Examples of How the Client Centred Service Approach Works

• A call comes into the switchboard in a District Office requesting information about the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS). The caller is a veteran but not a client of the Department. The call is then forwarded to a screener where it is determined that there is no "need" to address beyond the provision of information. The caller is given the appropriate information and a telephone number for GIS. No follow-up action is required.
• A veteran's wife calls into a Regional Inquiry Unit on her husband's behalf inquiring about his War Veterans' Allowance cheque that did not arrive this month in the mail as is customarily the case. The call is screened and it is discovered that the veteran has had significant changes in his health, is presently institutionalized, and the family is going through a number of painful changes. The screener addresses the problem of the missing cheque and a referral is made to the Area Counsellor for follow-up.
• A veteran calls a District Office about submitting a expense claim for physiotherapy. As a result of screening by the CSA, it is determined that there has been a significant change in the veteran's mobility. The screener provides the information requested about the travel claim and a referral is made to the Area Counsellor for follow-up.
• A veteran informs the local District Office staff that he will be going out of province for cancer treatment. The screener determines that the client is very anxious about accommodation, travel and general support at the destination. The client is referred to an Area Counsellor who initiates follow-up with the District Office at the destination site.
• A VIP client is functioning well, receiving groundskeeping and housekeeping services. Prior to recent changes in VIP, this client would have been followed-up annually by an Area Counsellor and visited for a comprehensive assessment every three years. As a result of changes to the mandatory follow-up for VIP clients, the CSA will now annually monitor low needs clients by telephone or mail thus freeing up the Area Counsellor to visit those veterans with a number of health complications who require more intensive monitoring and more frequent home visits.

For more information about CCSA, contact:

Todd Petrie
Project and Business Activities Coordinator
Client Services and Quality Management Directorate
Program and Services Policy Division
Veterans Affairs Canada, Charlottetown
(902) 566-8071