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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCSD-10-013 - Compliance Report on Customer Service StandardREPORT Report To: Finance and Corporate Services Committee Date of Meeting: March 8, 2010 Submitted By: Mark Hildebrand, Director, Community Programs and Services (ext. 2687) Prepared By: Kelly Steiss, Inclusion Coordinator (ext. 2226) Ward(s) Involved: All Date of Report: February 8, 2010 Report No.: CSD-10-013 Subject: COMPLIANCE REPORT ON THE CUSTOMER SERVICE STANDARD (ACCESSIBILITY FOR ONTARIANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT, 2005) RECOMMENDATION: For information only. BACKGROUND: The Ministry of Community and Social Services requires that all public sector organizations with twenty (20) or more employees file a report on the progress made under the Customer Service Standard (Ontario Regulation 429/07). The report is due to the Ministry by March 31, 2010. REPORT: The Accessibility report on the Customer Service Standard is a series of questions with respect to compliance with the Standard. The series of questions only requires a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ response. Attached as Appendix A to this report (CSD-10-013) is the series of questions and further information on how the City of Kitchener is meeting the compliance requirements. In summary, the City of Kitchener has met the requirements of the Standard and is able to provide a positive report. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: None. ACKNOWLEDGED BY: Pauline Houston, General Manager, Community Services ×Úï ó ï Appendix A Accessibility Report on the Customer Service Standard These are the questions for the accessibility report on the Accessibility Standards for Customer Service. Each question includes a reference to the corresponding section of the Standard. While the compliance report from the Ministry only requires a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ response, this report contains additional information on how the City of Kitchener is meeting the compliance requirements outlined in the Accessibility Standards for Customer Service policy. 1. a) Does your organization have policies, practices and procedures on providing goods or services to people with disabilities? [s.3(1)] The City of Kitchener is committed to providing goods and services that are responsive to the needs of all its residents. On November 23, 2009, City of Kitchener City Council passed the resolution to adopt the Accessibility Standards for Customer Service policy (policy I-217) 1. b) Does your organization use reasonable efforts to ensure that these policies are consistent with the principles of independence, dignity, integration and equality of opportunity? [s.3(2)] Council Policy I-217 s.4(a) includes under the General Principles, a commitment to ensuring that policies, practices and procedures promote accessibility and reflect the principles of independence, integration, dignity and equal opportunity. Throughout 2010, staff working groups will be established to review Council Policy I-217 and look for opportunity to build this commitment into current policies, practices and procedures. 2. Do your organization’s policies address the use of assistive devices by people with disabilities to access your organization’s goods or services, or any available alternative measures that enable them to do so? [s.3(3)] Council Policy I-217 s.4(f) identifies that the City will use reasonable efforts to allow persons with disabilities to use their own assistive devices to access goods and/or services. The City of Kitchener does also offer assistive devices such as courtesy wheelchairs, specialized lifejackets and wheelchair sledges. A comprehensive list of all City of Kitchener offered assistive devices will be available on the internet along with the lending process and some basic operating procedures. The provision of such assistive devices provides an opportunity to enhance the citizen’s experience in the use of City facilities and services. 3. Do your organization’s policies, practices and procedures require your organization to take a person’s disability into account when communication with the person? [s.3(4)] Council Policy I-217 s.4(c) demonstrates the commitment by the City to take a person’s disability into account when communicating with the person. The training required through the Customer Service regulation requires that training include how to interact and communicate with persons with various types of disability. Staff and volunteers were given opportunities to problem-solve as well as resources to be able to respond to these varied communication needs as it relates to disability. Additionally, resources will be available to staff on the intranet outlining the steps to take with respect to a variety of requests and situations. ×Úï ó î 4. Do members of the public or other third parties have access to premises that your organization owns or operates? [s. 4(1)] If no, then skip to question 7 below. The City of Kitchener owns and operates a number of premises to which the public and other third parties have access. 5. a) Does your organization permit people with disabilities to keep their service animals with them on the parts of your premises that are open to the public or other third parties, except where the animal is excluded by law, and is this included in your policies, practices and procedures? [s. 4(2) &(7)] Within the resolution to adopt the Accessibility Standards for Customer Service policy, Council amended the Animals in City Facilities policy (Council Policy I-330). The amended policy reflects the definition of service animal as defined by the Customer Service Standard (Ontario Regulation 429/07 s.4(9)) which defines a service animal as an animal (a) if it is readily apparent that the animal is used by the person for reasons relating to his or her disability; or (b) if the person provides a letter from a physician or nurse confirming that the person requires the animal for reasons relating to the disability. The City of Kitchener will allow the person and the service animal on all City of Kitchener owned and operated facilities that are open to the public. 5. b) If a service animal is excluded by law from your premises, does your organization ensure that alternate measures are available to enable the person to access your goods or services [s.4.(3)] Within the premises currently operated by the City of Kitchener, the only area where an animal may be excluded by law would be large kitchen preparation areas such as the kitchens used to prepare meals for the meal program at the Downtown Community Centre and at the Rockway Centre. In these situations, staff would work with the individual requiring the service animal to find a reasonable alternate measure. 6. Does your organization permit people with disabilities to enter the parts of your premises that are open to the public or other third parties with their support person, and provide notice of any fee charged for the support person, and is this included in your policies, practices and procedures? [s.4(4)(6)&(7)] Council Policy I-217 s.4(e) allows an individual with a disability to be accompanied by their support person. Since 2001 the City of Kitchener has utilized the Personal Attendant for Leisure (PAL) Card as a means to facilitate the entry of support persons at no additional cost. The use of the PAL card helps to preserve the dignity and privacy of individuals with a disability because the screening process is completed confidentially and in advance of their attendance at a program. 7. Does your organization post a notice at a conspicuous place on your premises, on your website, or by another reasonable method, of any temporary disruption in facilities or services that people with disabilities usually use to access your organization’s good or services, including the reason, duration and any alternatives available? [s.5(1)(2)&(3)] ×Úï ó í Council Policy I-217 s.4(g) refers to the notice that is to be given with respect to service disruptions. Staff will utilize existing methods for providing notice which includes the internet and postings at the facility or the site where the disruption is occurring. A staff working group will be established to create a form that can be utilized for all service disruptions that meets the requirements of the legislation. 8. Has your organization established and documented a process to receive and respond to feedback on how its goods or services are provided to people with disabilities, including actions that your organization will take when a complaint is received? [s.7(1)(3)&(4)] Council Policy I-217 s.4 (h) provides for the process to receive and respond to feedback. Given the intent of the legislation with respect to ensuring that policies, practices and procedures reflect the principle of integration, existing methods for receiving and responding to feedback will be available. At this time, opportunities to provide feedback are available through the internet, through the Clerks department and at public information sessions. To assist with responding to feedback in a timely manner and in the format in which the feedback was received, staff will be able to access resources available on the intranet. 9. Does your organization make information about its feedback process readily available to the public, including how feedback may be provided (e.g. in person, by telephone, in writing, by email, on diskette or otherwise)? [s.7(1)&(2)] The City of Kitchener is able to receive feedback from a member of the public by telephone, in person, in writing, in electronic format and through the TTY (TextNet). Information about this feedback process is available on the City website and through contact with City staff. 10. Does your organization ensure that the following people receive training about providing your goods or services to people with disabilities: - every person who deals with the public or other third parties on behalf of your organization, and - every person who participates in developing your organization’s policies, practices and procedures on providing goods or services? [s.6(1)] Council Policy I-217 s.4(b) outlines the commitment to ensuring that (a) all employees, volunteers, agents and those other third parties who deal with members of the public on behalf of the City and (b) every person who participates in the developing of the provider’s policies, practices and procedures governing the provision of goods and services to members of the public or other third parties receive training in Accessibility Standards for Customer Service. In 2009, 1870 staff were trained. With respect to other third parties who deal with members of the public on behalf of the City, the Supply Services Division has included a clause in the bid documents outlining the bidder's responsibilities that they and all sub-contractors are required to be in full compliance with Section 6 of Ontario Regulation 429/07, Accessibility Standards for Customer Service made under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005. Additionally, given that the province has not required private business to comply with this legislation until 2012 and it is likely that these businesses will not have established and created the resources with which to train their staff, the Supply Services Division has posted on the City website the Accessibility ×Úï ó ì Standards for Customer Service brochure that was created by City of Kitchener staff as a resource for these companies to utilize. 11. Does this training include your organization’s current policies, practices and procedures required under the Customer Service Standard and all the topics listed in section 6(2) of the standard? [s. 6(2)&(4)] Council Policy I-217 s. 4(b) outlines the details for the training. The training will include a review of City policies. It will also cover, but not limited to the following topics: 1. A review of the purposes of the Act and the requirements of the Regulation 2. How to interact and communicate with persons with various types of disability. 3. How to interact with person with disabilities who use an assistive device or require the assistance of a guide dog or other service animal or the assistance of a support person. 4. How to use equipment or devices available on the City’s premise or otherwise provided by the City that may help with the provision of goods or services to a person with a disability. 5. What to do if a person with a particular type of disability is having difficulty accessing the City’s goods or services. 12. Does your organization have a written training policy that includes a summary of the contents of the training (per question 11 above) and details of when the training is to be provided, and does your organization keep records that training was provided and how many people were trained? [s.6(5)&6] As per Council Policy I-217 4(b) training will be provided as soon as practicable upon an individual being assigned the applicable duties and on an ongoing basis in connection with changes to City policies, practices and procedures governing the provision of goods and services to persons with disabilities. In review of training and orientation opportunities, it makes most sense that this training is included as part of an orientation process. Training records for staff are managed through the PeopleSoft software program and can identify training dates and number of people trained. Training records for volunteers are managed manually. Once a software program has been secured for monitoring volunteers, information with respect to training on Accessibility Standards for Customer Service will be recorded electronically. 13. Does your organization post a notice at a conspicuous place on your premises, on your website, or by another reasonable method, that the documents required by the Customer Service Standard are available upon request, and do you provide those documents in a format that takes a person’ disability into account? [s.8(1)&(2)&9(1)] Council Policy I-217 s.5 indicates that the documents required by the Customer Service Standard are posted on the City of Kitchener website and are also available through the City Clerk’s office, upon request. ×Úï ó ë