January 17, 2020
Province Shares 12-Month Strategy for Transforming, Improving Family Services
To help ensure its programs and services will meet the needs of Manitobans now and into the future, the Manitoba government is implementing a transformation strategy focused on improving outcomes for vulnerable Manitobans, Families Minister Heather Stefanson announced today.
“We need to transform the way we provide services to Manitobans so that we are offering them a hand up, not a hand out,” said Stefanson. “The Department of Families has set out a 12-month plan that clearly outlines how we will work together to protect our children, reduce dependence on government programs, and strengthen Manitoba families and communities.”
A strategy document outlines the transformation agenda that affects every area within the department, and which will continue to influence its work in the years to come. Some priority areas include:
- exploring how to better meet the needs of people who access Community Living disABILITY Services through the ongoing implementation of an updated funding model, innovative supports and service improvements made in partnership with clients and stakeholders, and options to better meet the needs of First Nations people with disabilities;
- implementing targeted and customized supports for people who have the greatest opportunity to regain financial independence through employment, reducing their reliance on Employment and Income Assistance;
- building capacity in the community and among private-sector partners to deliver social housing, while continuing to invest in modernizing provincially owned and managed properties;
- transforming the child welfare system, with the goal of reducing the number of children in care and building stronger connections with culture and community, through a results-focused single-envelope funding model and new legislation based on the recommendations of the Legislative Review Committee; and
- improving early learning and child-care options for Manitoba families, by supporting the creation of new child-care spaces and more child-care options for families, while also reviewing the current funding model to ensure sustainability.
The strategy was first released to all department staff in December. Since then, senior staff have met with hundreds of employees at town-hall meetings to talk about the goals of the strategy and how their work will help achieve it. This work will continue over the coming months to help ensure staff remain engaged and informed.
The minister noted this work supports the objectives set out under the government’s broader transformation strategy. The department’s strategy document, Shared Priorities – Sustainable Progress: A 12-Month Action Plan for Manitoba Families, is available at www.gov.mb.ca/fs/pubs/shared-priorities-sustainable-progress.pdf and Transforming the Manitoba Public Service is available at https://mbmeasuringprogress.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/transformation_2018-1.pdf.
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