Public Safety committee  We have a consent form, which is signed by the parents, to participate in the program, and it allows the sharing of information among all of the agencies that are at the table. This may mean that other agencies have to come to the table, which we determine after the fact, as participants in the concerns for youth.

Public Safety committee  Besides the funding piece, which is big, I think we're looking at the support of the concept. I hear that. Obviously, there are other agencies that are practising much in the same way we are, that are selling this model as well as we are, but I think the acceptance of it is huge.

Public Safety committee  Yes, I think that would be really big. I think it would help people in communities move towards working in that direction.

Public Safety committee  It's been very good. There are definitely boundaries around it, because the RCMP has a lot of confidential information; you work within the appropriate boundaries. We've never had an issue with that. In our 11 years of doing business inside or outside the detachment, we've never had a complaint about sharing information incorrectly.

Public Safety committee  No, not at all.

Public Safety committee  I think definitely having a top-down approach.... I feel like at START we are working from the bottom up. We are selling the program, and at least within our province we are trying to engage people—and we have been able to; we've been successful in that. One of the things we do find is that because it isn't mandated at a higher level, you can have people from agencies who say they don't really believe in the model, so they don't want to participate in it.

Public Safety committee  The client case management process, is how they termed it.

Public Safety committee  No.

Public Safety committee  Our evaluation does compare us to other wraparound programs in America, and we really held up very well against them. In comparison to other programs we may be competing with in our area, there really aren't any because we fill the gap. The whole reason START was created 11 years ago was that kids were falling through the cracks, and every agency saw that and knew we had to do something different.

Public Safety committee  Each one of the models differs slightly, but, for instance, START—and our program is the largest—costs about $70,000 to run, cash in hand, and then in kind there's about another $20,000 that is added.

Public Safety committee  The RCMP are part of our steering committee. They share an equal spot on our board that determines how our program runs and how that goes ahead. I'm housed within the detachment, but I'm not a detachment employee. It's kind of a symbiotic relationship. They help me and I help them, all in the name of helping the clients we work with.

Public Safety committee  Yes, we have wonderful support from the RCMP. I really can't put it any other way. We both realize that we assist each other. They're very supportive of us, not only financially but also in concept. They've been willing to go to bat for us. It's a program that once you see it running and see what's happening, and see the effect within the community, it's really hard not to want to do the most you can for it.

Public Safety committee  I would have to agree. I've certainly had that expressed to me from members I work with within our detachment. They have seen a reduction in what they have to do. As I've said, we've compared those stats. We pulled the files on the clients we work with, made that mark when they were referred to the program, and are able to see that there are far fewer calls for service than previously.

Public Safety committee  It is my understanding that the funding model that we were funded under, Skills Link, has shifted slightly. The area we were funded under no longer exists.

Public Safety committee  Yes.