Since 2018, ONN has been part of a network of organizations (advocacy groups, service providers, and funders) convened by to build a civil society coalition to develop a shared agenda for nonprofits鈥� access to and use of government-held administrative data, including for purposes related to policy advocacy, integrated services, research, and impact evaluation.

Administrative data are operational records that governments and service providers keep on the people they serve. Examples of administrative data could include: physician visit records, high school completion records, birth and death records, and tax returns.

Currently, nonprofits do not have access to much of the data that they need to plan and deliver evidence-based programs, evaluate and demonstrate the impact of their programs, and identify/address systemic issues affecting their communities.

Administrative data can provide rich information about communities and the services or programs they use, which could be harnessed by the nonprofit sector toward better community outcomes.

Research and engagement

PBD conducted through 2018, showed a clear interest in moving this agenda forward: to increase access, use, and sharing of administrative data for social benefit, while also preventing and/or stopping misuse and harm through collection and use of admin data.

The Data Policy Coalition formally launched on June 18, 2019, bringing together diverse stakeholder groups (advocacy groups, service providers, and funders) for the first time.

The meeting focused on establishing common ground and developing guiding principles and an interim governance structure to support the coalition in moving to action in this first year. Governance will be revisited in one year鈥檚 time as the coalition鈥檚 priorities and work evolve.

We are now in the process of confirming coalition membership and establishing a Steering Committee.
Initial objectives in this first year are to:

• Develop a data policy agenda to pursue effective, ethical, and responsible rights-based administrative data sharing within the social sector and/or specific domains of the sector
• Explore projects to demonstrate the value and benefits of sharing administrative data while preventing harm through misuse and misrepresentation
  91视频 Data Strategy

The Administrative Data Policy Coalition work is particularly timely because the 91视频 Government is consulting on . There are major changes coming to privacy legislation such as the Freedom of Information and Privacy Protection Act (FIPPA), which was amended as part of the 91视频 Budget implementation bill (read our summary of Bill 100 here). “Data integration units” will be created to allow for administrative data sharing between ministries and programs. At the government consultations, ONN will highlight important privacy and data considerations for the nonprofit sector and our communities, and we hope to learn more about the government鈥檚 plans for these data integration units and the role that nonprofits can play in data-sharing arrangements. You can . Contact liz@theonn.ca to learn more about the coalition.

We can do better!

ONN has been working on the issue of record checks since March 2012, when we asked the 91视频 government for improvements in fees and timelines for processing police record checks, as well as greater clarity on when and why checks are needed. Organizations like the , the , the , the , and the 91视频 Association of Patient Councils had been advocating for police record check reform for years through the . We also realized that the issue affected a broad range of nonprofits as employers and stewards of volunteers.
It was clear that inconsistent practices across 91视频 about the type and detail of information contained in a police record check were creating uncertainty and challenges for nonprofits. Inappropriate information was sometimes being released in police record checks- particularly non-conviction records such as mental health interventions and criminal charges that had been withdrawn or resulted in an acquittal. Many nonprofits were concerned about how to interpret this information with respect to privacy, human rights, and community safety.

Last spring, ONN talked about the need for a province-wide solution in 鈥淧olice Record Checks: We Can Do Better鈥�. Public momentum gathered when a Toronto Star highlighted the impact on individuals, inspired by reports released by the聽and the that spoke to the scale of the issue- potentially affecting millions of Ontarians.

Making provincial progress

ONN partnered up with the John Howard Society and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, along with the 91视频 Association of Chiefs of Police (OACP) and the 91视频 Chamber of Commerce, to press for changes. In December 2014, ONN and partners met with Minister Naqvi to ask for a province-wide solution based on the OACP鈥檚 voluntary聽Law Enforcement and Records Managers Network (LEARN) Record Check Guideline聽for police services. The Guideline had been updated in 2014 to remove police interactions, including mental health apprehensions, from all police record checks. The majority of police services were using it- but not all. Faced with such a broad alliance united in support of new legislation based on the LEARN Guideline, the Minister could hardly refuse. He promised to introduce legislation by spring- and did.

So what’s in the legislation?

Bill 113 will clarify what kinds of information will be released in a police record check. It provides consistent language across the province for the three levels of checks: Criminal Record Checks; Criminal Record and Judicial Matters Checks; and Vulnerable Sector Checks. The legislation also specifies the time limits on the non-conviction information released in Vulnerable Sector Checks under the 鈥淓xceptional Disclosure鈥� provision, which also establishes a test for the very narrow circumstances under which this information may be released.
Other provisions in the bill relevant to nonprofits include:

• A requirement that an individual give consent before the information in her/his police record check is released to a third party (e.g. a prospective employer)
• A requirement for police services to establish a standard process for correcting misinformation
• More consistency around police record checks across a number of existing Acts, such as those that govern child care and long-term care for the elderly

ONN released a joint statement with our partners supporting the legislation. Bill 113 is a great example of what can be achieved when nonprofits work together and across sectors to bring their voices to government.

What happens next?

We expect Bill 113 to take a year to proceed through the House and become law. We will reach out to opposition members in hopes of seeing all-party support.
ONN will advocate for the development of regulations under the Act, especially to ensure that fees, timelines and other processing barriers are addressed. We anticipate that the regulations will also provide clarity on the circumstances in which the different levels of police record checks should be used.
Meanwhile, ONN will work with our partners from the nonprofit and government sectors to educate community nonprofits on the appropriate use of police record checks in the context of an overall employee and volunteer screening approach.

Legislation + Central screening + No-cost checks= Helping nonprofits focus on their missions

Ultimately, we鈥檇 like to see police record checks legislation complemented by two systems that would further reduce the administrative burden on nonprofits:

1. A central screening service that provides clear results (pass/fail/adjudicate/appeal) for vulnerable sector checks (in place in ) instead of police record information that nonprofits must interpret themselves
2. A program that covers the costs of volunteer police record check for eligible nonprofit organizations (as in ).

How can organizations support sector change?

Police record checks are important tools to help nonprofits and protect the vulnerable persons we serve, but they are not the only- or even the main employee or volunteer screening tool. The over-reliance on police record checks has contributed to rising costs and increased timelines for processing. Organizations must ensure that asking for a police record check is clearly related to a legitimate requirement of the job. If an employee or volunteer will have only casual or occasional contact with vulnerable persons, a check may not be necessary.
We encourage all nonprofits to re-evaluate the need for police record checks in your organization and to consider other tools in a more holistic screening process. With 55,000 organizations, 5.2 million volunteers and 1 million paid staff, together we need to ensure there are fewer barriers to employment and volunteerism. We can all contribute to change by rethinking our approach and shifting towards best practices.

About the author
Liz Sutherland is the Policy Advisor for ONN.

Related resources
CBC:
CP24:
Kingston Herald:
Toronto Star: