CHAMPS Support Staff and Vehicle Costs

Recommendation:
That the February 27, 2006, Community Services Department report 2006CSW019 be received for information.

Report Summary

This report reviews the City of Calgary’s CHAMPS program and discusses its applicability for Edmonton. The review indicates that Edmonton agencies provide a reasonable level of coordination of home maintenance services at the present time, and that the real difficulty is the overall lack of Federal and Provincial funds to assist seniors in their homes.

Previous Council/Committee Action

At the January 9, 2006, Community Services Committee meeting the following motion was passed:

That, with respect to the following proposed motion, Administration provide an analysis of the Calgary program including costs, sources of funding, outcomes and an analysis of the money requested for the CHAMPS program and report back to the February 6, 2006, Community Services Committee meeting:

  1. That the Community Services Department 2006 Operating Budget - Social, Recreation and Cultural, be increased by $78,000 for a CHAMPS program to fund office, support staff and vehicle costs.
  2. That program development include the exploration of provincial funding through Family and Community Social Services Program.

Report

Calgary CHAMPS

  • The City of Calgary operates the CHAMPS program (Community Home Assistance Maintenance Program for Seniors). It is staffed by one Home Maintenance Specialist plus supports, whoprovideshands-on assistance in the application processes for various grant programs, including the provincial Special Needs Assistance For Seniors (SNAFS) grant and the federal Residential Rehabilitation Assistance Program (RRAP).
  • The Specialist assists lowincome seniors in the screening and selection of home maintenance contractors and in contract management. Eligibility is established through the use of the Statistics Canada Low Income Cut-Off and the senior’s previous year’s income tax data.
  • In 2006 CHAMPS is planning to train community volunteers to help seniors apply for home maintenance grants.
  • The RRAP program itself provides limited assistance with the application process. It annually disburses $430,000 in federal grants.

Costs

The CHAMPS program operates under the administrative umbrella of the City of Calgary City Links program. The CHAMPS costs are approximately $85,000/year plus uncalculated supports from City Link. The City of Calgary supports the program through Family and Community Support Services (FCSS) funding, 75% Province and 25% City of Calgary.

Outcomes

CHAMPS helped 130 seniors households secure $177,000 worth of grants for home maintenance in 2005, plus $100,000 more pending. As a result, these low income seniors were able to remain longer in their own homes.

Edmonton CHAMPS Costs Estimate

Based on Calgary CHAMPS, the total costs of operating a City CHAMPS model in Edmonton is estimated at $125,000. The earlier estimate of $78,000 did not include support staff, program publicity, management and other costs absorbed under the City Links umbrella.

Services Currently Available in Edmonton

  • Edmontonagenciesrefer seniors to SNAFS, RRAP and provide home maintenance services.
  • The SNAFS program disburses approximately $7 million per year in Edmonton to lowincome seniors. Eligibility is based on the Alberta Seniors Benefits program criteria. The maximum grant is $5,000, and can include home repair, snow and yard services.
  • Representatives of the SNAFS program in Edmonton advise that their home repair program is well known and that assistance with applications is available. There is also an outreach program to increase awareness of the benefits available.
  • The City of Edmonton’s delivery of the RRAP program provides hands-on assistance. Services include inspections, interviews with applicants, assistance with grant applications, lists of pre-screened contractors and identification of other available resources.
  • In 2005, the Edmonton RRAP program provided $1.3 million forhomeowners, approximately half of whom are seniors. The program is well accessed and elements of it are over-subscribed. The limitation is funding, not lack of applications. Approximately 20% of inquiries areredirected to other related assistance programs.

Conclusions

  • Through our preliminary assessment we conclude that additional assistance with applications for home maintenance programs is not a priority need at this time.
  • It is not known how many seniors would need assistance in obtaining home maintenance grants. However, without additional provincial or federal grants, additional assistance with applications would not be useful.

Others Approving this Report

W.D. Burn, General Manager, Asset Management and Public Works

(Page 1 of 2)