10.0 Recommendations

Roles and responsibilities of the City of Windsor staff and service providers

City of Windsor
As the provincially designated Service Manager for Windsor and Essex County, the City is responsible for the planning and management of the housing and homelessness service system and is responsible for ensuring emergency shelter services delivered meet both the expected outcomes of the provincial CHPI funding as well as any future vision for emergency shelter services that is approved by City Council and articulated in the 10 Year Housing and Homelessness Master Plan. The City should continue to administer and ensure contract compliance with Service Agreements between the City and third-party organizations that deliver shelter services. The City should ensure service quality assurance by providing oversite for the implementation of the standards to be established for shelter services. The City should work with service providers to meet the standards, including supporting service providers to build organizational capacity through information sharing, technical assistance, coaching, resource development, and facilitating training. The City should continue to develop standards that improve the shelter system’s efficiency and capacity to generate positive outcomes for stakeholders and clients. The City should also continue to organize and facilitate meetings with service providers to enhance communication, service coordination and support best practices.

The City should engage in a number of activities and use a variety of tools to ensure quality of services:

Operational Reviews

The City should conduct service provider reviews of funded shelters to ensure that shelter service providers are in compliance with the Service Agreements and the standards that are developed for shelters. These reviews could include a review of service providers’ services, budget and related submissions, financial controls, capital assets, and administrative functions.

Site Reviews

The City should conduct reviews of service provider’s sites to ensure their buildings are well -maintained and their infrastructure is in a state of good repair to ensure health and safety of clients, staff, and volunteers. This could be conducted through By-Law, Building or Fire, or in partnership with these departments, as well as in partnerships with Public Health.

Service Delivery Reviews

The City should conduct service delivery reviews in order to ensure high-quality service delivery to clients. These reviews could focus on service models and processes and endure compliance with the shelter standards to be developed for shelters and should include surveys and interviews of clients and non-shelter users.

Reviews of Complaints or Appeals

The City should have a process to review any complaints of clients that have exhausted a shelter service provider’s complaints and appeals process.