E. Cox- Letter to MLA

Honorable Murray Coell
MLA Saanich – Gulf Islands October 22, 2009
2412F Beacon Ave.
Sidney, B.C.

Elizabeth Cox
10946 Madrona Drive,
Sidney, B.C. V8L 5P2

Dear Honorable Minister Coell,

I am writing regarding the cuts made to the Provincial Offices of Infant Development and Supported Child Development and possibly Aboriginal Infant Development. I am a community member, who has worked for over 30 years in this field as a past IDP consultant, as Chair of the Infant Development/Supported Child Development Consortium and as a Project Manager for many provincial projects undertaken with the three programs of Infant Development, Supported Child Development and Aboriginal Infant Development.

I am deeply disturbed and concerned with the Ministry of Children and Family’s decision. It seems to be a short sighted, short- term solution resulting in long term losses and effects on children with special needs and their families. Unfortunately, this decision appears to lack information regarding the role and duties of the Provincial Advisors, whose positions are viewed as being primarily administrative. Naturally, any provincial position has some administrative work, however, an adequate review of their roles would demonstrate they have minimal administrative duties and serve an essential function of directly linking with families by phone and through the provincial websites, providing advice, information and support to families, and linking them to services and resources that will support them across the province. In addition, they offer direct support to staff and agencies including community visits, phone support, and mentorship. They also support agencies, communities and provincial and regional MCFD staff in the initiation and delivery of services. This central coordination and lens is critical to a cohesive and integrated approach and service.

The Infant Development Program (IDP) has been working in collaboration with the Ministry since 1975. Particularly Dana Brynelsen, who for 34 years formed and developed the high standards and program of excellence that the Infant Development Program has become; it is internationally known and respected. It uses a successful and effective model of collaboration with parents, professionals and government that has developed a solid program that efficiently serves the families and the children with disabilities. Due to the highly effective model and excellence of the infant programs, the sister programs of Aboriginal Infant Development and Supported Child Development have been founded on a similar model. They too developed provincial manuals with guidelines and policy for staff, which reflect the unique aspects of their fields. Sustainability and the implementation of provincially standardized policy and care provide families and the staff with provincial consistency and local flexibility based on the individual needs of communities. I believe such consistency and professional guidance will be an unlikely outcome for families with a regional model.

The Provincial Advisors have a wealth of expertise in the field, and in the needs of the families and the staff who serve them. I am struggling to understand why this provincial model that is well researched, evidence -based, extremely effective, collaborative and operates on small budgets is being cut for a system that is not yet proven, nor has the developed strategies required to continue operation. The consultants, who provide service to families, look to Provincial Advisors for guidance and direction on how to support the complicated and sensitive needs of the families and children they serve. This model that shares their expertise and experience will now be lost, directly impacting the families and the staff who serve them.

The following points are my understanding to date of the facts around this decision. I emphasize “understanding” as no clear statement or plan has been put forward other than the intention for potential future planning:

 The Provincial Offices have received limited written information nearly one month from the end of September 2009 when they were informed their contracts expired September 30th. They have been given small extensions to complete the work of their offices.
 No impact analysis has been done by the Ministry regarding their decision
 No transition plan is in place for program staff or families prior to the decision being made
 Three social workers, currently employed by the Ministry, have “volunteered” to take on the role of setting up a new model for the transition.
 The ministry will work in consultation with the outgoing Provincial Advisors, and Provincial Steering Committees of each program, to develop transition plans that ensure continued coordination of these services.
 With the help of Provincial Steering Committees and existing regional planning tables the ministry will be doing an analysis over the next few months to determine options around professional development and training for community agency staff who work directly with children and families.

Unfortunately, all of these plans are occurring after the fact, and potentially after the contracts have expired. Of further concern is the limited timeframe of a few weeks and months to determine a transition plan. This does not allow enough time to develop effective and thoughtful plans in my estimation. In addition, the staff are expected to volunteer their time to assist in developing a transition plan. I am surprised that the Ministry chose a non- inclusive approach to their decision versus one of collaboration. It is disturbing to observe the lack of consideration for the expert knowledge that exists in the Provincial Advisors and the lack of respect demonstrated by limited or no consultation, coordination or collaboration prior to the completion of the contracts, to develop a solid plan for regionalizing services.

It is shocking that there is no specific plan in place or specific people identified to carry on the vast number of duties within these offices. Having three ministry staff take on duties that are added to their current positions creates a lack of stability and longevity for any comprehensive follow through of the process. The three ministry workers could shift positions within the ministry or not be able to manage the amount of work, thus creating a lack of integrated communication and linkage. With no thoughtful or comprehensive transition plan, families and consultants are now experiencing stress, confusion and fear. How can this be supportive or helpful to those who require stability and cohesive services?

From my experience at many tables with ministry representatives and the three provincial programs, I can not fathom how currently employed ministry staff will be able to understand and know how to best support the field given they have no or limited experience in child development, the field of disability or the training needs of our staff. Even with my wealth of knowledge and experience in the field, I cannot adequately support the staff and families without the guidance and direction of the Provincial Advisors. They connect with the families in their programs, their regional advisors, the staff and the agencies that employ them and build relationships with them. They understand the in-depth needs of the various communities and families to best support the families and staff in those areas. Connecting families, staff and community with the provincial picture, services and resources is a vital role of the Provincial Advisors. All past reviews of the IDP program have indicated the need for further strengthening not dissolution.

The provincial offices provide an incredibly strong link to all of the regions that without this coordination would act independently of each other and lose the strong linkages and connections that have been formed over the last 20 years. In addition, the Provincial Advisors of the three programs have worked very hard over the last several years to work collaboratively on many joint projects that benefit all the mutual families the programs serve, and the staff who support them. The collaborative model is proven and chosen by the group because the families and staff gain more together than separately. Everyone benefits from working together and having a centrally coordinated, unified purpose that represents the connection between families, services and staff.

Overall, a decentralized approach makes no more sense than the government removing the provincial decisions and direction and giving the regions and municipalities more control in operations and decisions. We already are aware of the current discrepancies our different regions and municipalities experience. Why make a decision that will increase these issues and subject the families, who are dealing with vulnerable children with complex needs, with further stress and complications?

I hope that this Ministry will take the time to review the information and the impact of the work being done so effectively by the Provincial offices. It is not a broken system that needs to be fixed. It is thriving and supporting children with disabilities and their families and this needs to be considered. For the sake of these families around the province, I hope this decision can be reviewed and evaluated more fully to reconsider the decision to cut the Provincial offices of Infant Development and Supported Child Development.

Thank you for your consideration of this important matter.

Regards,


Elizabeth Cox, Consultant and Project Manager