Community Knowledge Centre - Toronto Community Foundation

About this organization

Mission

Operation Springboard’s mandate is to build stronger communities by helping youth and adults develop the skills they need to reach their full potential. As a charitable organization, we deliver innovative, professional and diverse programming by establishing partnerships between our clients and their community. Springboard’s program areas include community justice, employment and developmental disability services.

History of Organization

1969
Operation Springboard is conceived by two former offenders. We begin by providing counseling services and transportation to family members wishing to visit incarcerated offenders and keep their families united.

1974
Operation Springboard incorporates. We now provide transportation to all major Ontario correctional institutions & penitentiaries as well as support services to ex-inmates and their families.

1985
The bus service provides transportation for 1,711 clients, and the total budget is over $174,000.00

The board of directors of the John Howard Society of Metropolitan Toronto assumes responsibility for Operation Springboard, which becomes a separate corporate entity within the John Howard organization.

1986
Operation Springboard separates from the John Howard Society. We now offer 10 group homes, a 24-hour distress line for inmates, a community service order program, counseling, education, and job services, and a literacy program. Our total budget exceeds $6 million annually.

1994
At the twentieth anniversary of its incorporation, we now have 14 locations in Ontario providing services to over 8,800 people each year, with an annual budget of over $8.5 million.

1999
We celebrate our 25th year since our incorporation. Our programs and services assist 9,400 people in 1998-1999 with a budget of over $9 Million annually.

2005
Springboard’s management release a 5-year strategic plan highlighting our priorities and goals. With the participation and support of the community, we offer over 20 programs in the areas of justice, services for the developmentally disabled, housing, and finding and keeping employment. The agency now reaches up to 13,000 people per year and administers an annual budget of $11 million.

2008
We launch the innovative HUB Interactive Programming in our attendance program. The HUB programming shows immediate improvement in client completion rates and retention.

2010
Springboard staff, management and board members begin work on a new 5-year strategic plan to determine the priorities and goals of the organization moving forward. Our goals will focus on broader community development and new engagement strategies for our clients, service organizations, and community partnerships.

Accolades and Accomplishments

Programs

>The Community Learning HUB

A Broad Range of Skills Building Programming

Our staff of over 190 employees provides various services to over 14,000 people across Ontario every year.   We’ve cultivated a rich history of helping people through a diverse range of services in several sectors.  This breadth of service options and expertise informs all of our programming and provides our clients access to a holistic range of service options. 

Employment

Springboard’s employment programs provide an array of client-tailored programming to some of our community’s hardest to serve individuals.  We offer needs assessment, career exploration, skills training and work placement services.  Springboard offers these services throughout the agency and supports clients in need including those with developmental disabilities.

Community Justice

We deliver community programming to help individuals at risk of or who have conflict with the law.  Our justice programs focus on alternative sentencing models, which include community work programs for offenders, diversion, education programs, restorative justice and open-custody programming for youth and adult offenders.

Services For The Developmentally Disabled

We provide residential, day and evening programming to help those with developmental disabilities build the skills necessary to live more independent and rewarding lives.

Digital Skills Building Initiatives

The Community Learning HUB

The Community Learning HUB is a suite of dynamic, interactive, digital resources specifically designed to engagemarginalized members of the community and improve skills development outcomes for both Springboard and our partner agencies. The HUB is delivered using an interactive touch screen format and features an extensive content library which is the result of the collective input from thousands of youth and numerous agencies across Ontario. 

The Digital Den

 As part of our skills building programming, Springboard has developed a digital design training program called “The Digital Den”, which provides our clients the essential technical skills necessary to develop their own digital artwork. This is a fun and engaging way to provide our clients with special learning needs and limited access to computers a brief introduction to basic computer skills, while providing them with a creative outlet using leading edge digital design technology.

The Community Learning HUB

The HUB platform applies best practices from established, paper based programming to a suite of touch screen, flash based digital workshops to provide skill building programming.  It utilizes a digital, visual and interactive approach that can more effectively meet the learning needs of young people faced with issues such as homelessness and multiple barriers to employment.

The HUB provides agencies with a digital toolkit for skills training programs proven to help address the multifaceted barriers to employment faced by at risk young people and have a positive impact on their ability to find and keep work. All HUB content is delivered in small group (or one-on-one), one hour sessions by a trained facilitator.

Interactive Community Learning HUB digital programs include, but are not limited to:

- Substance Abuse Prevention (11 sessions)

- Anger Management (11 sessions)

- Gender-specific Girls Group (12 sessions)

- Pre-Employment support program sessions (including resume building, job search, interviewing skills and job maintenance)

- Aboriginal specific programming for substance abuse prevention and anger management.

Funding and Program Partners

The HUB is currently used by 165 facilitators from 20 agencies to reach over 4000 clients each year in 14 diverse communities across Ontario. As partners in the HUB Community of Practice, these partners play a key role in delivering, evaluating and developing HUB digital content and are what makes the HUB model truly unique. The Community of Practice is a driver for the HUB’s success  as they are integral to the following: 

A) Informing the design and development of new digital media programming – The Community of Practice plays a key role in identifying program areas for development, testing new digital modules and informing program content.

B) Ensuring continuous improvement and innovation - As the HUB platform is deployed in increasingly diverse communities across the province, Community of Practice evaluation data and partner feedback drives the continuous improvement and innovation of our digital programming in these diverse settings. This ensures that no matter where in the province the HUB is deployed, content is tailored to the learning needs of our partner agencies and their clients.

Springboard provides Community of Practice members with:

•           Access to the full suite of HUB digital content, including all new content updates

•           Annual conferences on HUB best practices

•           Online community discussion forms

•           Formal program evaluation framework

•           Dissemination of evaluation data

Our partner support for the HUB model is evidenced by the finding to date that:

- Over 96% believe the HUB has added value to their agency service practice

- 100% believe the HUB is an exceptional vehicle for client engagement

- 88% believe that the HUB has enhancd their practice as a social worker

Program Impact

 The HUB is currently used by 165 facilitators from 20 agencies to reach over 4000 clients each year in 14 diverse communities having the following impact:

- Average program completion rates increased from 75% - 95%

- >90% of participants report they are better able to retain cognitive tools taught

- Average rate of improvment in Attitudes/Outlooks and Knowledge/Skills is over 10%, a significant improvement over traditional benchmarks

Toronto's Vital Signs® indicator(s) addressed by Program

The Vital Signs indicator that is most relavant to the HUB:

"Violent crime is more concentrated in neighbourhoods where residents have access to few socioeconomic resources. It is also higher in neighbourhoods where high population density and mobility contribute to a lack of social cohesion or sense of belonging to the community."

The HUB has been most effective in these very neighbourhoods and has been shown to promote pro-social behaviours in participants.

(Toronto's Vital Signs®, 2010)

Participant Vignette

“You know, I’ve made some wrong decisions in my life, mostly to get money.   When I was young all I wanted was easy money.  It caught up with me and I went to prison.  That really put me at a disadvantage – it seemed like everyone else had a better education and wasn’t judged like I was.

After going through a few organizations that didn’t really help me, I was referred to Springboard’s Employment HUB program.  The program really helped– I finally learned what I needed to find and get a stable job.  And the counselors really came through for me.   Now I can contribute.”

-Michael, Employment HUB client