N.B. public advocate pitches non-profit co-ordination unit to fix social services

New Brunswick's public advocate, Kelly Lamrock, has proposed the creation of a new unit to better coordinate the province's social services and community organizations. In a report published today, Lamrock suggests the establishment of a Non-Profit Opportunities Unit, which would focus on measuring success through human outcomes rather than following manuals and checklists.

The unit would also work to streamline grant applications for community organizations, addressing the bureaucratic issues present in the current system. Lamrock's proposal comes in response to two previous reports that attributed the deaths of a 16-year-old boy and an elderly woman to systemic failures within the Department of Social Development.

The suggested unit would use "social entrepreneurship contracts" as a means of tracking savings for the government, emphasizing preventative measures and reducing costs associated with crises. By fostering a stronger relationship between government and non-profit sectors, Lamrock argues that New Brunswick can transition from crisis management to prevention, from bureaucracy to partnership, and from charity to essential services.