Evaluation of the Host Program
Executive Summary
Policy and program context
A strategic goal of Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) is the successful integration of newcomers to Canada in order to maximize the economic, social and cultural benefits of immigration. Since 1990, integration in Canada has been premised on the principle of a “two-way street” that requires accommodations and adjustments by both newcomers and Canadians in order to be successful. The “two-way street” principle involves helping immigrants learn about Canada and Canadian values, and helping Canadians understand the diverse backgrounds and contributions of newcomers, as well as the many challenges they face in immigrating to a new country.
CIC offers various programs to support newcomers in the settlement process. The Host Program (Host) is one such program, which is specifically designed to support the concept of the “two-way street” through matching newcomers with Canadian volunteers. This approach is intended to support newcomer settlement through the provision of information, assistance and the opportunity to practice English or French; and to assist newcomers to develop social and professional networks. The Canadian community organizations and individuals that volunteer increase their knowledge and understanding of newcomers, and are consequently more welcoming and supportive of the integration process.
In 2008, CIC modernized its approach to settlement with the intention to better respond to newcomer needs. Under the new approach, CIC reorganized its settlement programs under one single program with six streams. Host-type activities now fall under the Community Connection stream that focuses on connecting vulnerable groups with Canadians and local support networks, while providing opportunities for cross-cultural interaction in their local community.
CIC does not deliver the settlement programs directly to newcomers; rather, it provides contribution funding to Service Provider Organizations (SPOs) and other community-based agencies who deliver services directly to newcomers.
Evaluation objectives and methodology
The evaluation examined delivery of the Host Program in all provinces and territories for which the CIC has the sole or joint responsibility for management of Settlement Programs (which excludes Quebec, Manitoba and British Columbia). The objective of this evaluation was to provide an evidence-based assessment of the relevance, implementation, results and design of the Program. The evaluation covered five years (from April 2004 to March 2009) and focused on the traditional Host Program as per requirements outlined in the original funding arrangement.
In the course of the evaluation, data was collected and analysed from a variety of primary (e.g., interviews, surveys and focus groups) and secondary sources (e.g., document and literature reviews), as well as CIC databases.
Host client and volunteer profile
The following briefly details the demographic profile of Host clients:
- Gender – Slightly more females than males (53% vs. 47%)
- Age – Most were between the ages of 25 and 44; however, 39% were 24 years or younger
- Immigration class – Almost half were refugees (48%)
- Language – 56% had no knowledge of either official language at the time of landing
- Education – 56% had secondary school education or less at the time of landing
The following briefly details the demographic profile of Host volunteers:
- Country of birth – 59% were Canadian-born
- Gender - More than half were female (68%)
- Clients of Program – 96% were not previous clients of the Program
- Occupation – Most were students (26%) or retirees (15%)
Key findings
Relevance
- The Host Program is relevant as it seeks to address two key needs of newcomers: unfamiliarity with the Canadian environment and the lack of community, professional and social networks.
- Compared to other CIC settlement programs, the Host Program is unique in its emphasis on creating social networks between newcomers and Canadians. It also provides support to newcomers in more informal settings than is the case for other settlement programs and involves Canadians directly in delivery of settlement services. Although other mentoring programs are available for newcomers in Canada, the Host Program provides greater scope in terms of its availability, geographical distribution and range of support.
- The Host Program is aligned with federal and departmental priorities and is broadly viewed to be consistent with the roles and responsibilities of the federal government.
Design
- There have been significant changes to the Host Program in recent years, including an increase in funding and an expansion of the type of services and activities offered.
- Although the design, division of roles and responsibilities and flexibility of the Host Program are viewed positively, stakeholders requested additional guidance on some Program implementation details, and recommended developing specific services for clients with disabilities, youth, women and newcomer professionals.
Monitoring and accountability
- CIC and SPOs expressed mixed views on the appropriateness of the existing monitoring and reporting mechanisms. iCAMS, which is designed to allow CIC to collect client and service information, needs further improvement in relation to both data entry (i.e. data definitions) and report production, notwithstanding the training provided. This, in turn, affects the reliability and utility of the data collected. In addition, CIC systems do not currently collect any data on client outcomes.
Program implementation
- While SPOs use a variety of formal tools for promotion, informal means such as “word of mouth” are the most common way in which participants learn about the Program. The drawback to informal promotion is that it can lead to misunderstandings of the objectives and purpose of the Program and may not be effective for SPOs just starting to deliver Host.
- As there is no standard assessment procedure, SPOs develop their own tools and criteria for the selection and assessment of clients and volunteers.
- Training for volunteers is systematic and covers a wide variety of topics, whereas orientation for clients is more informal. Both groups expressed a strong desire for more extensive training/orientation.
- The majority of participants were satisfied with the time it took to set up a match, the frequency of meetings, and the compatibility of their match.
- SPOs continue to work on individual matches; however, significant resources are now dedicated to the organization of group activities.
- The activities delivered under the Host Program target a variety of newcomer needs. The most popular activities are those that provide opportunities for conversation, regardless of whether those conversations occur in a one-on-one or group setting.
- The frequency and type of contact between SPOs and their Host matches is appropriate to monitor the match and to provide guidance to volunteers how to better address client needs.
Program results
- In terms of settlement and adaptation, the major impact of Host is the improvement in newcomers’ language skills. The Host Program also assisted clients to become more independent in everyday activities and to reduce their settlement related stress.
- In terms of networking, participation in the Program resulted in clients meeting more individuals and expanding their social network more than their professional network. However, volunteers assisted clients in their job search by helping to identify opportunities, develop resumes and prepare for interviews.
- With respect to two-way exchange, participation in the Host Program contributed to clients’ increased knowledge of Canadian culture. It also contributed to mutual cultural awareness and the acceptance of other cultures by clients and volunteers. The Host Program has also enabled volunteers to better understand the contributions of immigrants and the challenges they face in Canada.
- The most prevalent unexpected outcome of the Host Program has been the personal growth of clients in the areas of social skills, identity and leadership. According to clients, another unexpected outcome is the development of lasting personal connections between themselves and the volunteer(s).
Resource management
- There are mixed views as to whether the financial and human resources are adequate to ensure effective Program delivery.
- Host, as a volunteer-run Program, is widely perceived as an economically efficient model to deliver services. However, the available data suggests that the Program became more expensive as the cost per client increased and the ratio of leveraged resources declined over the years under review.
- Given the limitations of iCAMS and lack of outcome monitoring, it is not possible to report conclusively on cost-effectiveness.
Conclusions
The Host Program is based upon a model of two-way exchange between newcomers and Canadians. Overall, the design of the Program is effective, and has been sufficiently well-implemented. While originally designed as an individually-based matching program, group activities have become more prominent over the last few years.
The Program has been unsuccessful in expanding the number of clients it serves and services it provides, notwithstanding the additional resources committed since 2006/07. Therefore, the Program appears to be more expensive to operate. It is unknown whether this is, in fact, the case, or whether the Program has simply been unable to demonstrate its growth because of weaknesses in the data collection systems. In addition, as no performance measurement data is consistently collected on outcomes, CIC faces challenges in assessing the performance of this Program.
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