16: Montérégie

Project Name
ESL program to improve the professional English language proficiency of French- speaking health and social service workers in order to better serve English-speaking clients in the Montérégie region. FSL program to improve the professional French language proficiency of unilingual English-speaking health and social service workers or cultural community workers having to deal with French speakers in community organizations and the Francophone environment of English speakers they serve – Pavillon Foster.

Agency
Agence de la santé et des services sociaux de la Montérégie

CSSS and Partners
CSSS Vaudreuil-Soulanges, CSSS du Suroît, CSSS Richelieu-Yamaska, CSSS La Pommeraie, CSSS Pierre-Boucher, CSSS du Haut-Saint-Laurent, CSSS Haut-Richelieu-Rouville, CSSS de la Haute-Yamaska, CSSS Champlain, CSSS Jardins-Roussillon, Institut Nazareth et Louis-Braille, CRDI Montérégie-Est, Hôpital Charles-Lemoyne, Centre jeunesse de la Montérégie, Les Services de Réadaptation du Sud-Ouest et du Renfort, Centre Montérégien de Réadaptation, Pavillon Foster

Priority Objectives
Improving English communication skills for delivery of the services mentioned below:
Intake:

• Provide equitable access to health and social services.
• Encourage attentive, efficient intake for English-speaking users in their own language.
• Cut down on wait time and professional case management time through proper referral ( right place, right service, right time, case management by right type of professional).

The intake procedure and initial contact will often set the tone for service delivery and may influence the way target users perceive the accessibility of services offered to them.

Health Besides the objectives mentioned above (Intake):

• Promote a better approach and individualized service plan (ISP) delivery.
• Promote service agreements with intervention partners.
• Broaden the range of available services.
• Ensure continuity of service delivery.

Social services
Besides the objectives mentioned above (Intake):

• Promote a better approach and ISP delivery.
• Promote service agreements between intervention partners.
• Broaden the range of available services.
• Ensure continuity of service delivery.
• English workers will be able to provide better prevention, treatment and support for English-speaking clients, e .g.:

Intake

• Process clients more efficiently as they arrive.
• Show more professional empathy towards clients.
• Ensure the information received and the client’s problem are clearly understood .
• Ensure the targeted clients feel safe and secure.
• Provide clear information, guidelines and instructions relevant to the problem at hand.
• Guide clients efficiently through the necessary services.
• Proper intake procedure helps create a more realistic perception of the accessibility and efficiency of Quebec’s health care system where English-speaking users are concerned.

Health

• Give the client and his/her family clear explanations of the medical problem; describe and explain the interventions needed to deliver the prescribed ISP; ensure clients and their family understand all information provided and feel reassured.
• Establish causal links.
• Engage actively and effectively in professional and interdisciplinary exchanges relating to the ISP.
• Read and understand written communications from professionals and specialists.
• Provide the necessary information in an effective manner; use professional terminology as required for liaison or referral purposes.
• Ensure that clients and/or their family understand the contents of the ISP.

Social services

• Conduct interviews in an atmosphere of trust built through the relationship established with clients and their family and with people in their environment.
• Verbalize and convey emotions; understand the underlying significance of words in cases of psychological distress or nonverbal communication with special-needs clients (e.g. users with cognitive problems or an intellectual disability).
• Establish certain causal links.
• Engage actively and effectively in professional and interdisciplinary exchanges relating to the ISP.
• Read and understand written communications from professionals and specialists.
• Provide the necessary information in an effective manner; use professional terminology as required for liaison or referral purposes and during court testimony in Youth Protection cases.
• Ensure that clients and/or their family and people in their environment learn and understand the contents of the ISP.

Pavillon Foster
Social services
Promote service and communication agreements with French-speaking intervention partners; ensure an efficient and effective channel of communication with the entire network of people around the client; ensure continuity of service delivery.
Engage actively and effectively in professional and interdisciplinary exchanges involved in designing the ISP; provide the necessary information in an effective manner; use professional terminology as required for liaison or referral purposes.

Target Personnel
Intake (81) Health (162) Social Services (162)
Pavillon Foster: Social Services (10)

Training Organization
Champlain College St-Lambert

Description of Planned Activities
Needs analysis; placement testing; individualized learning; training evaluation; training certification; learning support outside of course times; maintenance of acquired skills activities (one session).
Maintenance of acquired skills and development activities:
Regional involvement is aimed at:

• providing a professional development program for English; the program will extend up to the advanced level for all workers already enrolled; and
• maintaining and maximizing the program enrolment quota.

Pavillon Foster
For one group only: it could be feasible to have learning retention activities in the form of conversation with French-speaking lay or professional volunteers. This needs to be evaluated at a later time.

Budget Allocation
$300,000