SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Nine months after a scathing audit report that publicly aired problems with how income assistance programs were administered, the staff who provide these services to Northerners are still working through the repercussions.

As the person in charge on overhauling income security programs, Jolene Saturnino has a tough job -- but not as tough as the job of front-line workers. Since a scathing audit came out in March of this year, a lot of soul searching has been done to ensure Northerners are receiving the support that they need. - Laura Busch/NNSL photo

"Our staff have very difficult jobs," said Jolene Saturnino, director of income security programs with the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, of community service officers who work the front lines at income assistance offices.

"As someone who has delivered income assistance, I know you don't do this job for the paycheque. You do it because it's something you want to do, that you are passionate about -- because you want to help people."

When the Office of the Auditor General of Canada issued its findings in March of this year, it initiated a flurry of criticism toward the department and its staff. People came forward and spoke publicly about delays in receiving their support cheques, about going without heat and about being treated rudely by the very people who were supposed to be there to help them.

"The public response that we've received has been very hard on our staff, and so we've spent the last few months really focusing on trying to pull everybody back in and refocusing them," said Saturnino.

However, the criticism was beneficial in that it refocused everyone on the importance of their jobs, she said.

The audit examined how well the department delivered four key social programs: the Income Assistance program, the Student Financial Assistance program, the Child Care User subsidy and the Senior Home Heating subsidy.

"These are really important programs. They are programs that provide support to the most vulnerable people in society," assistant auditor general Ronnie Campbell told News/North at the time of the release.

Saturnino agrees.

"At the end of the day, we're here to provide services to Northerners, and I think that each one of the recommendations received by the (Office of the Auditor General) will get us close to a place where we are providing better services -- and that's the purpose for our entire existence."

No one fired

The bulk of the retraining that was promised by the department has yet to be done, but the department is overhauling the process -- putting training programs online to provide targeted, on-the-job training, instead of pulling workers out of their communities for short bursts of training, said Saturnino.

An online discussion forum is also being set up.

"Now, CSOs right from Fort Smith to Tuktoyaktuk will be able to have the conversations online with each other and provide guidance to one another with the supervision of the trainer to ensure that people are better understanding our programs and how to deliver our programs," said Saturnino.

Since the audit, ECE has been rolling out several improvements to its programs.

On Sept. 1, they increased the childcare benefits under the Income Assistance program, increased the living allowance under the Student Financial Assistance program and created a grant for disabled post-secondary students under the same program.

To help the most vulnerable in society, the department is currently hiring an adviser who will take a hard look at how to improve services to persons with disabilities and seniors.

"I think that people applying for our programs are already noticing the changes that we've implemented," said Saturnino.

"The audit was beneficial because, at the end of the day, we're here to provide the services to Northerners ... and it will result in significant change for Northerners. So, it's a positive impact in the end, just a lot of work right now."