Lake Ridge Community Support Services Annual Report for Fiscal year ending March 31, 2020

The 2019/2020 fiscal year proved to be a very eventful year. Our staff and Board of Directors continued to be our cornerstone of success and innovation. Their dedication, creativity and commitment assisted Lake Ridge through the changes and challenges of the year, all while providing continued individualized, quality, behavioural services for all of our clients.

A major change we encountered throughout the year was the continued work of the February 6, 2019 announcement regarding the re-structure of the Ontario Autism Program (OAP) to a complete direct funding program. Although the ministry’s position of the announced changes have been modified over the past year, the changes sparked a whole new way of thinking about service delivery for Lake Ridge. One of the major changes that occurred involved the conception and development of the fee for service program for autism services. The Board of Directors and staff of Lake Ridge all came together to develop and plan for our change in services. With the contributions, input and support of the Board of Directors and our staff, we were able to develop a client-centred program that is flexible, dynamic and responsive to the changing landscape of autism services. Also, due to the expansion of the fee for service program for autism services, Lake Ridge was also able to offer fee for service programs for adults with autism, as well as children and adults with intellectual disabilities. The changes to autism services in Ontario continue to occur into the 2020/2021 fiscal year.

As an Agency, Lake Ridge has demonstrated its ability to be nimble and responsive to an unknown and continuously changing landscape. Throughout the year, we continued to evaluate all of our services, develop efficiencies and ways to improve what we have to offer our clients. New caregiver training workshops were developed, new social skills groups, as well as new online information sharing through our website and social media sources. A new website was launched in the fall of 2019, as well as an increase in our social media presence. We have further expanded our ability to reach more clients and families in Durham Region and beyond.

Words cannot express the immense impact and support our Board of Directors and staff have had on the growth and development of our Agency. Their continued efforts, ideas, creativity and support for the clients we support and the services we offer have been helpful in allowing our Agency to grow and expand its service offerings.

Over the past year we did experience a higher than usual turnover of our clinical staff. We wish all the staff who have moved on to other opportunities all the best in their future endeavours. While we lost some staff over the year, we also hired many new staff and created some new positions throughout the Agency. As well, many of our staff continued furthering their education in the field of Applied Behaviour Analysis and worked towards their certifications through the Behaviour Analyst Certification Board. We are very proud and supportive of our staff who are working towards and who have achieved the goals they set out for themselves.

Our fiscal year ended in a way we never predicted or expected. In March of 2020, COVID-19 caused a ‘state of emergency’ situation across Ontario. The province, country and the world was brought to a grinding halt to try and stop the spread of this virus. The direct impact at Lake Ridge occurred on March 15, 2020 when, as an Agency, we decided to cease all in-person services to do our part to support the health and safety of our staff and clients. Again, our dedicated and supportive Board of Directors and team of incredible staff stepped up and helped make this abrupt change in service happen very smoothly. The Agency, with support of the Board of Directors and staff, quickly moved to a telehealth format of service. In the beginning current clients and caregivers were immediately connected with and offered service via telephone. We then quickly moved to being able to offer virtual services to clients and caregivers on a case by case basis, as deemed appropriate for each individual situation. Our Agency was well positioned with the new website and social media platforms to update current and future clients as well as the Information Technology infrastructure that was in place. Our staff quickly had access to the technology and software required to immediately move to working remotely and still being available for all clients. Our management team quickly developed support and training for our staff to offer telehealth services with privacy and efficiency in mind. At the end of March 2020 we continued service in this format.

It has been a busy and eventful year. Our staff and Board of Directors continue to stand strong and united to offer the best service we can for our clients, caregivers and partners. We continue to move forward and face the impacts of COVID-19 as well as the evolving OAP program in a positive and creative manner.

As we look back over the year of accomplishments and successes, we also look forward to new opportunities to continue working with our current ministry and agency partners, as well as new opportunities to continue to offer supportive and innovative services in our community. For all of us at Lake Ridge Community Support Services our purpose remains true: to see that every individual has the opportunity to reach their own unique potential and to help them achieve a better-sustained quality of life.

Sandie Hoskin, Executive Director