Literacy and Basic Skills (LBS)

Administration and Agreements

Through the LBS Program, the ministry funds Ontario third-party organizations to provide literacy services. The guidelines for both support organizations and service providers provide the information needed to administer the program including details about the services and administrative procedures that form part of the agreement between third-party organizations and the ministry.

LBS Agreement Creation

A fundamental administrative element of the business planning cycle is the agreement creation process.  The agreement is a legal contract between the ministry and the LBS organization.  The agreement outlines the organization’s rights, obligations, and the activities they will undertake with respect to entering into a legal contract to deliver the Literacy and Basic Skills program to Ontarians.

Once the organization has submitted their business plan to the ministry, it is reviewed and assessed.  When the ministry has been satisfied that the business plan meets all requirements, the agreement creation process is initiated.  LBS agreements are created before the start of the fiscal year on April 1st. The ministry uses the information detailed in the business plan to form the binding agreement between the organization and the Government of Ontario for delivery of the LBS program.

LBS Agreement Signing

Once the agreement has been created, the agreement is sent to the LBS organization for signature.  Each agreement is attached to a memo from the regional director/director which outlines the steps an organization must take to finalize their agreement with the Province.

The LBS agreement and director memo are sent to the authorized representative of the organization who has the legal authority to bind the agreement. The agreement is not considered to be in force or binding until signed by the organization’s legal signing authority and the ministry.

Once two signed, original copies of the agreement are returned and ministry staff have validated that all the required information has been received, the LBS agreements are then forwarded to the regional director/director for signing.

One copy of the agreement is maintained by the ministry, while an original copy is returned to the organization.

LBS Agreement In-Year Amendments

When there are fundamental changes to business plans/projects (e.g. activities or budget), an in-year amendment to a signed LBS agreement is required. Amendments are mutually agreed upon and are initiated at the request of the LBS organization or as required by the ministry.

Requests initiated by the LBS organization must be made in writing, supported with a rationale and assessed by the ministry staff.

Any amendments to the agreement must be signed by the ministry and the organization to acknowledge the changes as they pertain to the current year’s agreement. Similar to the agreement signing process previously detailed, the amended agreement must be signed first by the LBS organization, returned and then signed by the appropriate signing authority within the ministry. Once again, a copy will be sent to the recipient organization and the original signed amended agreement maintained within the organization’s file at the ministry.

Financial Reporting

The Audit and Accountability Requirements form part of the LBS agreement which details all of the accountability and legal requirements of an LBS organization.

The Audit and Accountability Requirements outline an organization’s responsibilities regarding the completion of the following templates:

  • Estimate of Expenditure Report (EER)
  • Statement of Revenue and Expenditure Report (SRER)
  • Auditor’s Report

These templates are submitted to the ministry for review and reconciliation. Any concerns raised are addressed with the LBS organization. Payments will be delayed if completed, signed reports are not received by due dates identified for a given year.