Reopening of the DTSSAB Offices

The DTSSAB is committed to supporting individuals in need throughout the community. In reflection of Ontario’s present position in the Roadmap to Reopening, our offices are open for in-person appointments.

 The DTSSAB is open during regular business hours for in-person services; weekdays 8:30 am to 4:30 pm and closed between 12:00 pm and 1:00 pm. Read more about our service locations and office hours here: https://www.dtssab.com/office-location-hours

 We are committed to keeping the public and staff safe through strict adherence to safety protocols as set out by Public Health, including but not limited to:

• Social distancing

• Wearing of masks or face coverings

• Screening of all visitors at reception

• Enhanced cleaning protocols

• Plexiglass barriers

• Availability of secure drop boxes

 If possible, please call our office to schedule an appointment in advance. Walk-in services are available.

 Please note, our open status is dependent upon Public Health’s recommendations, any changes will be communicated through public channels including social media and press releases.

 We look forward to reconnecting with you in person!

Are you experiencing homelessness? Help us increase awareness of homelessness.

Housing Services online applications are now available

The DTSSAB’s Housing Services Program is pleased to announce that Online Applications are now available at https://www.dtssab.com/hs-apply-for-housing

• Online Application is available 24 hrs./day

• You will need a valid current email and to create a personalized account

• You will be asked to upload eligibility documents based on your application

• You submit your application online when complete

• You can check the status of your application through your account

• We will contact you through your account/email

Targeted School-Aged Emergency Child Care in Timiskaming

Beginning April 19, the District of Timiskaming Social Services Administration Board, in collaboration with our Licensed Child Care Centres and Licensed Home Childcare Providers, will be implementing emergency childcare during the current stay-at-home order and provincial emergency.

The Ontario government has opted to move elementary and secondary schools to remote learning following the April break. This move has been made as a preventative measure in response to the rapid increase of community transmission of COVID-19 cases, and the increasing risks posed to the public by COVID-19 variants across the province.

Licensed childcare programs will continue for younger children, which includes infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. Childcare programs that are co-located within a school may continue as approved by individual school boards. As part of this order, before and after school programs, and Early ON programs will be closed.

Beginning April 19, Emergency child care services for children 3.8 to 12 years old (junior kindergarten, senior kindergarten and school-aged children) will be available at no cost for provincially identified essential service workers who are not able to acquire alternative child care and/or are unable to accommodate care at home for their school-aged children. We would like to remind everyone that the safest option for families is to have children remain at home, if possible.

The DTSSAB will continue to work closely with the Timiskaming Health Unit, Licensed childcare providers and local school boards to identify interest and prepare for the opening of emergency child care locations for school-aged children. Information will be posted on www.dtssab.com/childrens-services once details are confirmed.

Inquiries can be directed to DTSSAB Children’s Services at our toll free numbers 1-888-544-5555 or 1-800-627-2944.

UPDATE: Application forms for Emergency Child Care for School-Aged Children are below and available in French and English.

Targeted Emergency Child Care – School-Aged Children Application Form (English - PDF)
Programme de garde d’enfants d’urgence ciblé – enfants d’âge scolaire (Francais - PDF)

COVID Cases identified at 25 Tweedsmuir in Kirkland Lake

The Timiskaming Health Unit has identified that as of 3:00pm on March 19th four residents at
the multi-residential complex on 25/25A Tweedsmuir Road in Kirkland Lake have tested
positive for the COVID-19 virus. One of the cases is associated with a variant of concern. As
the owner of the complex, the District of Timiskaming Social Services Administration Board is
working with health unit staff to complete all necessary contact tracing and coordination of
testing for residents and employees as required.

Throughout the pandemic, the District of Timiskaming Social Services Administration Board
has been taking all necessary precautions based on Public Health Ontario's Infection
Prevention and Control guidelines to reduce the risk of infections and prevent transmission of
COVID-19 among employees, residents and visitors. "We take our responsibility to ensure the
safety of our residents and staff seriously and are committed to supporting the health unit until
the situation at our complex is resolved," said Chair Doug Jelly.

The District of Timiskaming Social Services Administration Board employees will continue to do
whatever we can to prevent the virus's further spread. We will continue to work in collaboration
with the health unit until the situation at the housing complex is resolved. We will provide
updates as information is available. We want to thank everyone for their support by continuing
to follow public health guidelines.

Kelly Black
Chief Administrative Officer

Request for Proposal - Community Safety & Well-being Plan

The District of Timiskaming Social Services Administration Board (“DTSSAB”) wishes to embark on a process to develop a Community Safety & Well-being plan on behalf of our 23 member Municipalities and the Municipality of Temagami (The “Municipalities”) in accordance with the Police Service Act.

To that end the DTSSAB is looking for a proponent to assist in:

• Leading a planning process that will engage all 24 communities within the catchment area and ensure multi-sectoral buy-in while meeting legislative requirements:

• Supporting an Advisory Committee and a multi-sectoral Working Group(s) as required in identifying priorities, determining outcomes, selecting strategies, developing an implementation plan along with monitoring and evaluation indicators: and

• Embedding the planning process within the Municipalities.

For more information please see our RFP document below.

RFP-2021-01 (PDF)

NOSDA Names New Executive Director

The Northern Ontario Service Deliverers Association is pleased to announce the secondment of Fern Dominelli as its new Executive Director.

“The need for a pan‐Northern strategy and plan focused on strengthening our communities’ human services systems has never been greater” stated Janet Gawne, Chair, NOSDA “We are excited to have Mr. Dominelli join our organization as the Executive Director to support our members and work closely with our northern municipal associations.”

Mr. Dominelli brings with him over 35 years of leadership experience in the human services sector and will lead NOSDA into post‐pandemic work focused on strengthening Northern Ontario’s affordable housing, social assistance, employment, childcare and paramedic services systems.

“I am proud and honored to have the opportunity to lead NOSDA and its members into a new and exciting future for the human services sector,” said Fern Dominelli. “I look forward to strengthening NOSDA’s strategic partnerships and continuing to build on our members’ incredible work which is already contributing so much to Northern Ontario’s economy and municipalities.”

In Northern Ontario, a group of 10 District Social Services Administration Boards (DSSAB’s) and the one Consolidated Municipal Services Managers (CMSM) have joined together to form NOSDA to create a more effective and holistic approach to supporting families, community, and industry in Northern Ontario.

2021 DTSSAB Budget Approved

The District of Timiskaming Social Services Administration Board (DTSSAB) passed its 2021 budget at its meeting on February 17, 2021. Board Chair Doug Jelly stated “in 2021, as in every year, the DTSSAB is cognizant of the impact of our budget on our municipal partners. The Pandemic has been particularly hard for municipalities and we worked diligently on maximizing the financial contributions from the senior levels of government to minimize the impact on the municipal budget.”

The overall 2021 DTSSAB budget was $35,313,048 which is a 1.25% increase over 2020. The budget funds the following four programs in the district: Ontario Works ($10,323,965), Children Services ($9,773,958), Housing Services ($7,144,615) and Emergency Medical Services ($8,030,410). The increase in the overall budget is due to a shift in our Emergency Medical Services to 24/7 Supervision that will also help improve response capacity across the District resulting in a 2.0% ($131,274) increase to the municipal apportionment. This year the Board chose to remove funds from our working fund reserve in the amount of $166,100 to reduce the billing impact to municipalities and the unincorporated townships. Once again, we have used our working fund reserve to ensure the overall impact to our municipal partners is 0%.

“This is good news for our municipal partners,” commented Chair Doug Jelly. “The DTSSAB delivers these services on behalf of the district municipalities and we strive to ensure that our operational costs do not exceed the expectations of the municipalities and this year we were able to deliver a 0% increase. We were able to deliver a 0% increase budget to our municipalities despite much higher increases to costs to operate our programs especially with increased costs due to the pandemic.” commented Chair Doug Jelly

The municipal share of the overall budget is $6,702,894 (19.0%), the Territories Without Municipal Representation (TWOMO) contributes $1,774,587 (5.0%), federal/provincial share is $26, 532,567 (75.1%) and contributions from reserves of $303,000 (0.9%) consists of our revenue sources.

The result is eleven municipalities in the district will see a decrease and twelve municipalities will see an increase in their 2021 municipal billing. Of the twelve municipalities seeing an increase only six have an increase greater than 1.0%. The reason for a small number of municipalities seeing a decrease is a combination of assessment increases and/or Ontario Works caseload increase.

“Over the years the Board has kept the municipal apportionment as close to 0.0% as possible despite increases in salary and benefits and operating costs such as hydro and fuel, by using contributions of our reserves. Since 2008 we have used $2,124,100 from our working fund reserves.” noted Mr. Jelly. The Board, which consists of seven appointed municipal representatives and two elected representatives from the territories without municipal representation, bring the viewpoint of the local taxpayer and their municipality to the table and ensures that the budget is fair and responsible in delivering the services that the DTSSAB has been mandated to deliver. Our focus is always maintaining or increasing our services without having a negative impact on our municipalities.

For further information on the budget, please contact Kelly Black at 705-567-9366 ext. 3253 or 705-568-7791.