Customer Services Standards Policy

Accessible Customer Service

New Path is committed to developing policies, practices and procedures that provide accessible services to all our clients. Services will be provided to clients with disabilities in a manner that promotes and respects dignity, independence, integration, and equal opportunity.

The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA) is Provincial Legislation with the purpose of developing, implementing and enforcing accessibility standards in order to achieve accessibility for persons with disabilities with respect to goods, services, facilities, accommodation, employment, buildings, structures and premises on or before January 1, 2025.

This policy is in accordance with the AODA, the Ontario Regulation 191/11: INTEGRATED ACCESSIBILITY STANDARDS (IASR),and the provisions of the Ontario Human Rights Code, and addresses the following:

• The provision of resources and services to persons with disabilities;
• The use of assistive devices by persons with disabilities;
• The use of service animals by persons with disabilities;
• The use of support persons by persons with disabilities;
• Notice of temporary disruptions in services and facilities;
• Training;
• Customer feedback regarding the provision of goods and services to persons with disabilities;
• Notice of availability and format of documents and meetings.

This policy applies to all persons who deal with members of the public or other third parties on behalf of New Path Youth and Family Counselling Services, whether the person is an employee, a Board member, an agent, a volunteer, or a student on placement and all persons who represent New Path.

Accessible shall mean capable of being entered or reached, approachable; easy to get at; capable of being influenced, obtainable, easy to understand or appreciate.

Assistive Device shall mean a device used to assist persons with disabilities in carrying out activities or in accessing the services of persons or organizations covered by the Customer Service Standard.

Disability shall mean,

1. Any degree of physical disability, infirmity, malformation or disfigurement that is caused by bodily injury, birth defect or illness and, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, includes diabetes mellitus, epilepsy, a brain injury, any degree of paralysis, amputation, lack of physical co-ordination, blindness or visual impediment, deafness or hearing impediment, muteness or speech impediment, or physical reliance on a guide dog or other animal or on a wheelchair or other remedial appliance or device,
2. A condition of mental impairment or a developmental disability,
3. A learning disability, or a dysfunction in one or more of the processes involved in understanding or using symbols or spoken language,
4. A mental disorder, or
5. An injury or disability for which benefits were claimed or received under the insurance plan established under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997.

Dignity shall mean respecting and treating every person including persons with a disability as valued and as deserving of effective and full service as any other client.

Independence shall mean freedom from control or influence of others, freedom to make your own choices.

Integration of Services shall mean the integration of services that allow people with disabilities to fully benefit from the same service, in the same place and in the same or similar way as other clients. All policies, practices and procedures are designed to be accessible to everyone including people with disabilities.

Equal Opportunity shall mean having the same chances, options, benefits and results as others. People with disabilities have the same opportunity to benefit from the way you provide goods or services as others.

Guide Dog shall mean a dog trained as a guide for a blind person and having the qualifications prescribed by the regulations.

Premises includes the buildings, land, or grounds where goods or services are provided.

Resources and Services shall mean resources and services provided by New Path Youth and Family Services of Simcoe County.

Readily Apparent shall mean an animal which is a service animal when it is obvious by its appearance or by what it is doing, i.e., Wearing a harness, saddle bags, a sign identifying the animal as a service animal.

Service Animals are animals that are used as a service animal for a person with a disability. To be considered a service animal under the standard, it must either be readily apparent that the animal is being used because of a person’s disability or the person with a disability must be prepared to show a letter from a doctor or nurse, or regulated health professional (including psychologists, psychotherapists, audiologists, chiropractors, and optometrists) confirming that the person requires the animal for reasons relating to his or her disability.

Support Person is an individual hired or chosen by a person with a disability to provide services or assistance with communication, mobility, personal care, medical needs or with access to goods or services.

New Path is committed to excellence in serving all clients including people with disabilities and we will carry out our functions and responsibilities to ensure that our policies, practices and procedures are consistent with the following principles:

1. New Path’s resources and services are provided in a manner that respects the dignity and independence of persons with disabilities;
2. The provision of New Path’s resources and services to persons with disabilities are integrated with those provided to persons who do not have disabilities unless an alternative measure is necessary to enable a person with a disability to obtain, use or benefit from New Path’s goods or services and,
3. Persons with disabilities are given an opportunity equal to that of persons without disabilities to obtain use or benefit from New Path’s goods and services.

1. New Path will communicate with people with disabilities in a manner that will take into account their disability;
2. New Path staff will be trained on how to interact and communicate with clients with various types of disabilities;
3. Clients with disabilities will be offered alternative communication formats that will meet the needs of the client.
4. Documents will be provided to clients in an alternative format that will meet the needs of the client in a timely fashion and in accordance with New Path’s Policy Manual.

Service Animal

New Path is committed to welcoming people with disabilities who are accompanied by a service animal that is not in contravention of any law (i.e., The Municipal Code By-law) on the parts of our premises that are open to the public and other third parties and owned and operated by New Path. If a service animal is excluded by law, New Path will ensure that alternate means are available to enable the person with a disability to obtain, use or benefit from New Path’s resources and services.

Support Person

New Path is committed to welcoming people with disabilities who are accompanied by a support person. Any person with a disability who is accompanied by a support person will be allowed to enter New Path’s premises with his or her support person. At no time will a person with a disability who is accompanied by a support person be prevented from having access to his or her support person while on New Path’s premises.

New Path may require a person with a disability to be accompanied by a support person when receiving materials or service or participating in a program offered by New Path in situations where it is necessary to protect the health and safety of the person with a disability or the health and safety of others on the premises (please see Service Animals, Support Persons and Assistive devices procedures in this policy).

Fees will not be charged for one support person when a client with a disability is accessing services where an admission fee is applicable and require a support service. Clients will be informed of this notice, and it will be posted within New Path’s premises and provided in alternate formats such as the New Path webpage.

Assistive Devices

A person with a disability may provide their own assistive device for the purpose of obtaining, using, and benefiting from New Path’s materials and services. Exceptions may occur in situations where New Path has determined that the assistive device may pose a risk to the health and safety of a person with a disability or the health and safety of others on the premises. In these situations, New Path may offer a person with a disability other reasonable measures to assist him or her in obtaining, using and benefiting from New Path’s materials and services, where New Path has such other measures available.

It should be noted that it is the responsibility of the person with a disability to ensure that his or her assistive device is operated in a safe and controlled manner at all times.

New Path will also ensure that employees are trained to use the following assistive devices for clients with disabilities: wheelchair, TTY, electronic communication devices, interpretive devices, internet.

New Path is aware that the operation of its services and facilities is important to its clients. However, temporary disruptions in New Path’s services and facilities may occur due toreasons that may or may not be within New Path’s control.

New Path will provide clients with notice in the event of a planned disruption in the facilities or services usually used by people with disabilities. In the event of an unplanned disruption of its facilities and services, New Path will make a reasonable effort to provide notice as soon as possible. In both cases, this notice will include information about the reason for the disruption, its anticipated duration, and a description of alternative facilities or services, if available.

When temporary disruptions occur to New Path’s services or facilities, New Path will provide notice by posting the information in visible places and on New Path’s website: www.newpath.ca or by any other method that may be reasonable under the circumstances.

New Path will provide customer service training in accordance with the Customer Service Standard under the IASR, which includes all employees, volunteers and others who deal with the public or other third parties on behalf of New Path, and all those who are involved in the development and approvals of customer service policies, practices and procedures.

The training will be provided as soon as practicable upon an individual being assigned the applicable duties.

Training will include the following :

1. Understanding the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005
2. Understanding the Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation (IASR) and the 5 Standards under the Regulation, including the requirements of the Customer Service Standard.
3. The Ontario Human Rights Code as it pertains to persons with disabilities.
4. Our policies and practices on providing accessible customer service to persons with disabilities.
5. Various types of disabilities, and how to interact and communicate with people with various types of disabilities.
6. How to interact with people with disabilities who use an assistive device or require the assistance of a service animal or a support person.
7. What to do if a person with a disability is having difficulty in accessing New Path’s resources and services.

Applicable employees will be trained on policies, practices and procedures that affect the way resources and services are provided to people with disabilities. Employees [EP4] will complete refresher training every two (2) years. Employees will also be trained on an ongoing basis when changes are made to these policies, practices and procedures.

Records of training will be maintained containing name of employee trained and date of training.

Employees are required to take into consideration a person’s disability when making meeting arrangements. New Path will ensure that meetings held by New Path will be in an accessible environment. If a specific location is not accessible to a person with a disability, then the employee is required to arrange a meeting at another location that is accessible to the person with a disability.

New Path will take into consideration and provide alternate forms of communicating with  persons with disabilities in attendance at meetings, taking into account their disability, including but not limited to, scheduling a meeting over the phone, or virtually.

New Path will provide access to the meeting contents and proceedings in accessible format, upon request.

In accordance with the AODA and the IASR, New Path is committed to providing our customers and their expectations with a feedback process to generate customer suggestions and complaints. This policy is a mechanism for clients to provide their suggestions, comments and complaints.

Feedback regarding the way New Path provides resources and services to its clients and to people with disabilities can be made via:

1. Completion of the Accessibility Feedback Form found on New Path’s website at: newpath.ca/accessibility/
2. Completion of the Accessibility Feedback Form, available from reception, in person at any of our locations in Simcoe County. Our locations are found on our website at: newpath.ca/contact/
3. By email to the attention of Human Resources at: HR@newpath.ca
4. By phoning our main phone number at: 705-725-7656, and requesting to speak to the Manager of Human Resources

New Path is committed to developing customer service policies that respect and promote the dignity and independence of our clients. We will communicate with people with disabilities, to the best of our ability, in ways that take into account their disability and offer communication methods that are suitable to their communication needs (i.e. email, telephone, or in-person, etc.).

New Path will provide any document produced by New Path in an alternative format upon request, unless it is not technically feasible to do so, and subject to the provisions of the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

Requests for information in an alternative format are to be provided to the client in a reasonable amount of time.

Alternative formats will include but are not limited to, availability on New Path’s website, large print versions of the document, a text only electronic file which can then be read by a computer, arrangements made for print in Braille, meeting with a person with a disability in-person to read aloud information to them, etc. If the information cannot be converted to a certain accessibility format, or communication support is not technically possible, New Path will explain why the organization is unable to do so and provide a summary of the content.

New Path will provide notice that this policy is available for public viewing.