Download Solution to York Region Human Services Funding Gap

Population-Based Funding -- Solution to
York Region Human Services
Funding Gap
The Human Services Planning Coalition (HSPC) was established in 2001 to find
solutions to long-term, sustainable, integrated planning and funding of human services in
York Region. The HSPC partners include representatives of government, service
provider agencies and corporations, the non-profit sector, and consumers of human
services.
The Human Services Funding Gap across the GTA
In 2007 the Strong Communities Coalition, led by United Ways of Peel, York, Durham
and Halton and the GTA/905 Healthcare Alliance issued a Report entitled Growing
Pains: an Urgent Message from the Strong Communities Coalition. The Report,
completed by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC), found that the annual funding gap for
provincially funded social services in the GTA/905 has grown over the last several years
to more than $550 million, while the health care gap alone is over $990 million. The
Report confirms that the gap is exacerbated by the population “surge” over the GTA/905
regions, which is projected to continue over the next 20 years.
The PWC Report cites other factors responsible for putting enormous pressures on the
regions including:
• The fact that new immigrants have accounted for half of Ontario’s annual
population growth over the past 10 years, with Peel and York having the secondhighest volume in the country; and,
• That the GTA/905 is aging at twice the provincial rate and, is becoming
increasingly culturally and socio-economically diverse.
The HSPC endorsed the Recommendations outlined in the Growing Pains Report
calling on the Government to act now to reduce the human services funding gap by:
1.
Immediately providing growth funding for health and social services in the
GTA/905 regions of Durham, Halton, Peel and York.
2.
Revising the way the province allocates funding for health and social services
across Ontario so that it is distributed on the basis of population size, growth and
characteristics – that is, fundamentally population-based.
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3.
Developing a health and social services strategy for Ontario’s high-growth
regions to complement Places to Grow, and that this strategy be developed in
consultation with the GTA/905 stakeholders, including members of the Strong
Communities Coalition.
The Human Services Funding Gap in York Region
The HSPC has been monitoring the gap in human services funding in York Region since
2001. The HSPC proactively responds to rapid growth and diversity in York Region by
sharing resources, knowledge and best practices. The HSPC has updated its assessment
of the size of the gap for Human Services funding in York Region. The total size of the
funding gap for Social Services in York Region grew from $173 million dollars in
2003/04 to more than $222 million dollars in 2005/2006 or a 28 per cent increase.
Social Services
In Adult Services for example, in 2005/2006, the annual per capita provincial funding,
excluding the GTA/905 was $33, compared to $15 for York Region. York Region’s
allocation for Adult Services was approximately $9.3 million leaving a funding gap of
approximately $10.8 million.
The gap is even larger in other social service areas. For Developmental Services, the
funding gap for York Region was over $52 million. For Child Care the average
provincial per capita funding, excluding the GTA/905, was $704, compared to $355 for
York Region. Based on that figure, York Region’s funding gap for Child Care in
2005/2006 was approximately $41 million. Perhaps the largest gap is in the area of
Children’s Services Including Welfare, where the per capita provincial average,
excluding the GTA/905 region, was $690 compared to $225 for York Region, making the
per capita funding gap for York Region over $117 million.
Health Services
The funding gap for Hospital Services has also continued to grow over the past several
years. In 2006/2007, the annual per capita provincial funding for Hospital Services,
excluding the GTA/905 was $946 compared to $444 in York Region.
On an annualized basis, the hospital funding gap has continued to grow from $338
million in 2002/03 to almost $453 million in 2006/07 and to a projected gap of $480
million in 2007/08. The total size of the funding gap for hospital services in York Region
between 2002 and 2007 as compared to the rest of the province is estimated to be almost
$2 billion.
York Region is at a critical juncture. It is in the midst of a period of very rapid
growth that shows not sign of letting up. In the last decade alone, over 300,000 new
residents moved into York Region with an estimated 535,000 more arriving over the
next twenty-five years.
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Going Forward
Over the last few years, working with the HSPC and its partners, the provincial
government has made significant investments in York Region’s health care and social
services including:
•
Funding a new regional cancer centre;
•
Enhancing emergency services;
•
Enhancing children’s mental health services;
•
Providing grant funding to develop a York Region Immigration Portal; and,
•
Funding and supporting the development of the first Welcome Centre for
immigrants to provide settlement, employment support services and language,
accreditation and qualifications assistance to more than 3,500 new comers in York
Region.
In the 2007 Ontario Budget, the government announced the phasing out of pooling
contributions made by municipalities for social services by 2013 along with allocating
additional funding to address child poverty and to support individuals with
developmental disabilities. While this additional funding and the phasing out of pooling
have helped, York Region residents continue to lag behind the rest of the Province in
accessing social services and health care.
The HSPC is calling upon all candidates in the Provincial election to support its
position that the Government of Ontario improve local access to health and social
services in York Region by:
• Providing growth funding for health and social services that is distributed on the basis
of population, size, growth and characteristics – that is fundamentally population-based.
• Developing a Provincial Human Services Plan for health and social services to meet the
needs of high-growth regions to complement Places to Grow.
For more information visit our website at: www.york.ca
→Departments→Planning & Development→Human Services Planning Branch
August 2007
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