2017/18 PERSONAL SUPPORT WORKER (PSW) TRAINING FUND FOR HOME AND COMMUNITY CARE PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

Transcription

1 2017/18 PERSONAL SUPPORT WORKER (PSW) TRAINING FUND FOR HOME AND COMMUNITY CARE PROGRAM DESCRIPTION 1

2 Table of Contents 1. Introduction and Background... 3 a) Introduction b) Eligible Organizations c) Eligibility Criteria d) Eligible Costs 2. Roles and Responsibilities of a Lead Agency Application Process Key Contact Information

3 Introduction and Background INTRODUCTION The (ministry) recognizes the important role of personal support workers (PSWs) in the provision of care to Ontarians and supports initiatives to ensure that PSWs have the capacity to provide quality health care in Ontario. The objective of the PSW Training Fund (the Training Fund) is to develop and foster a competent PSW workforce to deliver high quality and safe client care in the home and community sector that meets client needs through enhanced PSW continuing education and PSW certification. Since 1998, the ministry has invested in PSW continuing education, in efforts to strengthen their capacity to provide care in the home and community care sector through the Training Fund. The ministry s 2015 Action Plan Patients First: A Roadmap to Strengthen Home and Community Care aims to strengthen the quality of services and care and standardize supports to keep people at home where they want to be, and out of more costly hospitals and long-term care homes. For the fiscal year 2017/18 the ministry is intending to provide funds to lead agencies for distribution to eligible home and community care organizations ( Eligible Organizations ) to support PSW continuing education and training. This document is intended to assist lead agencies and Eligible Organizations in applying for the receipt of funding in connection with the Training Fund for the 2017/18 fiscal year. In order to apply for such funding in connection with the Training Fund, Eligible Organizations are required to submit a training plan to a lead agency organization detailing the Eligible Organization s request for funding. Lead agency organizations are responsible for evaluating such training plan applications, including any required documentation in support of the application, in order to ensure the Eligible Organization s training plan is consistent with the purposes of the Training Fund and that the provision of funding to the Eligible Organization is appropriate. Please note that the Training Fund is a discretionary, non-entitlement-based ministry program. Any decisions concerning the allocation of funding in connection with the Training Fund is at the ministry s sole discretion and the submission of any application or any other information by an Eligible Organization or a lead agency organization in connection with the Training Fund does not entitle that organization to the receipt of any funding or otherwise bind the ministry to provide any funding to that organization. ELIGIBLE ORGANIZATIONS In order to receive funds, Eligible Organizations must: 3

4 a) provide community support services or personal support services in accordance with the Home Care and Community Services Act, 1994; and b) be in receipt of LHIN or ministry funding for the provision of such services. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR FUNDING Eligible Organizations may apply to receive funding in connection with the Training Fund for the following purposes: 1. Eligible PSW Enhanced Education specialized clinical training for PSWs who: o Are employed by an Eligible Organization; and o provide community support services or personal support services. The Training Fund provides reimbursement for expenditures for educational programs undertaken by an Eligible Organization for PSWs which must include one or more of the following subject matter areas: a) Specific diseases and/or chronic conditions For example: - palliative and end-of-life care: content and clinical training to support clients with life limiting illness; - chronic illness care e.g. diabetes: clinical and preventative care to clients with chronic illnesses to enable quality of life; - mental health care: content and clinical training to understand and recognize symptoms of mental health disorders in support of clients care; - physical disabilities: e.g. multiple sclerosis: content and clinical training to understand and support client care to enable quality of life. b) Specific populations (e.g. Indigenous communities, children, francophone, LGBTQ) For example: - Indigenous care: educational content and clinical training to support a culturally appropriate and safe environment for Indigenous people requiring the care of a PSW. - pediatric care: content and clinical training to provide care for children requiring the care of a PSW. c) Aging and/or geriatric care For example: - geriatric care: relevant content and clinical training opportunities for frontline PSW staff in geriatrics to raise awareness and address elder abuse and neglect of older adults; - Alzheimer s and dementia care: supporting and managing challenging and complex behaviours positively and safely; - preventing elder abuse: education to ensure safety and well-being of elders/seniors. 4

5 d) Other specialized training of a clinical nature (e.g. de-escalation, safe foot care, transfers) that will benefit client care. In order to be eligible for funding, the Eligible PSW Enhanced Education Program must: (i) be comprised of a minimum of 3 hours of instruction time for PSWs; and (ii) incorporate an outcomes-based evaluation component (e.g., follow-up survey developed by the ministry to evaluate whether the courses were meeting the needs of the PSW). Please also note that the following types of training are not considered to be Eligible PSW Enhanced Education: First aid / CPR Computer training Food handling / food and nutrition Health and safety / infection control Vehicle operations / maintenance Administration and documentation General exercise programs (e.g., Zumba) Educational Conferences Any PSW training that will be considered to be, or associated with, the regular operation or ongoing business requirements of the organization for its employees. 2. Eligible PSW Certification Training in respect of individuals employed by an Eligible Organization in order for such individuals to obtain an educational certificate as a PSW. Such Eligible PSW Certification Training must be provided by one of the following: a. An Ontario College of Applied Arts and Technology and approved for funding purposes by the Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development (formerly, Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities); b. A registered private career college that has received approval from the Superintendent of Private Career Colleges to offer the training and credential; or c. A publicly-funded secondary school within an Ontario district school board and whose program meets the provincial educational standard for the delivery of PSW programs. d. A bridging program that enables individuals to receive an educational certificate as a PSW from one of the approved educational institutions outlined above. ELIGIBLE COSTS The following types of costs may be eligible for funding in connection with the Training Fund: For Eligible PSW Enhanced Education: salaries/wages and benefits (as applicable) to backfill shifts for PSWs who are required to be away from their regularly scheduled 5

6 hours of employment to attend training provided under this Fund, for the hours spent in the classroom and on placement; trainer s fee, classroom rental and associated administrative costs 1. Note: If Eligible Organizations want to pool resources together to facilitate a training session. It must be noted on the training plan(s) who will be the lead and how costs are be distributed amongst the Eligible Organizations involved. For Eligible PSW Certification Training: salaries/wages and benefits (as applicable) to backfill shifts for PSWs who are required to be away from their regularly scheduled hours of employment to attend training provided under this Fund, for the hours spent in the classroom and on placement; cost of tuition fees, books and other educational materials. Note: Part-time students attending eligible PSW certification are not eligible for backfill of salaries/wages and benefits for hours in the classroom which are not within their regularly scheduled work hours, but are eligible for hours on full-time placement and all other expenses. The cost of travel and out-of-town accommodation, in a manner consistent with the Government s Management Board of Cabinet Travel, Meal and Hospitality Expenses Directive (amended January ). Out-of-town accommodation costs for those in areas of the province where geography or weather conditions preclude daily commuting to a home residence will also be considered. Vaccination costs required for institutional practicum that form part of the Eligible PSW Certification Training and are not publicly funded. For example: - Hepatitis B - Measles, Mumps, Rubella - Varicella Eligible Organizations may only apply to receive funding from the Training Fund to cover costs associated with Eligible PSW Enhanced Education and Eligible PSW Certification Training courses starting on or after April 1, 2017 and must be completed by March 31, Roles and Responsibilities of a Lead Agency Lead agencies are responsible for carrying out the following activities in connection with the Training Fund and for reviewing training plan applications for funding received from 1 Food and refreshments costs are not eligible for courses that are less than 6 continuous hours of training 2 6

7 Eligible Organizations with respect to the eligibility criteria (as set out above) established by the ministry: a) Providing outreach and engagement, initiated by the lead agency to all potential Eligible Organizations within the home and community sector within each geographic area (see Appendix A for number of potential eligible organizations by LHIN regions). b) Providing outreach and engagement, initiated by the lead agency to LHINs to identify training needs and gaps in the home and community sector in each geographic area. c) Providing assistance and support to Eligible Organizations regarding completion of proposed training plans, including: training focus area, length of training, eligible costs, other questions. d) Coordinating receipt of proposed training plans from Eligible Organizations and: i. reviewing them to ensure that they are consistent with the funding criteria established above by the ministry; ii. determining whether the educational program has merit and would involve an appropriate expenditure of funding; iii. clarifying and confirming information included as part of the training plan; iv. making a recommendation to the ministry with respect to the provision of funding to the Eligible Organization. e) Reviewing training plan submissions and submitting a proposal to the ministry regarding training needs, as determined by the training plans which provides the details of the training plans and budget requests received from Eligible Organizations. f) Providing a budget, as set out in the accompanying budget template, setting out the costs for the lead agency organization for administering the Training Fund program. g) In the event of an oversubscription of total requests for the Training Fund, the lead agencies will work with all potential eligible organizations and the ministry to provide revised proposals to the ministry. Priority for training will be given to obtaining new knowledge / skills beyond refresher courses. h) Coordinating information and data that is required in order to complete any necessary reports to be provided to the ministry. Including the administration of a course completion survey to be completed by the eligible organization and returned to the ministry. i) Maintaining appropriate financial and operational records relating to the Training Fund for auditing purposes. j) Maintaining responsibility for the total funding amount for Eligible Organizations as set out in accordance with transfer payment agreement (TPA) as between the ministry and the lead agency. k) Providing specified funding to Eligible Organizations, and entering into agreements with such Eligible Organizations prior to providing any funding to an Eligible Organization. l) Where the funding takes the form of a reimbursement, the lead agency must be satisfied that the Eligible Organization is requesting reimbursement that meets the eligible criteria in connection with the Training Fund. m) Ensuring receipt of periodic financial and operational reports from Eligible Organizations to whom funding was provided in order to ensure that funding is being used for approved purposes. 7

8 n) Submitting periodic financial and operational reports to the ministry. o) If the lead agency does not have sufficient expertise in evaluating PSW courses for quality, it is to establish an expert panel for the review of training plans submitted. APPLICATION PROCESS 1. The 2017/18 Training Fund will be coordinated and administered by lead agencies as per the Roles and Responsibilities of a lead agency section above. 2. Eligible Organizations interested in applying for funding in connection with the Training Fund will be required to submit a training plan to their lead agency based on Local Health Integration Network regions in order to be considered for such funding no later than June 23, Eligible Organizations are required to provide all relevant information to support their proposed training plan to the lead agencies (i.e. the type of Eligible PSW Enhanced Education or Eligible PSW Certification Training, the name/location of the organization offering it; associated costs; length of the Eligible PSW Enhanced Education or Eligible PSW Certification Training). 4. The lead agencies will be responsible for acting as the primary contact for Eligible Organizations regarding the submission of proposed training plans. Including any funding information from the ministry and status of funding approval 5. The lead agencies are required to submit the training plans they receive from Eligible Organizations to the ministry by no later than June 30, Key Contact Information For further information regarding this application process, please contact: PSWTraining@Ontario.ca 8

9 Appendix A: Approximate 3 Number of Eligible Organizations by LHIN Regions Local Health Integration Approximate Number of Lead Agency Network Region Eligible Organizations 4 Erie St. Clair 76 (1) Meals on Wheels London South West 19 Meals on Wheels London Waterloo Wellington 16 (1) AbleLiving Hamilton Niagara Haldimand 38 (1) AbleLiving Brant Central West 9 Links2Care Mississauga Halton 21 (3) Links2Care Toronto Central 55 (6) CILT Central 32 (2) CILT Central East 26 The Friends South East 9 Marianhill Champlain 44 (1) Marianhill North Simcoe Muskoka 11 The Friends North East 39 PHARA North West 5 14 Confederation College 3 Does not include multiple site counts with employers that have multiple sites. Does not represent an exhaustive list of potential eligible organizations. 4 Numbers in brackets (x) represent potential number of multiple site employers. 5 The Indigenous community in Treaty 3 will be represented by AKRC 9