HSC Mentorship-WORK IN PROGRESS

HSC Mentorship

Office Level Mentorship

  • Introductions to key staff
  • History and structure of NSISP 
  • Provide Homestay Coordinator manual
  • How many students will be arriving at RCE and in the province
  • How many students will likely have on their caseload per semester? 
  • The difference in short term students and long term students  (3,5,10 months)
  • Coordinators names, schools they oversee, approx. how many years with NSISP. 
  • Review schools they will be overseeing. How many students at each school, Liaison names, Ambassador Names.
  • Review role of host families, Emergency families, and temporary host families. 
  • Importance of CRC, CAR, J Forms, liability insurance, and other pertinent paperwork
  • Importance of confidentiality and signing of a confidentiality agreement.
  • Protocol for ordering supplies
  • Set up True North Training
  • Pair with an HSC for training and shadowing
  • Submitting expenses for reimbursement
  • Claiming mileage and parking (when approved)
  • Monthly Reports
  • Review staff meeting schedules/protocols
  • Review NSISP Response Framework
  • Review proper use of RCE technology use
  • Expectations around hours, attending events, orientation, escalations, and emergencies.
  • Protocols around arrivals and departures and hotel bookings
  • High-level review of the yearly calendar.
  • Provide HSC with an activity booklet
  • ** attach all reports and forms as appendices  

HSC Mentorship 

  • EFT form reviewed, complete a template and give copy via hard copy and electronic. 
  • CAR form reviewed, complete a template and give copy via hard copy and electronic
  • Complete their own CRC, CAR, J Form
  • J Form reviewed, complete a template and give copy via hard copy and electronic. 
  • Process for completing CRC reviewed
    • Discussed all families require to have these completed prior to hosting. Anyone in the house 19 years of age and older requires a CAR, CRC and J Form if they drive a car. 
    • Review proper email protocol document
  • School Staff – Principals names, guidance, secretary, liaisons name, and contact information. 
  • Review a school registration form.
  • Reviewed what the first few days of school look like.
  • Review “Tips for registering students” document.  This is not their responsibility but good to go over.
  • Role of Ambassador.
  • Attendance policy at schools, exceptions, our events, and how these absences are coded along with when to send our attendance list to the schools 
  • Download NSISP Passport app on phone. 
  • Host family Orientation – what is it? When is it? What are HSC’s responsibilities?
  • Review host family and student files. 
  • Submitting Expenses – Review process for submitting receipts and expenditures to the office.
  • How to set up a distribution list for each school of families and students. 
    • Introduction email to their families and students once email access. 
    • Email student’s introduction letter and requesting top 10 courses by a specific date.
  • Arrivals – Review arrival protocols, the role of airport greeters, and guidelines for requesting overnight hotel for students.
  • Departures Review arrival protocols, the role of airport greeters, and guidelines for requesting overnight hotel for students.
  • Provide copies of the following forms
    • Form J
    • CAR
    • CRC
    • Host family profile/Questionnaire
    • EFT form
    • Verification EFT form
    • Liability insurance form
    • Host family removal form
    • Host Family Agreement
    • Photo release document
    • Liability form
    • 1st semester question forms to fill out – When these should be done as well as Form J
    • 2nd semester visit yearly form to fill out – When these should be done as well as Form J
    • If a student wants to move, what to do, change of homestay letter and reflection form. 
    • The host family wants a student to move, what to do and reflection form. 

Review how to put a new host family file together and what goes into it prior to our visits. 

    • Blue Cross Policy for NSISP 
      • What it covers and does not cover. 
      • Provide a link to the website: https://nsispinsurance.ca/
      • Easiest way to fill out the form. Where to send the completed form and receipt. (Keep a copy for your records to put with the student profile, Date it when it’s put in the mailbox either at the schools or at the office.) 
      • Does the student have EFT? If not the best scenario is for the Host family to deposit into their account and give student cash (if the host family is comfortable). 
      • Review when to see a doctor and visits to walk-in clinic rather than hospital
      • Review some of the common mental issues and student coverage $2000.00
  • New Home Stay Files 
      • How to set one up for upcoming visits
      • What needs to go into file
  • What to send to a person interested in more information about our program. 
  • References for New host families 
      • References cannot be family 
      • Need 3 references
  • Given e-mail and form for references to send or call to people.
      • Keep a copy of references for your records and either email or print a copy for office. Can do reference over the phone, but, must write on form that you spoke with the person on what date and time. 
    • Exit Surveys for Host families and students 
      • What are they? Who does them? When are they done? 
  • Distribution List for Email
      • Should have one for Office NSISP
      • Coordinators
      • Ambassadors
      • Each school with staff they deals with on a regular basis, Liaisons, Ambassadors and EAL. 
  • Change of Home Stay and Temporary Placement
      • Needs to be completed as soon as all arrangements are made between parties. Notify office as soon as possible, even if all arrangements are not made. 
  • Students Traveling
  • NSISP Students can travel in Canada and be covered under Blue Cross. 
  • Students can travel with host families in the Maritimes without permission form from office. Good practice to ask your HF’s to send a quick email on the dates they are traveling and where they are going.
  • Students wanting to travel out of the Maritimes need to let you know when they are going, returning, where they are going, who they are going with and we need a photo copy of the ID if they are with a chaperone. These travel plans need to be approved by the office two weeks before any travel can be booked.
  • Let host family know how the policy and procedure works. 

September 

  • Make a list of arrivals, date, time, student, school, and host family and phone number. 
  • Arrival 
  • Day before arrival contact host family to tell them if you will be at the airport or not at the airport to meet them and their student. 
  • Remind host family to bring a sign with student’s full name on it in big letters. Great first impression. 
  • Arrive 20 minutes prior to flight
  • Host family check in with NSISP airport greeters when they arrive for their student. 
  • Do not linger around airport greeters table at the airport, their role is to support host families and incoming students. 
  • You will find them and their student and take a group picture and will share with them via NSISP Passport app, email, what’s app and our facebook page. 
  • Once student arrives and with correct family, picture taken, get the family to check out with NSISP greeters and then they can get luggage and head home. 
  • Call host family within 24 hours of student’s arrival to see how things are going?
  • Contact host family on the weekend after school starts to see how things are going? 
  • Contact host family one last time end of September to see how things are going. 
  • May have to make a few extra calls if things are not going well or they are struggling at first. 
  • Orientation at the school prefer day before school starts.
  • Talk to your school about the day and time in your late August meeting. Invite your ambassadors. 
      • No School buses will be running this day. So host families should help get their students to and from this orientation. It will be 1.5 hours long.
      • Tour of school, lockers
      • ID for computer login in
      • Power school
      • Course/schedule (Tell students the only day and time to change courses). No courses are to be changed prior or after that date you tell them. They need to continue to take these classes until changes can be made. In the meantime, they are to talk to their natural parents/agency and school to confirm what they require to take and alternatives in case the school does not offer that course. 
      • Give them your contact information
      • Little history about yourself
      • Introduce School staff and ambassadors. 
      • Students should not carry more than $20 on them. Credit cards and Passports should be left home in a safe place. Bring their credit card if have plans after school, but do not make it known. 
      • All students should have coordinators phone number on them at all times, as well as their host family name, address, phone number. 
      • If the student has a cell phone, it is suggested they have $5 on it for emergency calls, as sometimes they do not have internet access. 
      • All students will or should have a curfew, chores, rules; each home can be different, so comparing is not helpful. 
      • Should think about a welcome potluck or ice cream social for students/ ambassadors/ host families to get to know each other. Ask a host family if they would host. 
  • Mandatory orientation for new NSISP host families
  • Monthly Report
  • Due by the 1 or 2nd of the following month
  • Semester visitneeds to be completed by ………