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Community development is central to the SCC component of the Strategic Initiative, for it is at the community level that the transition must be made. The MSS, which currently delivers SNDC, has front line responsibility for the transition to SCC. MSS staff must work with communities to organize local procedures for making SCC a reality in BC. The transition components discussed in the previous section of this report are all intended to support and facilitate the transition at the community level. This section explores progress made in moving towards SCC. The information in this section is presented in relation to the nine geographic regions of the MSS.

Progress towards SCC has been substantial considering the effective start-date for the regions was October 1995. Even though communities are at varying stages, all have begun implementation from the early community education efforts to hiring SCC consultants. Table 3 provides an overview of progress in each of the regions. It should be noted that, although communities may progress in their transition to SCC at similar rates, the process (with the exception of a few key components) varies considerably among the communities.

Community education, the establishment of steering committees, and hiring of facilitators have been the primary focus in most regions during the 1995/96 fiscal year. A more detailed table identifying each community's progress - if they have a facilitator contracted, a steering committee in place, terms of reference, public forum, plan date, and issues - is provided in Appendix B. Progress varies considerably.

Steering committee membership was discussed in the interviews. Representation from a variety of stakeholders was noted, including parents, MSS staff, Child Care Support Program representatives, college representatives, service providers,⁵⁵ school district representatives, Infant Development Program representatives, therapists,⁵⁶ and Mental Health representatives (Child and Youth Mental Health).

This initial stage of development, ending with the development of a community SCC plan generally takes up to a year. As most of the communities initiated this process in October of 1995, they are well on the way to October 1996 implementation plans. Ten of the forty-four communities listed have established dates for the delivery of SCC Transition Plans.

Some regions with remote communities have experienced a slower start to the community development phase. Regional respondents attributed this to their location, accessibility, transportation, winter weather conditions, community participation, and staffing.

Where SCC programs already exist⁵⁷ (i.e. Campbell River, Courtenay, and Kelowna), respondents believed that positive outcomes had already occurred - families were served well and waiting lists were reduced. The efforts of the local steering committees and past staff of Child Development Centres were highly commended in these communities. Independent community-based programs had been established. At least one Area Manager was able to report that parents, who once took their children to specialized centres for half days followed by regular child care for the rest of the day, were now able to register their child in one typical setting and have the resources come to them. Regional respondents from these mature SCC communities believe that there are "more options available in the neighbourhoods" and that "a continuum of care" exits.

In order to make the transition, MSS regional staff in these mature SCC communities have discontinued the block-funding of spaces and have focused on developing inclusive resources within their respective communities. Generally, the movement to SCC has involved and capitalized on the expertise of specialized centres. On rare occasions, this movement may mean the closure of the centres, although to date, this is thought to have occurred only once. Mature communities have used individual SCC consultant contracts and/or agency contracts for SCC consultant services. Consultants provide outreach services to children who require extra supports in all types of child care environments.

The variety of SCC community development processes and plans will certainly result in a variety of delivery models throughout the province at the end of the SCC Transition Phase.

Table 3: SCC Transition - Community Progress (April 1996)

In 1995/96, a total of $978,000 was allocated to the regions to assist with community development and other transition activities.⁵⁸ Table 4 shows the budget and expenditures of each MSS region.

The expenditure data shows a surplus of $534,500 for the 1995/96 fiscal year. There are three reasons for this surplus. Firstly, the funds were not officially available until October 1995, some five months after the Strategic Initiative Agreement was signed. This delayed activities in each of the regions. Secondly, community planning activities such as hosting public forums, establishing community steering committees, contracting with SCC facilitators, are time consuming to initiate and complete. Thirdly, as each region or community began the year at different places along the path to SCC, some regions simply were not ready to spend the money at the time that it was available.

Table 4: 1995/96 Regional Budget Allocation
REGION	$ BUDGET	$ ACTUAL
A	$170,000	$ 63,633
B	40,000	14,555
C	154,000	90,099
D	70,000	38,371
F	45,000	20,674
G	72,000	21,428
J	186,000	61,662
K	125,000	95,760
L	116,000	31,317
TOTAL	$978,000	$443,500

In the 1996/97 fiscal year, the regions are likely to see increased expenditures. Many regional communities are just now starting intensive community planning exercises lead by contracted facilitators. Because of the delays in 1995/96, transition funding estimated for 1996/97 may require modification once communities have identified their needs and developed their SCC Transition Plans. One respondent summed it up,

"It was a mistake to plan for the transition funds in Year 1. Now we're ready with a plan but don't know if we'll have adequate funds available to implement it or whether we can carry unspent money from 1995/96 into 1996/97."

Revised transition budgets are under development. (Since this time, an announcement was made indicating that unspent funds from 1995/96 will be carried over into 1996/97.)⁵⁹

One FTE (full-time equivalent) was made available to the regions in addition to the 1995/96 funding allocation. It was shared amongst the regions, amounting to approximately six weeks per region.⁶⁰ The entire FTE was utilized. Typically, it was used for backfilling ministry staff positions that were responsible for initiating SCC in their regions.

Footnotes

55	Such as Child Development Centres if applicable and licensed and unlicensed service providers.
56	Such as speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, and physiotherapists.
57	Some communities have been working more or less within the SCC framework for three years or more.
58	This is included in Appendix A under the headings "Community Development" and "Transition Funding".
59	At least one regional budget will be impacted when it re-aligns the way families have previously funded their "special needs" child in typical settings. For example, in some smaller communities, parents had already been funding "extra support" in typical child care settings by using their "At-Home" funds. In the future, the supports will come from the MSS region via the SCC consultant. This will impact the overall regional transition budget.
60	Three regions did not use any additional FTE support.