s the new millennium approaches, I would like to focus my comments on how Macdonald Youth Services
as an Agency is preparing itself to face the new and changing challenges that are before us.The process of preparing ourselves began a couple of years ago when it became evident that we needed to develop an Agency Strategic Development Plan. The Agency had already diversified its programming to a significant degree but we felt some uneasiness at the prospect of continued growth, changing client needs and introducing new models of service delivery without a longer term plan.
Beginning in January 1998 a committee comprised of Board members, Management and staff of the Agency worked with an external facilitator over a period of several months to prepare a plan. The Board of Directors then adopted the Strategic Plan in June of 1998. In the year that followed several developments occurred: We began a process to address the shortage of space for both staff and programming at our Mayfair location, we introduced the Human Resource Manager position, we established a Facilities Manager position as well as a Computer Systems Administrator position.
With all of this activity going on it also became clear that we needed to restructure our Senior Management team to more effectively manage a larger and increasingly diversified agency. This process took a period of several months and was also facilitated by an external consultant.
A New Structure
A proposed new structure was developed and this was presented to the Board of Directors in June 1999 for acceptance.Some of the key elements of this new structure:
The grouping of full care placement programs into a team: Residential
Treatment Winnipeg, the Northern Program (Thompson), Alternative Parent Home Program (Treatment
Foster Care) and the more recently established Specialized Individual Program area. The grouping of Agency support programs into a team: Services to Older
Adolescents (Youth Resource Center, Shelter, Fine Option, Community Service Order Program and the
Young Adult Employment Preparation Training programs) and the Youth Emergency Crisis Stabilization
System (Crisis Stabilization Unit, Mobile Crisis Teams and Brief Treatment Team). Each program area will retain its Program Coordinator as the head of the
program and retain current program structure for the time being.
