You should see the damage this did in the homeless circles with the delays and screw ups. We got overwhelmed at the shelter.
Modernizing Ontario's Social Assistance System: Timeline
2001-02
SDMT introduced at a cost of $400 million
2002
Provincial Auditor first points out issues with SDMT, including errors causing incorrect payments
2004
Provincial Auditor notes continued issues with SDMT, including performance and issues for frontline staff who use the technology
2004-05
SDMT Architecture Assessment conducted to determine how to improve maintainability, flexibility and operations, and reduce costs (annual cost of $73 million to maintain SDMT in 2004-05)
2009
Provincial Auditor continues to note issues with SDMT, including functionality issues and errors that require constant workarounds by caseworkers
2009
Ontario government launches major technology replacement project to update high-risk provincial technology platforms
2009
IBM/Cúram wins competitive procurement process to develop SAMS
2011
Provincial Auditor continues to express concerns about SDMT’s reliability and its known deficiencies, including internal controls and information to allow social assistance offices to manage program spending
Oct. 2013
Early training on SAMS completed for 1,500 local managers and subject matter experts
Dec. 2013
Additional funding of $3 million provided to municipal delivery agents to assist with additional costs incurred during preparation for implementation
Jan.-June 2014
Extensive end-user training provided to over 11,000 municipal and ministry staff who would be using the new SAMS system in approximately 257 offices
May 2014
Additional funding of $2 million provided to municipal delivery agents to assist with additional costs incurred during preparation for implementation
May-Sept 2014
Refresher training provided to all field staff
Summer 2014
60 additional temporary staff hired to support pre- and post-implementation activities for ODSP ($3.9 million for salaries/wages through March 2015). Training for all ODSP staff ($1.8 million).
Nov. 11, 2014
SAMS replaces SDMT as the social assistance delivery system. The cost of developing the new technology - from conception (Nov. 2009) to ‘go live’ (Dec. 2014) is $242 million
Dec. 8, 2014
Additional payment of $5 million to municipalities to support implementation costs
Jan. 12, 2015
Technical Working Group established, consisting of municipal and provincial frontline staff, managers and technical staff, to help the ministry identify and prioritize implementation challenges. Implementation costs from January to March 2015 include SAMS hosting, licensing and maintenance ($1.8 million) and ongoing post-implementation support ($6.9 million)
Feb. 10, 2015
Third-party review process initiated. PwC awarded contract
Feb. 10, 2015
Frontline Staff Working Group established to support Technical Working Group to get further input on system improvements from Ontario Works and ODSP frontline staff
March 19, 2015
Additional payment of $5 million to municipalities to support implementation costs
Apr.-Oct. 2015
Work begins to decommission SDMT to securely store historical data contained in the system in a read-only archive that will allow users to search and retrieve pertinent client information
https://www.mcss.gov.on.ca/en/mcss/news/backgrounders/2015/20150501.aspx
