However, despite differing mandates and delivery structures, the services and programs contribute to the overall health and well-being of communities and residents of the City. It is now commonly recognized that a strong social infrastructure is a key factor in ensuring economic competitiveness, liveable, sustainable communities, and a high quality of life for residents. And it is increasingly clear that resilient, accessible and adequate community and health services are among the key building blocks on which a region=s economic prosperity and social cohesion depend.

Recognizing this, each of the official plans for the former Metropolitan Toronto and the area municipalities acknowledge the importance of social programs and services in ensuring a healthy social region. As examples, the former Metropolitan Toronto and the former City of Toronto have established strong precedents for leadership in social infrastructure planning .

Through the 1991 Social Development Strategy, Metropolitan Toronto established clear goals and principles related to social equity, and service access which were the underpinnings for the community services system. The Social Development Strategy=s goals were also incorporated into the region=s Strategic Plan and Official Plan. The importance of an integrated, comprehensive planning approach was clearly recognized.

In 1989, the Board of Health in the former City of Toronto released AHealthy Toronto 2000@ which was premised on the broader social determinants of health model. This model looks at the various elements of urban life as being interrelated and interconnected. This led to the creation of the Healthy City Office with the responsibility of ensuring that city programs addressed community-based social issues. In addition the official plan of the former City of Toronto included a strong emphasis on quality of life and social equity considerations. This was realized through policies that focused on the importance of providing adequate social infrastructure at the neighbourhood level.

Thus, the programs and services that comprise the social infrastructure in the new City have a strong history of community-based service delivery developed in response to local needs. The attempt by the former local municipalities and Metro to plan and coordinate these services and programs is consistent with the broader recognition of the importance of social infrastructure in ensuring a high quality of life in urban areas.

A key opportunity, therefore, resulting from amalgamation is the new chance to develop an integrated social policy and planning framework, or social development strategy, to guide the development of a strong social infrastructure that is effective and responsive in meeting the needs of residents and communities.

Responding to Emerging Needs:

Over the past decade, City residents have experienced rapid economic and social changes. Fundamental changes in the labour market have adversely affected a substantial number of people, many of whom face long periods of unemployment for the first time in their lives. New needs have continued to arise due to the City=s changing demography, home as it is to many newcomers, to an aging population and to changing family and community configurations.

A number of groups are particularly at risk in this environment. The increase in both the number of people who are homeless and the number of children growing up in poverty provide clear evidence of the growth of vulnerable populations. Overall, these changes have resulted in new and more urgent social needs, which have, in turn, placed growing demands on the City=s community social and health services.

Broader Context:

At the same time, all governments have been struggling with the pressures to reduce, or at best maintain, funding for social, health and educational services. Over the past decade, the health and social welfare systems that provide the safety net for all Canadians have been undergoing fundamental reforms.

Policy and program reform at the senior levels of government throughout the 1990's has been dominated by three major imperatives: downsize, devolve and reduce deficits. The impact of these directions on social and community health programs is unprecedented in the post-war period.

At the federal level, the passage of the Canada Health and Social Transfer Act, accompanied by significant funding reductions for health and social programs, has effectively signalled the federal government=s withdrawal from social programs. Federal income support programs, like Employment Insurance, now provide lower benefits to fewer people as a result of policy changes to benefit levels and eligibility requirements. Ongoing federal and provincial discussions on social policy reform are premised on the provinces having an increasingly prominent role and enhanced responsibility for social and health programs. The federal government is also looking to devolve federal responsibilities for social housing and immigrant settlement services to the provincial government.

At the provincial level in Ontario, there have been sweeping legislative and regulatory reforms across the social and health policy envelopes, as well as substantial reductions in funding infrastructure. New social assistance legislation and the introduction of Ontario Works have resulted in the most significant changes to the social assistance and employment services system since the 1960's. Health care reforms are impacting hospitals, the system of community-based mental health services, and the long term care system, which includes home care, supportive housing, homes for the aged, as well as the range of community-based services for seniors and the disabled. In public health, changes to the Mandatory Health Programs and Services Guidelines will be finalized this year.

In addition to this, January 1, 1998 marked the implementation of the provincial downloading exercise, AWho Does What@. As a result, the City is now the main funder of social housing, alongside the federal government. It also now has sole responsibility for funding most public health services. All social assistance programs - even provincially- delivered programs - are now cost-shared by the new City. Child care is now a mandatory service, with a broader range of programs and management responsibilities being devolved to municipalities.

The past efforts of the former local municipalities and Metro in ensuring a strong social infrastructure has resulted in international recognition of this urban region=s high quality of life. Given the broader mandate and expanded roles of the City, it is more imperative than ever before that the solid social infrastructure be retained and sustained in the future. A social development strategy can provide the vision necessary to keep the city on the right path.

A broad consultation on amalgamation, with more than 600 representatives of the community-based social services sector was conducted by Metro Toronto and the Social Planning Council over the summer and fall of 1997. The result of this consultation, a report entitled the AThe New City: More than Bricks and Mortar@ contained a series of policy recommendations premised on the primary role the City now has in sustaining and developing a social infrastructure that is responsive to local communities and residents= needs. Chief among these are the need to form a Acivic alliance@ between the City and the community sector; to maintain a stable funding base for the community-based service system; and to ensure equitable and acceptable service levels and service quality across the municipality.

Purpose and Objectives:

The ultimate purpose of a social development strategy for the new City is to contribute to the maintenance of a strong social infrastructure that meets the diverse needs of communities and residents. The social development strategy will provide the necessary framework for coordinating, and integrating the new responsibilities for community social and health services in the City of Toronto.

The specific objectives of a social development strategy must be to:

(a) establish a social development vision;

(b) articulate values and principles;

(c) establish broad goals and objectives for social infrastructure planning and service provision; and

(d) establish broad outcomes to assist in assessing the effectiveness of programs and services in meeting social and health needs.

To achieve these objectives, a social development strategy with the following components is proposed:

(1) A New Social Vision

With its new and expanded mandate for social infrastructure, the City Council, in partnership with the community, has the opportunity to articulate its vision for the future, and to provide leadership in social infrastructure planning and social development in the City of Toronto. This is an appropriate and necessary role for the new City and one that requires clear political leadership. There is a strong precedent on which to build. The past social development initiatives in the former area municipalities and Metro provide a good starting point from which to develop a new social vision.

The community-based services sector has recommended that one of the first priorities for the new Council should be to draft a Social Charter. A social charter is a good vehicle through which to communicate the City=s vision and the values and principles underpinning it.

(2) A Social Infrastructure Plan

Through a social infrastructure plan the City will establish the broad strategic framework for the provision of the community social and health services and programs provided by the City. The strategic goals and priorities established through the framework form the basis for service planning, management and delivery within the Community and Neighbourhood Services cluster.

Social infrastructure planning also provides a strategic framework within which service delivery options can be assessed. A challenge for the new City will be ensuring that service delivery is as efficient, effective and coordinated as possible. An integrated planning approach that focuses on outcomes for communities and residents is a valuable tool to assess how services are best organized, coordinated and delivered.

(3) A Social Monitoring and Reporting System

A key element of a social development strategy is monitoring and reporting on social conditions in communities, setting targets for improvement, and reporting on social progress. The community-based sector recommends forming a new civic alliance between the City and community sectors to begin to define new standards for health and social well-being in communities. These standards, or outcomes, will support decision-making regarding policy directions, and resource allocation, and provide one basis from which to assess the effectiveness of service delivery across the community and neighbourhood services cluster.

Process Considerations:

Community partnership

A consistent message emerging from the community-based sector is the need for a civic partnership for social development. The social development strategy forms the basis for that partnership. It is recommended that a community development approach, that recognizes and legitimizes this partnership be adopted in developing this strategy, and that each element of the strategy include community participation.

Linkages with other initiatives

City council has already identified priority areas that require immediate attention. Toronto Council has appointed a Children=s Advocate to create an agenda for children and lead the development of a children=s strategy; a Task Force on Homelessness and a Task Force on Seniors are anticipated; and a Summit on Youth Employment is being developed. Linkages between these initiatives and the social development strategy will be critical.

The social development strategy must also be linked with the Official Plan, economic development, cultural, land use, infrastructure and environmental planning in the new City and ultimately be incorporated into the Strategic plan.

Time lines

It is proposed that key stakeholders be consulted over the next 2 months with respect to the approach and elements for developing a social development strategy. It is critical that representatives from the community-based service sectors, the local social planning organizations, the business community and ratepayers have an opportunity to provide input into developing the plan for a social development strategy.

Following this consultation phase, a report recommending a consultation strategy, process, timetable and budget will be submitted to Community and Neighbourhood Services Committee for consideration and approval. It is anticipated that the priority for 1998 will be to establish a new social vision for the City. In 1999 and 2000, the priority will be developing a social infrastructure plan that incorporates the vision and principles, and implements ongoing social monitoring and reporting, based on outcomes.

With the continuing devolution of responsibilities for social and public health programs, the City of Toronto now has unprecedented management and funding responsibilities for key community social and public health programs and services that comprise the social infrastructure in this urban area. To effectively meet its residents= needs, Council must find ways to maintain and improve the provision of services to City residents. This requires strong Council leadership and a strategy to support the integration and coordination of new service responsibilities.

This report proposes initiating the process of developing a social development strategy for the new City and recommends the Acting Executive Commissioner begin by consulting with key stakeholders on a process, timeline and budget.