Charting Our Path Forward: 2022-2027 Strategic Plan Progress Update
It is hard to believe that we are now entering the final six months of PLEA’s 2022-2027 Strategic Plan.
When we launched our plan, Going from Good to Great, we committed ourselves to strengthening our foundation, expanding our reach, enhancing our services, and positioning PLEA as an even stronger and more sustainable organization for the future. Over the past four years, we have steadily worked towards that vision through six pillars of change: Structure for Leadership, Collaborative Excellence, Sustainable Stewardship, Innovative Housing, Outcomes Measurement, and Ally to Reconciliation.
As we approach the finish line, it is encouraging to see how much progress has been made. At the same time, a strategic plan is only meaningful if we are honest about where we have succeeded, where priorities have evolved, and where work remains unfinished. With six months remaining, our focus is shifting from building momentum to ensuring these commitments are embedded in our organization long after this plan concludes.
1. Structure for Leadership
AIM: By 2027, we will have an organizational structure that is easy to understand, written succession plans for key roles, and a Board focused on governance over operations.
PROGRESS MADE: We established our Executive Leadership Team, transitioned to a new organizational structure, introduced new leadership positions, strengthened Board and leadership succession planning, and introduced a performance-based developmental track for management and leadership roles.
Our focus is now on one of the final pieces of this pillar: improving how people understand PLEA from the outside looking in.
A draft naming framework has now been completed. The proposed approach provides a consistent and scalable way to name PLEA’s services, programs, locations, and leadership portfolios. It balances the need for clarity and accessibility with respect for our history, community relationships, and established program identities. By reducing reliance on abstract and acronym-based naming conventions and moving towards plain-language descriptions, the framework aims to improve understanding among staff, participants, families, funders, partners, and community members.
WHAT STILL NEEDS TO HAPPEN: To fully achieve the “easy to understand” objective, the framework must still move through consultation, endorsement, and implementation. Over the coming months, we will engage affected teams, gather Board feedback, develop supporting communications materials, and establish implementation priorities and timelines. While progress has been made under this pillar, this remains one of the key pieces of work still underway.
2. Collaborative Excellence
AIM: By 2027, teams will work as well with one another as they do within one another; shared systems, approaches, and initiatives will be the norm, and an enterprise mindset will thrive.
PROGRESS MADE: We have invested heavily in building stronger connections across programs, committees, and departments. Highlights have included agency-wide World Café events, committee strategic planning, committee succession planning, and the implementation of UKG as a shared payroll and HR platform, and the integration of Asante into PLEA.
WHAT STILL NEEDS TO HAPPEN: This pillar contains some of the strategic plan objectives that are least complete. In particular, the plan called for clearer agency-wide approaches related to autism, mental health, substance use, and cultural safety. While initial conversations have occurred, these initiatives have not advanced at the pace originally envisioned.
With six months remaining, our priority is to identify which of these commitments can realistically be completed during the life of the plan and which may need to carry forward into our next strategic planning cycle.
3. Sustainable Stewardship
AIM: By 2027, strong, sustainable funding models will support all aspects of program delivery, and PLEA’s infrastructure will be fully leveraged to promote program sustainability.
PROGRESS MADE: Caregiver recruitment continues to be a central focus. During the last fiscal year, we recruited 14 new caregivers, including five individuals from outside our existing networks. This builds on several years of stable recruitment efforts and reflects the continued importance of family-based care within our service model.
We also continued contributing to our KidStart & Children of the Street Legacy Funds. Based on current projections, both funds are expected to achieve their respective targets of $2.1 million and $1 million by March 2027. These funds will eventually provide an important financial cushion for programs that rely heavily on grants and donations.
WHAT STILL NEEDS TO HAPPEN: A particular focus over the next six months will be the implementation of our Indigenous Caregiver Recruitment Strategy that builds on the relationships, learning, and community engagement undertaken throughout the life of this strategic plan. We have already laid important groundwork through consultation with Indigenous partners. These conversations have provided valuable guidance on how to develop an approach that is responsive, culturally informed, and aligned with community priorities.
4. Innovative Housing
AIM: By 2027, we’ll have access to appropriate homes for any participant who needs one.
PROGRESS MADE: This pillar has evolved significantly over the life of the strategic plan. We began by expanding our continuum of care by creating a specialized staff-supported home for youth. Later, our Adult Services team undertook extensive work to explore future housing models and identify options that would better support participants requiring varying levels of independence and support. Although we have secured sufficient resources to purchase a property for this program, an appropriate property has not yet presented itself.
At the same time, we successfully launched a new supported housing initiative for youth transitioning out of care. The program pairs each participant with a trauma-informed “friendly landlord” while also providing weekly life skills development and wraparound case management.
Our first participant, a 19-year-old new mother, has already demonstrated the potential of this model. With stable housing, consistent support, and practical skill-building opportunities, she has successfully maintained her tenancy, strengthened her parenting capacity, pursued educational goals, engaged with community resources, and built a stronger foundation for herself and her child.
WHAT STILL NEEDS TO HAPPEN: This pillar remains partially complete.
While we have identified preferred housing models and secured funding for future development, we have not yet achieved the strategic plan’s aspiration of having access to appropriate housing options for every participant who requires them.
Housing access is likely to remain an important priority beyond the conclusion of this strategic plan.
5. Outcomes Measurement
AIM: By 2027, we’ll measure ourselves against outcomes as well as outputs, thereby clearly demonstrating the value of what we do.
PROGRESS MADE: Of all six pillars, this may be the area where the greatest progress has occurred over the past year. Beginning with literature reviews, staff training, and theory-of-change development, we have now moved firmly into implementation.
This year, we introduced eight organization-wide outcome areas:
- Safety and Stability
- Health and Well-Being
- Relationships and Connections
- Engagement and Participation
- Skills and Independence
- Hope and Future Orientation
- Program Completion and Positive Transitions
- Equity, Inclusion, and Cultural Safety
We also established practical tools for collecting and analyzing outcome data, including participant surveys, staff assessments, attendance tracking, case notes, and program records. Participant surveys are increasingly being integrated throughout service delivery and are designed to capture change over time at key points in a participant’s journey. In addition, we developed agency-wide guidance and resources to help teams create effective, trauma-informed, and inclusive measurement tools.
WHAT STILL NEEDS TO HAPPEN: The challenge now shifts from building systems to generating meaningful longitudinal data. As more programs begin collecting information consistently, our focus will be on establishing baselines, identifying trends, and ensuring that the information gathered meaningfully informs service delivery, quality improvement, and future strategic planning.
6. Ally to Reconciliation
AIM: By 2027, we’ll be well known as a culturally safe place for all and recognized for our allyship with Indigenous communities.
PROGRESS MADE: Reconciliation is a journey rather than a destination. Since 2022, we have invested significantly in cultural learning, staff development, Indigenous partnerships, community events, knowledge sharing, and participant cultural connections.
PLEA has consistently participated in National Indigenous Peoples Day celebrations in both Maple Ridge and Surrey, as well as the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in Maple Ridge. These events continue to be important opportunities to strengthen relationships with Indigenous communities, promote cultural learning, and demonstrate our ongoing commitment to reconciliation in action.
The guidance provided by our Indigenous Knowledge Keepers continues to strengthen our programs and deepen our understanding of cultural safety and Indigenous ways of knowing.
WHAT STILL NEEDS TO HAPPEN: Some planned initiatives, including the recruitment of a third Knowledge Keeper, have been placed on hold. We are currently assessing progress made against broader goals related to cultural safety, Indigenous partnerships, and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action. While important work has been accomplished, this is an area where continued effort and accountability will be required beyond 2027.
Looking Ahead
When I reflect on where we started in 2022 and where we stand today, I am incredibly proud of what this organization has accomplished. We have strengthened our leadership structure, improved succession planning, expanded housing supports, built a meaningful framework for measuring outcomes, advanced reconciliation efforts, enhanced our financial sustainability, and deepened collaboration across the organization.
Not every objective has been completed exactly as originally envisioned. Some have evolved. Some require more time. And some have revealed complexities that only became apparent once the work began.
That is the value of strategic planning. It provides direction, but it also allows us to learn, adapt, and respond to changing realities while remaining focused on the outcomes that matter most.
Over the next six months, our attention will be on finishing what we can and beginning the conversation about what comes next.
To every caregiver, volunteer, participant, Board member, donor, staff member, funder, and partner: thank you. The progress described here belongs to all of you.
The finish line is now in sight. Let’s make these final six months count.
Tim Veresh, Chief Executive Officer
