Question Period Note: CASE MANAGEMENT RATIOS

Is Veterans Affairs Canada achieving the Case Manager Ratio of 25 Veterans per Case Manager (25:1)?

• Our Government places the highest priority on ensuring Veterans and their families have the support and services they need, when and where they need it.
• While the Department has significantly increased the number of Case Managers over the last four years, the demand for case management services has continued to grow beyond all previous projections and continues to outpace capacity.
• It is recognized that simply increasing staff numbers will not meet the increasing demand. In response to the increasing demand for services, Veterans Affairs Canada has implemented several initiatives to improve service delivery and reduce caseload ratios, including Guided Support in December 2018 and a new Screening Tool in January 2019.
• Through Budget 2019, funding was announced for new digital Case Management Tools. This work will improve support for Case Managers by reducing their administrative burden and increase their capacity to work directly with Veterans and their families.

BACKGROUND – VETERANS AFFAIRS CANADA CASE MANAGEMENT RATIOS
As of December 31, 2018 the Veteran to case manager ratio is 32:1. (source: Veterans Affairs Canada December 2018 Facts & Figures Book)

Veterans Affairs Canada’s Case Management efforts are aimed at ensuring all Veterans receive the support they need. Over the last number of years Veterans Affairs Canada has approximately doubled the number of Case Managers in order to meet increasing demand for Case Management Services. The implementation of Guided Support in December 2018 ensures that Veterans with moderate needs have the appropriate supports in place, while at the same time allowing Case Managers capacity to focus on high needs Veterans who require that level of support. The new Screening Tool implemented in January 2019 improves Veterans Affairs Canada’s ability to identify which Veterans are at higher risk and need so that they can be appropriately triaged to the level of support required. Additional work is underway with regards to improving the systems and tools that Case Managers use on a daily basis. This work will reduce the administrative demands on Case Managers, allowing additional time and energy to be dedicated towards direct Veteran support. All of these initiatives are focused on ensuring it is easier for Veterans to receive the Case Management services they require.

Q - Why is Veterans Affairs Canada not achieving the advertised Case Manager Ratio of 25 Veterans per Case Manager (25:1)?

A - It is recognized that simply increasing staff numbers will not meet the increasing demand. In response to the increasing demand on services, Veterans Affairs Canada is implementing several initiatives to improve efficiencies and is reviewing Case Management practice to provide the appropriate level of services o Veterans and their families, such as:

• Guided Support: provides enhanced support and guidance to Veterans with moderate needs who do not require full Case Management services. This will include proactive follow-up for a year after case management to ensure that Veterans continue to do well. It is expected that the implementation of Guided Support will reduce demand on Case Managers.
• New Screening Tool: more accurately assess the risk, needs of Veterans, and will triage to an appropriate level of service.
• Veterans Affairs Canada is also in the process of implementing a new digitization strategy that will result in greater automation of administrative work and more online services for Veterans to have greater ease in interactions with the department.
• Change of this magnitude takes time to implement. All of these strategies are in progress and the department expects to create a more sustainable approach to Case Management services leading to a decrease in the ratios over the next few years.

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