History

From 2005 to 2007, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) launched the Case Management Pilot (CMP), implemented between the YMCA of Greater Toronto and the RAP service delivery site in Toronto, COSTI Immigrant Services. After its two-year run, CIC decided to continue delivering long-term support to GARs through the Client Support Services (CSS) pilot project, with the YMCA serving as the provincial coordinator of six RAP service delivery sites in Ontario:

  • Toronto: COSTI Immigrant Services
  • Kitchener: Reception House Waterloo Region
  • Hamilton: Wesley
  • London: London Cross Cultural Learner Centre
  • Windsor: Multicultural Council of Windsor and Essex Country
  • Ottawa: Catholic Centre for Immigrants

By incorporating elements derived from the Case Management Pilot, the CSS pilot aimed to:

  • Enhance RAP services and facilitate better transition to settlement and community services for GARs
  • Facilitate follow-up and track client progress by assessing needs on an ongoing basis, work with GARs in a mobile and desk-free environment
  • Test innovative project models tailored to each community’s needs
  • Identify core program components and document good practices

In 2009, an evaluation was done on the pilot project, and the findings concluded that the project had been successful meeting its expectations. In 2010, Client Support Services rolled out as a ten-year long program funded by Citizenship and Immigration Canada, and later by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.

Similarly to the evaluation conducted on the CSS pilot project in 2009, a regional impact evaluation was conducted in 2014, through which the CSS Program was able to demonstrate the value of its program in meeting the needs of GARs.

“GARs [current and past CSS clients] are showing evidence of […] long-term integration through participation in their communities, increased employment over time, obtaining citizenship, attending schools and developing a sense of belonging to Canada.” (CSS 2015 Impact Study Evaluation Recommendations Report: CSS Local Site and Regional Responses)

On November 1, 2017, the CSS Program had been approved to roll out as a national program (National GAR Case Management).

Since then, the following service provider organizations have joined the CSS Program:

  • Calgary, Alberta: Calgary Catholic Immigration Society (CCIS)
  • Edmonton, Alberta: Catholic Social Services
  • Red Deer, Alberta: Catholic Social Services
  • Medicine Hat, Alberta: Saamis Immigration Services Association
  • Brooks, Alberta: Brooks & Country Immigration Services
  • Halifax, Nova Scotia: Immigrant Services Association of Nova Scotia (ISANS)
  • Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island: Immigrant & Refugee Services Association PEI (IRSA)
  • Fredericton, New Brunswick: Multicultural Association of Fredericton (MCAF)
  • Moncton, New Brunswick: Multicultural Association of the Greater Moncton Area (MAGMA)
  • Regina, Saskatchewan: Regina Open Door Society Inc. (RODS)
  • Regina, Saskatchewan: Service d’accueil et d’inclusion francophone (SK)
  • Saskatoon, Saskatchewan: Global Gathering Place (GGP)
  • Saskatoon, Saskatchewan: Service d’accueil et d’inclusion francophone (SK)
  • Saskatoon, Saskatchewan: Saskatoon Open Door Society (SODS)
  • Prince Albert, Saskatchewan: Service d’accueil et d’inclusion francophone (SK)
  • St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador: Association for New Canadians (ANC)
  • Bathurst, New Brunswick: Multicultural Association Chaleur Region (MACR)
  • Thunder Bay, Ontario: Thunder Bay Multicultural Association
  • Leamington, Ontario: New Canadians’ Centre for Excellence
  • Brantford, Ontario: Wesley
  • Waterloo, Ontario: Reception House Waterloo Region