18
communities join provincial day of action against children’s
cuts

OCT 28,
2009:—In
2001, Gordon Campbell promised to stand up for BC’s vulnerable children as a
priority. Months later, he ordered 23% cuts to children’s programs. In 2005, the
Premier outlined five Great Goals – #3 was to “build the best system
of support in Canada” for children with special needs and those at
risk.

But Mr. Campbell
has again forgotten his promise to create a legacy of strong, safe and
well-supported children. So on Wednesday, Oct. 28, we’ve invited
British Columbians to help us remind Premier Campbell of his promise to BC’s
vulnerable children. So far, 18 BC communities have joined the Provincial Day of
Action coordinated by MOMs, a
volunteer support network for families of people with special needs. 

While BC enjoyed
record budget surpluses, waitlists for critical services that support vulnerable
children in and out of school grew longer. Now the Premier is cutting millions
from core programs, including autism, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD),
mental health, infant development, supported child development and Aboriginal
programs. Specialized staff are being lost, with one program given just a month
to wrap up. Front-line children’s agencies were forced to cut $3.6
million more. A further $32 million is being cut from essential Ministry roles
for monitoring,
oversight and support to assure children’s welfare and safety. And yet another
Ministry re-structuring will further strain the capacity to support vulnerable
children.  

There was no risk assessment or advance public discussion of these
cuts. Apart from a token increase for one small sub-group (700 children with
autism under age 6), savings will not reduce waitlists or improve access for the
vast majority – i.e. for tens of thousands of children with special needs who
are still waiting.

Provincial organizations for people with disabilities, children with
special needs and families have protested the cuts. Professionals represented by
the Health Sciences Association of BC strongly denounced funding cuts and the
loss of autism programs. Desperate parents have pleaded to save these programs,
noting the huge strides their children have made and the strong evidence base
for efficacy and long-term savings.

“The Infant Development Program is what saved me,” says Cyndi Gerlach,
the mom coordinating a North Vancouver action on Oct. 28. “I want other parents
to benefit just as I did.” 

Premier Campbell’s cuts to children’s programs are just a matter of
priorities. His revised budget commits $14 billion to capital projects. Alberta
spends twice as much on autism despite fewer children and is not cutting
programs despite a deficit twice as large as BC’s.  

“Our children can’t speak out or fight back against these cuts,” says
Cher Sherwood, the mom who helped organize several groups in Greater Victoria.
“It is our job as parents and citizens to speak up for them.”

And it is Premier Campbell’s job to honour his promises to BC’s kids by
protected and rebuilding vitally important supports and
services.

“We know that British Columbians don’t want to see BC’s budget balanced
on the back of our most vulnerable children,” says Vancouver mom Dawn Steele,
who will be leading another group on the Burrard Bridge. “We’re urging him to
join us by standing up and doing what he knows is the right thing to do.”

 

Details
of local actions, local contacts, background info & updates:
MOMs: http://MomsNetwork.ca 

MOMs
media contact: Dawn
Steele: 604 874-1416 h. /778 235-4998 c. or dawns@telus.net 

From The Guardian – Oct 22/09

It's not a secret that there is a shortage of qualified individuals on
the Island available to work with our children facing autism.

Lack of incentive to stay employed as 'tutors' (a term in itself that
is dated, non-specific, and definitely not fitting for the individuals
that don't just 'tutor' our children, but teach them to talk, play,
love, and become independent), stressful work environments, limited
support, and zero opportunities for advancement etc. are all
contributing factors. However, instead of marketing positions,
providing specific training from a recognized educational institution
or providing incentives for the qualified individuals who are currently
in the field to stay (hourly wage is $10/hour with zero benefits,
personal days, vacation, or system for increasing wage upon experience)
our early intervention team has partnered with the Passport to
Employment strategy and is supplying Island families with individuals
who have received up to one week of training in intensive behaviour
intervention (IBI) and autism. It was advertised as five weeks but four
consist of writing a resume and computer use and are not specific to
the job itself.

This is not only insufficient training for the people who will be
placed into these positions with very limited supervision or any
professional development, but also a slap in the face to those who have
spent two years, or more, dedicating their time and education to the
field of early education, human services, psychology, or education.

Families are given limited support as it is, are not only required to
interview and hire the 'tutors' for their children, but often have to
try and train them about something they have no training in themselves,
and now are being given a haphazard solution to a growing problem that
is critical to these children's development and learning. Parents and
concerned professionals have been fighting this battle for decades and
are told over and over again that their voice will be heard. But this
is obviously a delay tactic as no one has seen any progress in the
situation, or in the quality of services provided.

If the people we entrust our children's futures to are not looking out
for their best interests, but instead quick solutions to spiralling
problems, who will?

Instead of putting a temporary patch over a gaping hole, perhaps the
departments, educational institutions and governmental figure-heads
involved could put in place a pro-active solution including bachelor
degrees, master degrees, professional development for individuals
currently employed, recruiting strategies and, most importantly,
extensive revisions to the services and funding in place so that they
better suit each individual child, instead of a cookie-cutter program
that fits a very small amount of children, if any at all.

There needs to be knowledge and enticement for individuals to become a
part of a challenging, yet rewarding, career in the field of autism.
There also needs to be a reason to stay involved on Prince Edward
Island instead of moving off-Island to gain the proper education and
training, because if anyone is serious about staying in the field they
have no choice but to leave, thus leading our kids and families back to
square one with finding qualified individuals to implement and carry
out programming.

To the individuals that are able to make the changes necessary but
haven't, remember: Our children don't exist just to provide you with a
position and a salary; your position exists to provide our children
with an education, paths for learning and progress so that they can
become independent, productive members of society.

Christina Rodd of Charlottetown is a
masters student in behavioral education with an emphasis on autism at
Simmons College in Boston.