Kawartha Lakes struggles to meet growing need for social services

City councillors told caseload already at projected levels for entire year

Kawartha Lakes human services manager Janine Mitchell delivered a sobering statement during her recent social services service plan presentation to council.

“Last year, we had one day where we had a full staff complement; it was in April,” Mitchell said.

Significant sick leave and absences are an ongoing challenge for social services said Mitchell, as staff do their best to meet the needs of Kawartha Lakes and Haliburton County recipients.

But that’s only one of many relating to the department’s service plan. A requirement under the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services Mitchell’s presentation highlighted such matters as caseload characteristics and lifestabilization strategies and influences.

One piece of data gathered from both Kawartha Lakes and Haliburton County that particularly concerned councillors related to caseloads that, currently, already exceed projected levels for the year.

While caseload numbers are roughly six per cent lower than pre-pandemic levels in 2019, caseload numbers have continually increased since 2021. Haliburton County caseloads are growing roughly four per cent faster than Kawartha Lakes.

Mitchell said, where the local caseload “should be” between 50 and 60 per staff member, the current reality is between 90 and 105.

To make matters worse, the ministry has set performance outcome targets that are not only “significantly above our 2023 performance outcome actuals,” but also above the provincial average.

When it comes to addressing caseloads, the department would require between four and six additional staff.

However, Mitchell is optimistic the municipality will have the ability to renegotiate these targets at the year two mark. Strategies are in place to best meet service and performance expectations.

Other significant details gathered from Mitchell’s presentation included:

■ Since the pandemic (2020), there has been a drastic increase in the average number of months on assistance. Couples and couples with dependents have the highest increase with average months on assistance. Looking back, time on assistance for couples has more than doubled since 2017 from 49 months to 112 months in 2023

■ From an age and gender perspective, more than half of all participants are under the age of 40. The highest number of participants, both male and female, are in the 30 to 34 range. Just over 45 per cent of female participants are single and 43 per cent are sole supports.

■ Ten per cent of intake requests for services, of which an average of 193 applications were completed monthly in 2023, were for Emergency Assistance.

■ Thirty per cent of requests for services for stability support (SS) were from low income and Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) households; 70 per cent from those receiving OW. Of all these requests, 85 per cent were related to housing stability

■ The average cost to rent a room only in the Kawartha Lakes and Haliburton County service area has increased by more than $220 per month; $24.50 more than the monthly OW amount ($733.00) for a single person. OW payments have not increased since 2018.

■ Transportation remains a top challenge for individuals (55 per cent) followed by learning and intellectual needs (38 per cent), education (34 per cent) and addictions and substance use (18 per cent). Many experience more than one.