Citizenship and Immigration Canada
Ontario Region
Call for Applications:
Settlement Workers in Schools (SWIS) Windsor
August 2006
Objective:
CIC wishes to fund a settlement service providing agency to deliver the SWIS program in designated Windsor schools within the Greater Essex District School Board (GEDSB). The objective of this Call for Applications is to expand access to settlement services for newcomer families in Windsor Public schools.
Background:
The Settlement Workers in Schools (SWIS) initiative places settlement workers, who are employed by community agencies, in elementary and secondary schools that have high numbers of newcomer students. The settlement worker proactively contacts each new newcomer family in the school at the time that they register in the school, to assist them with their settlement needs. The workers also refer the families to more specialized community resources as needed. The settlement worker also provides group information sessions, often in partnership with school staff, and provides orientation on the settlement needs of newcomers for school staff.
SWIS is designed to provide consistent service delivery across all schools and projects, and to provide accountability to all the partners. The project is guided by a Steering Committee that meets quarterly to address project issues and plan future service delivery. The steering committee has representation from the school boards, service providing organizations, the Provincial SWIS Coordinator, and CIC.
SWIS is funded through the Immigrant Settlement and Adaptation Program (ISAP). Services funded by ISAP include:
Reception - meeting newcomers upon arrival in Canada and providing them with information in both official languages (and other languages, as required) on services and resources to help meet their immediate needs.
Initial Needs Assessment- improving and facilitating the alignment of services offered by the Service Provider to the needs of the newcomers. The output of the Initial Needs Assessment may be that only basic services are needed or a case management approach with a defined action plan for services.
Referral To Community Services - Providing links between eligible clients with specific settlement needs to available resources in the community. A referral may require an escort or the use of advocacy. This includes referrals to resources relating to the economic, social cultural, educational and recreational facilities in Canada that could contribute to the initial settlement of the client.
Information / Orientation – Providing of practical guidance to assist the client in coping with the problem of everyday living, e.g. housing, transportation and access to social and health services. This includes an introduction to the local community, thereby providing the newcomer with a sense of belonging to the new community and at the same time providing information about their rights and obligations.
Interpretation / Translation - Interpretation to facilitate interaction between the newcomer and the community and assist in the newcomer¢s day to day survival prior to obtaining a basic knowledge of one of the official languages. Translation services to assist the newcomer¢s access to other services, and limited to documents relating to employment, educational and legal matters that are necessary for immediate settlement.
Solution-Focused Counselling - Providing advice and support to clients encountering difficulties in adjusting to life in Canada and assisting them in the resolution of these difficulties. This service will generally be short term in nature, and will include the identification of client needs and determination of the appropriate type of service and resource for referral. This does not include in-depth social or psychological counselling of a kind normally provided by professional counsellors.
Employment Related Services- Preparing the clients to actively seek employment by assisting them in obtaining required certification of educational and/or trade documents that would facilitate job placement.
Service Bridging- Assisting providers of non-settlement services and the broader community to understand and serve newcomers through one-to-one or groups activities. This will not include legislative advocacy (lobbying) or any form of political activity. Agencies shall also strive to develop cooperative working relationships with local service providers to build an integrated service delivery system which ensures broad access to community services, maximizes the utilization of existing resources, avoids duplication of effort and gaps in services, and facilitates the ability of people who need services to easily find the most appropriate provider.
Since January 2006, there has been a pilot SWIS project at three schools in the Greater Essex District School Board (GEDSB). The pilot has been delivered by the Windsor Essex YMCA using existing ISAP staff.
With the end of the pilot, CIC wishes to fund a SWIS project in Windsor on an ongoing basis.
The service provider selected to deliver the ongoing SWIS project will be required to work in partnership with the existing partners: GEDSB, the Provincial SWIS Coordinator, and CIC. The selected service provider will participate on the Windsor SWIS Steering Committee.
Scope:
Funding for SWIS is through the Immigrant Settlement and Adaptation Program (ISAP).
The selected service providing organization will be responsible for SWIS service delivery in selected Windsor schools in the GEDSB. The exact number and location of participating schools will be determined by the Windsor SWIS Steering Committee.
Applicants should budget for a 11-month period from October 1, 2006 to August 31, 2007. The budget request should include 2.5 fte settlement workers and .5 fte coordinator, 3 cellphones with airtime, 3 laptop computers with MS Office and Adobe Acrobat software, 1 copy of MS MapPoint software, a digital camera for ID badge photos, 1 LCD projector, 1 wide-format colour inkjet printer, as well as other expenses anticipated by the applicant. Settlement worker office space, meeting space, and furniture is contributed in-kind by school board and therefore should not be included in the applicant budget.
In addition to initial settlement training which will be the responsibility of the applicant organization, additional training will be facilitated by the SWIS Steering Committee and the Provincial SWIS Coordinator.
The service provider will be required to maintain accurate financial records, as well as documentation and receipts for all expenses incurred in the course of this project. The service provider will be reimbursed by CIC on a monthly basis for actual expenses incurred only, upon receipt of accurate service provider report and payment claim forms, and will be subject to a monitoring of financial records relating to this project.
The Successful Applicant Must:
· Have demonstrated experience in the delivery of settlement services for newcomers to Canada to a multi-ethnic clientele;
· Have demonstrated experience in the administration of government-funded projects;
· Have knowledge of newcomer communities in Windsor;
· Demonstrate knowledge of the education sector;
· Demonstrate strong partnership skills;
· Demonstrate strong project management experience;
· Be committed to work constructively with the SWIS Steering Committee and the Provincial SWIS Coordinator;
· Be prepared to adapt the project to changing newcomer needs;
· Be able to demonstrate strong financial accountability;
· Be prepared to maintain financial records, financial and service-delivery related documentation and statistics as required by CIC and the SWIS Steering Committee;
· Work in a computerized environment.
Funding Applications Must:
Include the fully completed application for funding and all enclosures;
Demonstrate clearly how the applicant will meet all the program requirements;
Include a detailed budget describing how funds will be spent;
Include a brief history of the applicant and its mandate;
Include a list of funding references which are able to provide input on the applicant’s experience in developing and delivering effective settlement programs, as well as references that can substantiate the applicant’s track record in developing and nurturing partnerships.
Project Time Frame:
This project will begin on October 1, 2006 until August 31, 2007 with the possibility of further renewals.
Application Review Process:
Applications will be acknowledged with a letter outlining the results of a confidential review process. It may be necessary in some cases to contact the applicant for clarification regarding its submission. Settlement/Intergovernmental Affairs, Ontario Region is unable to respond to individual inquiries regarding the status of the proposal during the review process.
Deadline for Submission of Proposals:
Proposals must be received in hard copy in this office no later than 4:00 p.m. on Friday, September 15, 2006.
Address for Submissions:
Submit applications to:
Mr. Cliff Fast
Manager, Operations
Settlement and Intergovernmental Affairs
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
Ontario Region
130 Adelaide Street West, Suite 1500
Toronto ON M5H 3P5
Questions:
Questions about this Request for Proposals should be directed in writing via e-mail to:
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