Canadian Training Institute
Institut Canadien de Formation

Message from the Executive Director:

I am pleased to highlight some of our activities and accomplishments through the provision of the CTI Canadian Training Institute, Institut Canadien de Formation Annual Report. At the outset, the 1996/97 fiscal year once again presented a number of opportunities for this organization to make a difference in the way that services are delivered to vulnerable individuals across Canada. Our focus in providing "training for people helping people", along with the provision of consulting and critical incident stress support services continues to sustain us and provide the experiences which enrich our lives. I wish to thank our funders, our donors, the agencies who purchased our services and the many individuals who participated in our training sessions for the opportunities you have provided us.

The CTI Canadian Training Institute, Institut Canadien de Formation Inc., provides services to a diverse group of individuals, agencies and government departments in pursing our mission. Many of these groups representing education, health, addictions, social services and criminal justice agencies continue to be affected through our nations focus on debt reduction and the continuing cuts to services. These cuts which mobilizes considerable energy towards downsizing, amalgamation and the rationalizing of services are fundamentally changing the way all of us will operate now and in the future. They also radically alter this nation's traditional value of universal access to services for those in need.

As the landscape continues to change, we will need to find new ways of providing services and enlisting the cooperation of others in making a difference in the lives of vulnerable individuals in need. For CTI, the challenges are immense. At a time of reducing government support, we need to constantly analyse the impact of these changes and be prepared to respond to the needs of service providers in new, innovative and cost effective ways. As an organization, we need to profile the contributions that we've made and to enlist the support of Corporations, Foundations and individuals in maximizing our efforts and ensuring the continuation of our services.

As an organization committed to renewal and a revitalization of our efforts, I am pleased to highlight some major steps along this path as follows:

• CTI joined with eight other individuals from across Canada to ensure that critical incident stress management services were both coordinated and available in responding to the impact of tragic events and situations. In supporting this steering committee's efforts, we provided a fundamental leadership role in coordinating and facilitating the first Canadian Forum on Traumatic Stress in Canada.
• The Board of Directors has been working on a bylaw amendment to expand the membership base as a means of enriching the vitality and innovativeness of the organization in responding to the many challenges before us.
• We have been approved as the National Canadian affiliates of the American Probation and Parole Association and as an Associate of the International Community Corrections Association.
• We have enhanced our collaborative and networking efforts with memberships in a number of other organizations including the Network for the Prevention of Violence Practitioners, the Crisis Workers Society, the Ontario Halfway House Association, the Ontario Coalition of Community Correctional Agencies, the Canadian Traumatic Stress Network, the National Organizations of Victim Assistance, the National Associations Active In Criminal Justice, the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation, and the Toronto Board of Trade.
• We have revised some of our training programs in light of new research and introduced new designs that reinforce a dynamic and interactive case management approach in working with individual.
• The Board has established a working committee to create an overall financial plan for the organization along with a communication strategy as it's major priority for the next few years.
• We also provided a variety of training programs, technical services and are in the process of finalizing a new orientation manual on community corrections for the field.
• We have pursed our interest in crime prevention through the involvement of communities, neighbourhoods and individuals by supporting the work of Toronto 27 and Operation Springboard in Scarborough.

Further details of these activities along with descriptions of the services we have provided, the individuals involved within the organization and our audited financial statements will be contained within our printed version of our Annual Report. This will be available within the next two weeks.

In closing, I wish to convey my deep appreciation and sincere thanks to the many individuals who have contributed a piece of themselves in assisting CTI to make a difference. I have been a fortunate partner to the enormous talents and resolve of our volunteers, administrative staff and trainers/consultants who continued to provide the life giving energy in providing Training for People Helping People.

Sincerely submitted by,


John A. Sawdon
Executive Director

Training and Development Activities Delivered During the 1996/97 Fiscal Year:

During this past fiscal year, CTI provided a total of 38 training programs ranging in length from one to five days across Canada. Although this falls short of our projected target of 49 training events, it is reflective of the changing economic landscape in Canada.

CTI, like many of the agencies we serve, have experienced severe cuts to their core funding. For many agencies this has meant reducing expenditures in discretionary items such as training and professional development. For others, it has meant rethinking the way it invests in human resources and strategically targeting its limited training and development dollars. We suspect this latter trend is one of the contributing reasons for the increase in requests to provide in-service training. We are noticing that increasing numbers of agencies have embarked in a path whereby they no longer send staff out to training events. Instead trainers are brought in to address the core skill competencies staff need to carry out the work of the agency. This process both reduces costs and forces agencies to identify the core skills needed.

Another trend that we have noticed during the past few years is the lack of clinical/casework supervision that staff receive. Staff today are both responding to increasing caseloads and more problematic clients with complex needs. As an organization committed to excellence through the development of volunteer and staff, we think this is shortsighted. We are also fearful that it not only places these individuals at risk but it may also be a factor in why relationships become confused and /or in overlooking issues which suggest clients are at risk. While we have attempted to address this factor in a number of our training programs, we call attention to this trend within our annual report in light of some recent reviews of child welfare agencies. These reviews which examined the deaths of children under the care of the child welfare agencies both in Ontario and British Columbia, recommended that clinical and/or casework supervision be provided.

Training Highlights and Course Developments:

• The largest percentage of training delivered during the past year involved the delivery of our Crisis Intervention and Prevention training program. This program which focuses on prevention was provided on an in-service basis to the Department of Parks and Recreation, to criminal justice agencies, to first nation child and family service agencies, within women's shelters and in a number of hospital settings. Participants attending the general offering courses are a diverse group representing education, health, mental health, addictions, women's shelters, policing, hostels, family resource centres, corrections, appeals tribunals, youth agencies and agencies serving individuals who are HIV positive. Many of these agencies are facing the challenge of responding to clients with multiple needs which are manifested through overt aggressive behaviour and/or suicidal ideations These challenges are multiplied for individuals who serve remote communities.