Breakthrough Information Sharing Agreements Signed in Albertan Communities
EDMONTON, AB—The Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters (ACWS) is announcing a significant milestone in a collaborative project that has become known as the Blueprint Project. The signing of Information Sharing Agreements (ISAs) with stakeholder agencies in two Alberta communities—10 in Red Deer and 13 in the Grande Prairie region—marks an important moment in the evolution of client-centered service delivery and support in the province.
The signing of the agreements is a critical step for a team of agencies to work together to provide wrap-around, trauma-informed services to women and service users experiencing domestic violence and abuse. Many fatality inquiries and death review committee recommendations have called for better information sharing to save lives. This is one way of getting there.
With client consent, the agreements provide a way for agencies to collect and share a client’s personal information with each other—to the extent necessary for client support—allowing for a coordinated and collaborative approach, so each agency can focus on providing them their specialized services.
A new data collection app being tested as part of the project aids a common intake, assessment and support process. This is a shift from a system where a client would have to go from agency to agency, with agencies referring a client based on their own systems, to one that brings services to the client and connects them with the supports they need.
“Referral based systems are not only repetitive and confusing, they often re-traumatize women who were seeking help. They were asked to tell their story over and over again to various agencies,” said ACWS Executive Director, Jan Reimer. “The information sharing agreements backed by the launch of the app and common assessment tools, supports a process that puts the survivor at the centre.”
“For years we have heard from community agencies that the biggest barrier to coordinated services supporting survivors is information sharing. They described the lack of information sharing as the biggest boulder in their way. Today, pushing that big boulder aside, the information sharing agreement clears our path and allows us to be fully centred on the client's needs in a truly collaborative service model” said Ian Wheeliker, CEO of the Central Alberta Outreach Society, one of the Red Deer-based organizations who have signed the agreement.
Amber Chenard, Second Stage Client Support Worker at Odyssey House and the Lead for the Grande Prairie Community Working Group added, “It is amazing to see so many different agencies come together in our community with a common objective. This diverse network has allowed us to have diverse perspectives and gives me such hope in our community and the work we do.”
The Blueprint Project will continue over the next year, with the intention of developing a “blueprint” for assessment and ongoing case management, which will be shared with agencies across the province.