Client Centred Service Approach

By adopting the Client Centred Service Approach (CCSA) as the philosophy of Veterans Affairs Canada's (VAC) Client Services, we are choosing a service approach which emphasizes providing "service" to you, our client with or without the provision of "benefits". Because CCSA aims to ensure that each client receives a level of service appropriate to their needs, our staff will be able to provide more personalized caring service. In this way, those clients with higher needs will receive greater support from and contact with, skilled staff within the Department as well as with outside agencies.

Our service approach is based upon a model of service delivery that responds to the unmet needs of the individual client, no matter what their age or circumstance. Clients and their families are actively involved in decision making. When a client contacts Veterans Affairs Canada, they will follow a structured needs-based process including:

• Client contact with VAC (reception service)
• Screening that leads to Information, Assessment or Targeted Assistance, then
• Resolution, Action plan, Implementation and Follow-up as required

The screening process, which helps to identifiy those clients who may need our assistance, and assessment of clients' needs, are critical components of the service delivery model.

Screening

All staff who have direct contact with our veterans or other clients will be trained to use a screening tool, which is used to identify those clients who may be experiencing difficulties coping due to a change in their circumstances of which our staff may not be aware. As a client, you will be asked if you would answer a few questions about your day-to-day life, as part of the screening process. Those clients who may have unmet needs are then referred for additional services that may include a needs assessment.

Assessment

Assessment is a process where an Area Counsellor and a client work together to identify unmet client needs and strengths and decide on the outcomes to be achieved together. Because the Service Delivery Model emphasizes the needs of the individual, skilled staff must take the time required to assist the client and their family in understanding their joint needs and circumstances, and then develop a plan of action with them to ensure their well being and quality of life. The assessment is used to develop a care plan to link needs with programs and services both inside and outside the Department and may also draw on the advice and expertise of other team members such as health professionals and experts in the community.

In organizing our operations to provide improved services to our veteran clients whose needs are changing rapidly, and to our younger Canadian Forces clients with different but complex needs, we are well positioned to serve any clients with complex or diverse care needs. By implementing the Client Centred Service Approach, our aging veterans and other clients with complex needs will receive the right service at the right time by the right person.