several presenters in a plenary series to discuss anti-Black racism and workplace equity in broad terms. But what programs have been implemented by OMSSA members that have made measurable change? In this session we will hear from CMSMs and DSSABs that have developed effective programs that can be emulated by other members who are still seeking to enhance their work around anti-Black racism and workplace equity.

Breakout C: Human Services Programs at the Intersection of Mental Health and Addiction

Access to appropriate mental health and addiction services continues to be a significant barrier for many clients throughout the province. This panel will focus on the innovative programs that have been implemented by CMSMs and DSSABs as they have sought to overcome the challenges related to better assisting these vulnerable clients. Experts will provide insights into how to effectively mobilize limited resources to provide mental health and addiction support for service users. Additionally, this panel will include lived experience insight from a former client.

DAY 3 PROGRAM

OPENING PLENARY: Health and Human Services Integration

For all the negatives that have been brought on by the pandemic of the last two years, there have also been a few faint positives that have come from this crisis. In particular, important lessons have been learned about how to bring health and human services together.

This plenary will draw on the experiences of several CMSMs and DSSABs to provide a pathway towards meaningful integration between health and human services, including through innovative best practices and the development of Ontario Health Teams.

KEYNOTE: Rounding the Corner: Strategies to Refuel and Recalibrate for the Road Ahead

With some CMSMs and DSSABs reporting that the past two years have seen significant turnover and retirement of staff, it is evident that the mental health toll of the pandemic has been a key driver of this trend.

In this session, mental health expert Françoise Mathieu will guide both leaders and frontline staff through ways to recognize burnout and exhaustion in both themselves and others. Her talk will also offer practical tools on how to refuel and recalibrate to counter the effects of isolation and other challenges brought on by the pandemic.

This forward-looking session will offer participants evidence-based strategies to help refuel, repair and recalibrate for the path ahead.

A Let's Make It Demo: How DIY Can Help Build Your Team

Over the Day 3 break, attendees are invited to participate in a demonstration led by our Day 2 Keynote, Catherine Chambers.

Attend the Let's Make It demo and be automatically entered into a draw to win a virtual session and candle-making kit from Let's Make It - a $150 Value!

As the founder of Let's Make It, a makerspace studio that opened in 2013, and a researcher whose work focuses on the theorization of DIY and crafting, Catherine Chambers has amassed extensive data on linkages between the handmade movement, economic development and innovation. Through physical representations of handmade artifacts, and a hands-on demonstration, Catherine will share perspectives that explain why crafting is ubiquitous and as such, a vital component of social prescribing, team-building, employment, and education.

Breakout A: Innovative Housing Solutions

This session focuses on what role municipalities have in creating and planning affordable housing by looking at successful projects that have been completed or are underway. Experts will discuss successful projects focused on modular housing solutions, projects that help train OW recipients, as well as other programs that can be used to both train staff and educate the public about housing needs in Ontario. This panel will also include insight from a housing client that has benefitted from a unique project in Sault Ste. Marie.

Breakout B: Indigenous Cultural Safety

Indigenous Cultural Safety is a training program that focuses on how to deliver human services to Indigenous People in an equitable and safe way. This session will provide a primer on the benefits of this training by introducing attendees to the key concepts and practices that underpin this work. This session will benefit both leaders and frontline workers by introducing them to the skills that can better inform their work with Indigenous clients.

Breakout C: Life Stabilization Learnings: Practical Takeaways from the Prototypes

Efforts to develop a program around life stabilization have shown promise in the early stages, allowing individuals to better prepare for employment and find independence. Now, as the program expands and transitions towards ensuring stability supports, what has been learned from the experiences of the prototype regions? This session will bring together some of the prototype members to discuss employment services transformation in the context of their practical and day-to-day work.

The Ontario Municipal Social Services Association

30 Duncan Street, Suite 606

Toronto, ON M5V 2C3

416-479-1491

www.omssa.com

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