2024–2025 Services delivered: Right to Play

Component: provincial initiatives

Legislation: Child, Youth and Family Services Act, 2017 (CYFSA)

Service objectives

• Support capacity-building of youth workers serving high needs First Nations communities in Ontario through Right To Play trainings for locally-hired Community Mentors and ongoing support from PLAY Program Officers
• Provide support for community-based youth programming in Ontario First Nations communities through ongoing coaching of Community Mentors by PLAY Program Officers throughout the entire program year (September through August)
• Maintain the Remote Community Employability (RCE) project in Pikangikum First Nation, which complements regular PLAY programming in the community

Service description

• The PLAY program runs on a consistent, weekly basis in PLAY partner communities for a minimum of 8 hours/week from September through August. Community partners are selected based on an annual application process.
• Funding from the ministry will support core PLAY programming in partnership with First Nations across Ontario.
• The RCE project will include regular PLAY programming for older youth (8 hours/week), with regular weekly programming and dedicated employability skills training (event planning, team building, self-confidence, communication, problem solving)
• Programming will be run by the Community Mentor and RCE Program Coordinator
• During the summer months, up to 10 Emerging Leaders will be hired from the regular RCE participants, and will be managed by the RCE Program Coordinator
• Emerging Leaders will engage in community development projects while learning key employability skills over the course of their placement
• Regular programming will continue and be augmented by in-community consultants and trainers that will provide additional workshops for youth participants based on their interests/needs
• Please note that service delivery has been altered during this time period due to the pandemic

Program/service features

• The services are PLAY program and serves First Nations communities across Ontario. Annual program partners are subject to change but will be clearly identified in our seasonal and year-end reports (we issue 4 reports each year). Right to Play will update MCCSS on annual program partners through these abovementioned reports
• The RCE Program is a complementary project to the regular PLAY program
• The program/services contracted by the ministry will reflect the following features

Program goals

• promote the health of children and youth: through the PLAY program, children and youth learn how to be and stay healthy
• help children and youth enhance their positive identity: through the PLAY program, children and youth can explore their identity and culture
• build children and youth's leadership capacity: through the PLAY program, youth learn and develop the skills needed to succeed as leaders within their community
• support the reclamation of Indigenous culture: through the PLAY program, First Nations children and youth (re)connect with their culture and traditions

Services will be:

• support capacity-building of youth workers serving high needs First Nations communities in Ontario through Right To Play trainings for locally-hired Community Mentors. and ongoing support from PLAY Program Officers
• provide support for community-based youth programming in Ontario First Nations communities through ongoing coaching of Community Mentors by PLAY Program Officers throughout the entire program year (September through August)
• maintain the Remote Community Employability project which complements regular PLAY programming in the community

Ministry expectations

• The transfer payment recipient will
• provide Programming to youth in Ontario in partner First Nation Communities
• support capacity building withing communities through Community Mentors receiving training and support through PLAY
• support Mental Health and Well-being in youth through PLAY
• support the development of leadership and capacity building for youth through the Remote Community Employability Program
• Right To Play will also submit seasonal and year end reports as per organization practices (4 total throughout the year)
• reporting practices include survey data from youth participants and Community Mentors and anecdotal evidence from Community Mentors
• take part in a supplementary program evaluation in collaboration partner ministries

Reporting requirements

The transfer payment recipient will monitor and evaluate the interim and annual data collected through Transfer Payment Ontario to ensure service objectives are being met.

The following service data will be reported on at an Interim and Final stage. Please refer to your final agreement for report back due dates and targets.

Total ministry-funded expenses for the transfer payment recipient to administer and/or deliver this service in the reporting year (cumulative).