Children's ministry funding cuts may prove short-sighted and harmful
By Hillel Goelman and Mari Pighini, Vancouver SunOctober 28, 2009
The Ministry for Children and Family Development has decided to change the way that early intervention programs for vulnerable children will be delivered in the province and families, children and the staff in these programs will be worse off.
The province is eliminating the positions of provincial adviser in the Infant Development Program of B.C., the Aboriginal Infant Development Program of B.C., and the Supported Child Development Program of B.C. The ministry claims that by doing so they will eliminate "administrative costs" and dedicate more resources to "front line workers." This narrow view demonstrates that these provincial officials do not really understand the essential role that the provincial advisers play in ensuring the quality of early intervention services.
The provincial advisers are not administrators. The advisers rely, instead, on the administrative support of their local umbrella organizations. The provincial advisers are educators, experts, resource people and, to put it simply, leaders. They provide the direction for their programs and then organize the resources to move in that direction. Here are some examples of what these advisers do, and that will cease to exist after the cuts:
- They created the Infant Development/Supported Child Care Certificate and Diploma Program based at the University of British Columbia.
- They are full partners in the Annual Assessment Workshop held in conjunction with other community, educational and academic groups. This workshop brings together early intervention professionals from different fields, parents, government officials, physicians and researchers to discuss new and emerging ways of evaluating children's developmental progress.
- This work also strengthens and supports the parents and families of young vulnerable children by increasing their access to information, knowledge and resources.
- They are community-based collaborators in action-based research projects conducted in partnership with academics from universities, hospitals, schools, preschools and clinics. They contribute their knowledge and expertise which in turn strengthens the work of the academic researchers.
- They develop and locate and bring into B.C. new and innovative approaches to early intervention.
- They are involved in a vast network of early child development and early intervention tables in B.C. and they are responsible for the website and communications with all local programs across the province. These initiatives ensure that updated and consistent information, knowledge, research and resources are accessible to staff, agencies, parents and students.
- The provincial adviser Dana Brynelsen has received international recognition for her over 30 years of work in the field of early intervention. Perhaps her most distinctive honour was being given an honorary doctorate from the University of B.C. for accomplishments and contributions. In granting this unique honour, UBC clearly recognized the vital role played by provincial advisors in early intervention in B.C.
These cuts demonstrate a lack of knowledge of these programs and a lack of respect for the professional staff of the office of the provincial adviser, to the regional advisers, the IDP consultants across the province and, most tragically, to the parents and children served by these three programs in B.C.
We applaud the government's plan to implement full-day kindergarten to support early child development. At the same time, we urge the provincial government to keep in line with its main goal to reduce children's vulnerability levels. The cuts should be reversed and the offices of the provincial advisers should be restored.
Hillel Goelman and Mari Pighiniare in the Interdisciplinary Studies Graduate Program at the University of British Columbia.
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http://www.vancouversun.com/life/Children+ministry+funding+cuts+prove+short+sighted+harmful/2153757/story.html
NOTE from Authors: Advisors (not 'er') - printing typo!
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