Haida Gwaii Infant Development Program Letter of Support

Haida Gwaii Infant Development Program
Northern Health
Box 619, Masset, BC, V0T 1M0
Tel: 250-626-4716

Honorable Mary Polack, Minister Children and Family Development Minister.MCF@gov.bc.ca

Lesley Du Toit, Deputy Minister, Children and Family Development MCF.DeputyMinisterOffice@gov.bc.ca

Premier Gordon Campbell premier@gov.bc.ca

October 6, 2009
Dear Ministers,

Re: Closure of the Provincial Advisor of the Infant Development Program of British Columbia

I have served the communities of Haida Gwaii as an Infant Development Program Consultant for the past 16 years. Haida Gwaii is a remote, isolated island off the west coast of British Columbia. When I started in this position not long out of school with my BA in Human and Social Development I had a lot to learn about supporting families who have children with special needs. The wonderful thing about this program was the immediate support provided to me and the families I began to work with from the Office of the Provincial Advisor. Looking back I am not sure that the families I have had the privilege of working with over the past 16 years would have received the same level of support had it not been for the constant guidance and support from the Provincial Advisor.

As I continue to work in this profession I am often made aware when talking to other professionals just how well coordinated and supportive the Provincial Office is and how that is reflected in the uniformity of programs from community to community across this vast province. The coordination and clear vision of the Provincial Office is translated to each and every Infant Development Program across the province. The Loss of this very strong and focused Program at the Provincial level would be devastating, devastating to the individual Infant Development Programs across the province as well as to the individual families who use the services.

When I reflect on what the Provincial Advisor means to me at a professional level I do not even know where to start and I feel overwhelmed with concern as I think about a future that does not include this support for the programs and the families who access the programs. The ongoing and consistent support provided to me inspires me to commit to continuing my education, to reflect ongoing changes in ‘best practice’ for young children who have special needs and their families, to collect valuable and meaningful data about the infants and families we serve, to remain focused on and informed of the most recent research, to evaluate my practice, and to advocate for the developmental needs of children who have special needs.

This type of support is not born overnight. It is 30 years in the making, constantly evolving and shifting to meet the most current needs of families who are raising children who have special developmental and health care needs. This type of support can not be understated. I know that it would have been much more challenging to provide the type of accountable, professional and current support to families without the services of the Provincial Advisor.

The Provincial Advisor position is NOT a “$300,000 a year layer of bureaucracy”. For the past 30 years this position has supported families and program consultants every day on issues like best practice guidelines, ongoing education to keep up with current research, constant self/program evaluation and enforcement of standards that are carried across the province to make sure that a family moving from a Vancouver area program to a program in remote Haida Gwaii will receive the same level of expertise, support and care.

I fear a fragmentation of Infant Development Program services across the province will occur without the clear, focused, evidence based and tireless work that the Provincial Advisor is committed to.

I connect with and connect families I support with the Provincial Advisor Office on a frequent basis. Families who are facing a diagnosis and are living in isolation without any connection to other families with similar issues find support from the Provincial Infant Development Program.

I ask you to please reconsider cutting out the ‘backbone’ of a program that has recognition across the world as one of the best in supporting families who have children with special needs.
I ask you to consider the long term impact that this cut will have on Infant Development Programs and ultimately the infants and children who have special needs in British Columbia and the ‘cost’ that this will have to our province over the long run.

Sincerely,

Kimberley Larocque, BA, HSD, CYC
Haida Gwaii Infant Development Program Coordinator