Directorates
·	Director General's Office
·	Data Development
·	Strategic Evaluations
·	Partnership and Continuous Evaluations
Publications
·	Evaluation Reports
·	Evaluation Briefs
·	Labour Market Development Agreement Series
·	Lessons Learned Series
·	Evaluation Tool Kit Series
·	Evaluation Forum Newsletter
·	From Theory To Practice

As mentioned above, four resource centre sites were included in this evaluation: Sudbury, Windsor, Toronto and Ottawa. The Sudbury and Windsor sites had been the subject of a formative evaluation of jobLink in 1996 and several key informant interviews were conducted with RC representatives in this study to briefly update the information. Toronto, including two resource centres, had been evaluated in 1997. The Ottawa RC was studied in greater detail for this evaluation through an on-site visit and a series of key informant interviews.

Based on the various sources of information available, a summary of each jobLink resource centre included in the evaluation is presented below. First, a description is provided of the two sites that were the subject of an earlier formative evaluation of jobLink, Sudbury and Windsor. Second, a summary of the Toronto West and Rexdale resource centres is provided, including results from their local evaluation. Finally, the findings for the site visit to the Ottawa Resource Centre are presented.

2.1 Sudbury Central and Windsor Resource Centres Overview

A. Sudbury Central

Organization

jobLink resource centres were established in five locations in the Sudbury area: Sudbury Central, Sudbury East, Sudbury West, Chapleau, and Manitoulin Island. The focus of this summary is the Sudbury Central Resource Centre. As in the other resource centres in this area, MCSS was an operating partner of the Sudbury Central Resource Centre, providing funding for the RC as well as assuming responsibility for the day-to-day operations. The local Human Resource Centre of Canada (HRCC) was the other funding partner for the centre. Sudbury central did not form a local advisory committee during the implementation of the resource centre. There were 18 full-time employees that reported to the centre's manager. The centre's caseload was between 4,000 and 7,000 clients each quarter.

Services and Activities

In addition to the regular income support services provided for social assistance recipients (SARs), Sudbury Central offered counselling services and workshops to clients on topics such as job search skills. The self-serve facilities included access to:

• job banks;

• labour market information;

• computers with résumé writing and personal assessment software, and printers;

• photocopiers;

• documentation; and

• telephones and fax machines.

Partnerships

Of all the resource centres in the area, Sudbury Central was the largest and included staff/partners from HRDC, Youth Employment Services (YES), the YMCA, the Sudbury Vocational Resource Centre, the regional municipality Employment Support Services Unit and People United for Self-Help (PUSH). The distribution of responsibilities was based on the areas of expertise of each partner (e.g., youth, persons with disabilities). For example, the HRDC partner was mostly responsible for providing information on HRDC's training services and general employment insurance (EI) information (the HRCC provided EI services related to applications in another location). Proposals from sponsors/co-ordinators were assessed once a year during the annual budget planning process. External partners included the school boards and the MCSS Family Benefits Assistance (FBA).

All clients of the resource centre participated in an application and needs assessment process prior to referral to the centre's programs and activities. Aside from the job banks, services are largely restricted to social assistance recipients. Client information is maintained based on the initial application, as well as on referrals and staff-assisted interventions. All tracking is conducted electronically.

B. Windsor

Organization

The Windsor Resource Centre has three main partners: MCSS, HRDC and the City of Windsor. While none of the partners are co-located within the centre, the Employment Services unit of the City of Windsor is located within the same building, as is the HRCC. MCSS and HRDC provide the Windsor Resource Centre with core funding. MCSS also provides access to their programming, including services for welfare recipients. HRDC's primary role as an operating partner is to provide funding for the centre, but it also provides LAN administration, technical support and equipment. It is the responsibility of the City of Windsor to manage the day-to-day operations of the centre, which it does with minimal input from the other two partners. A local advisory committee, which was planned to provide guidance to the resource centre, was not established. Approximately 1,500 clients are served each quarter.

Services and Activities

The HRCC services within the centre include a complete line of services for EI recipients and job bank kiosks. In addition to offering basic services (e.g., employment counselling), the resource centre provides clients access to four job banks with Labour Market Information (LMI). The partners have succeeded in pooling their resources to offer many services including:

• résumé writing facilities;

• access to fax and photocopy machines;

• referrals to other sources of services within the community (e.g. child care);

• information for seniors;

• training facilities;

• Internet access; and

• counselling services.

Partnerships

The centre has developed partnerships with many organizations including a community college (St. Clair College), the Youth Employment Centre, the Unemployed Help Centre, the Windsor Board of Education, the Salvation Army and job clubs. The Youth Employment Centre and St. Clair College each provide counsellors on-site; the Unemployed Help Centre provides vocational counselling off-site as well as in-depth assessment services on-site. The HRCC itself has established partnerships with the community colleges for training activities, which are advertised at the centre. These partnerships, however, are expected to change with the devolution of responsibility for training delivery to the provinces under the impending Labour Market Development Agreement.

Case Management

Programs and services at the Windsor Resource Centre are targeted primarily to SAR clients, though non-SAR clients can have access to some services. Clients generally complete a self-assessment questionnaire prior to meeting with an employment counsellor. An opportunity plan, developed by the RC counsellor and client, provides a strategy for the client to return to work. Service delivery is tracked for those who receive staff-assisted services, and the centre uses a satisfaction questionnaire to track results on a yearly basis. There is no specific tracking mechanisms for the self-service facilities.

C. Windsor and Sudbury Formative Evaluation Feedback⁹

Implementation

In Windsor, the organizational structure and physical layout of the resource centre has been satisfactory according to key informants. Partners on site can share information and services and clients have access to many services within the same building. While a sense of rivalry among partners and staff was evident initially (largely due to perceived threats to job security), this feeling has faded with time.

In Sudbury, the formative evaluation results indicated some confusion regarding the roles and responsibilities of each partner. Accordingly, some respondents said that jobLink was not entirely successful in its attempt to reduce duplication in services. The reporting lines were also confusing for some of the staff/partners. Respondents from both Sudbury and Windsor concluded that there must be a clear understanding of the roles and responsibilities as well as the overall goal of the centre for it to be effective. The formative evaluation results indicated the importance of prior planning and needs assessment in ensuring that resource centres are a success.

Other issues, which were identified in the formative evaluation, pertained to the need to pay attention to the ongoing training needs of staff. In addition, the report noted the absence of consistent client information collected and maintained across sites.

Partnerships

Both sites involved multiple partners in the resource centre (partners are still active in the Windsor centre). Respondents from Windsor felt that there was little overlap between the partners on-site and that the working relationships between agencies were generally good. The private sector is not involved, however, on an on-going basis but the resource centre hopes to increase its involvement in the future, especially for training.

In Sudbury Central, the partnerships were sometimes difficult to manage; according to respondents, some partners came into the centre with a narrow agenda and high expectations and were disappointed with the experience because the centre did not meet their clientele's needs. Other respondents noted that the centre initially lacked direction, management did not consult partners adequately, and that co-ordination was poor. These factors improved over time.

The formative evaluation stressed the importance of partnerships in terms of increasing community ownership and ensuring that areas of duplication/gaps are properly addressed. Effective communication among partners and co-ordination among co-located agencies were identified as key ingredients of success.

Impacts and Effects

The objective of the Windsor and Sudbury resource centres was to provide co-ordinated employment services to social assistance recipients and other unemployed individuals. In Windsor, it was felt that this objective was achieved due primarily to the collocation arrangement. Clients have greater access to services through "one-stop shopping," and as a result often receive more specialized or appropriate employment services. The community overall recognizes this, according to some, and greater trust has been developed between the community and the partners since the resource centre was established.

The resource centres are also perceived to have been better able to respond to the needs of various client groups. The specialized expertise of community partners provides more sensitive and responsive services to client groups. Some gaps remain, however, such as for "English as a second language" clients and persons with disabilities.

Impacts and effects of the jobLink resource centre were also reported as positive in the Sudbury Central office. Sudbury Central clients were generally perceived to be satisfied with the centre's services. Most feedback, however, indicated that the centre only met part of its objectives. The marketing strategy was viewed as weak and the roles and responsibilities of each partner were not well understood. While there is no regular survey of clients conducted in Sudbury, respondents felt that the jobLink centre was successful in increasing the employability of many of its clients by raising their self-confidence, interviewing skills and knowledge of job opportunities.

2.2 Toronto West and Rexdale Resource Centres Overview¹⁰

A. Toronto West

The Toronto West Resource Centre serves clients in the area between Bathurst Street and Royal York Road on the east and west, and Lakeshore Boulevard to the south and St. Clair Avenue to the north. This geographic area initially corresponded to the service catchment areas of the Dovercourt and Dundas Street West GWA offices. In the beginning, the structure of the centre was an administrative linkage between the two separate GWA offices (i.e., Dovercourt and Dundas Street West); the Dovercourt office has since closed.

The centre offers consultation services, workshops, and provides self-service facilities including:

• job banks;

• labour market information;

• a programs and services database;

• computers (for writing résumés, flyers and for accessing the Internet);

• fax machine and telephones;

• photocopiers; and

• program documentation and newspapers.

Most of the clients of the resource centre are welfare recipients with a small but growing population from FBA, EI and other unemployed individuals. The centre is staffed from local through provincial governments. The day-to-day management falls under the jurisdiction of Metro Toronto. HRDC has never been actively present at the site, but provides information and contributes to the job banks of the centre. The centre uses posters, flyers, brochures and contacts with local community agencies to advertise its services.

B. Rexdale

The Rexdale Resource Centre provides a full range of self-directed resources and services offered by staff from municipal, provincial and federal governments who work in a co-located environment. Humber College is also represented at the site. Municipal officials are responsible for the day-to-day management of the centre. Although it was not planned that way, community partnerships have been established to look at community development. The clients of the resource centre include social assistance clients, EI recipients and other unemployed individuals.

As in Toronto West, the staff provides a full-range of services including counselling and workshops, but also more extensive employment counselling. Self-service facilities include:

• job bank kiosks;

• labour market information;

• computers for résumé writing;

• fax machines and telephones; and

• program documentation and newspapers.

The centre uses flyers, newsletters, group visits and team meetings to advertise its services. There have also been links established with community agencies in the Rexdale area.

C. Toronto West and Rexdale Formative Evaluations Feedback

The results of an evaluation¹¹ of the Toronto West and Rexdale resource centres concluded that the centres addressed a gap in employment services available to social assistance recipients and other unemployed individuals. Both clients and staff were satisfied with the resource centre model, reporting that the programs and services were useful in terms of building hard skills, as well as having softer impacts such as increased self-confidence. Two related areas were identified where the resource centres could be improved: development of the demand-side of the labour market by improving clients' access to job opportunities and increasing the accessibility of labour market information; and community development and partnership with organizations to enhance linkages and promote job development. The evaluation also examined the issue of on-site (i.e., located in a social assistance office or co-located with an established agency) versus off-site resource centres, concluding that each model had strengths and weaknesses, though site location was an important determinant of the client target group — off-site centres were more likely to attract a broader range of clientele.

2.3 Ottawa Resource Centre Overview¹²

Organization

The focus of this evaluation study was on one of three resource centres located in the Ottawa area. The RC, located in the west end of Ottawa in a suburban shopping mall, was opened in 1995/96. A Community Planning and Review Committee established the original goals and objectives of the resource centre. However, the Director of Employment Programs at the Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton is responsible for the centre and the RC manager administers the day-to-day operations. The resource centre has eight full-time counsellors, one full-time job developer, one part-time technical support staff and three full-time administrative staff. The centre is premised on a team approach. All resource centre staff report directly to the RC manager. In 1996, there were 2,713 new clients and 12,517 visits to the centre.

Services and Activities

Although the RC was designed to focus primarily on self-assisted services, short term, one-on-one counselling is available. Group counselling is also provided in the form of workshops, which cover various topics such as job search, interview techniques and résumé preparation. Basic computer training, addressing the fundamentals of word processing, is provided on an on-going basis (i.e., weekly) in order to raise clients' skills to a functional level. Staff-assisted services typically include employment counselling, assessments and referrals (e.g., referrals within the jobLink RC as well as to other agencies such as the Women's Career Counselling). Maintaining partnerships and contacts with other organizations is also important, particularly with respect to referring clients with needs beyond the mandate of the jobLink RC.

Employment counsellors are required to spend a portion of their time "on call." There are typically two counsellors situated out in the resource area at all times, available to answer any type of question to clients using the self-assisted services (e.g., providing help with the computers, providing advice on a cover letter or résumé). A small childcare area, monitored by staff periodically, is also available for clients with children.

The self-assisted services include the following:

• HRDC job bank kiosks;

• a job board;

• local newspapers;

• Internet access;

• telephone privileges for local calls;

• directories;

• facsimile/photocopy/printing services;

• access to computers and word processing software; and

• information regarding community organizations and programs.

Partnerships

Partnership has been a key ingredient of the Ottawa jobLink resource centres. Partnerships have been developed on several levels to meet a variety of needs. The establishment of the Community Planning and Review Committee represents a partnership of the diverse players within the Ottawa-Carleton community and has served to raise the profile of the jobLink resource centres, ease the co-ordination of services and improve the flow of information among service providers. The RCs have also gained a better appreciation of the mandates and activities of the various community organizations. The partnerships forged by the liaison workers with community-based organizations have served a similar function with respect to raising the profile of the RC and improving the flow of information.

By fall 1998, the resource centre's collocated arrangement with the local HRCC will be operational. This partnership will bring together the services and resources of the HRCC and the resource centre to serve the general public (including EI clients and SARs) in need of employment supports. Further, service access in the RC has been maintained during implementation of Ontario Works.

Case Management

Under jobLink, service delivery moved away from a one-on-one case management approach to a more self-assisted delivery approach. This has meant that employment counsellors do not maintain an on-going relationship with a single client, rather several counsellors may see the same client. If a client has no need of individual counselling or does not require help with any of the self-assisted resources, employment counsellors may have no contact at all, beyond an initial orientation meeting, with a particular client. The only criterion employed to screen clients is that they be receiving social assistance. Clients are generally referred to the RC by their caseworker or from other community organizations. While information was available regarding client participation in workshops and individual counselling, there was initially no tracking of the use of self-assisted services and little evaluation of outcomes beyond anecdotal evidence. Opportunities for clients to provide feedback include assessment forms provided following the workshops and resource centre evaluation forms that may be submitted anonymously. With the introduction of Ontario Works, however, an electronic scanner system has been developed to track client activities as they use the resource centre.

Footnotes

9	For more information on this evaluation, refer to Human Resources Development Canada, Final Report on the Process Evaluation of the Windsor and Sudbury Resource Centres, September 1996.
10	This section is based on Resource Centre Evaluation for Toronto West and Rexdale, February 1997 (evaluation conducted by Traurig and Sparks Inc.). Although the resource centres still exist, some information presented here reflects only the situation as it was in February 1997.
11	Ibid.
12	For a more detailed description of the Ottawa site, please refer to Appendix B.