“If it’s not broken, don’t fix it”.-cont South Cariboo IDP

South Cariboo Infant Development Program
Suite 218, 475 Birch Avenue, Box 1197, 100 Mile House, B.C. V0K 2E0 Telephone 395-5272 Fax 395-4686

October 5, 2009
Re. Potential closure of IDP Provincial Office

Concerns from the South Cariboo Infant Development Program:

Accountability to families and funders:
– IDP is not a direct entry profession: IDP consultants come from a variety of backgrounds as a necessity because at this stage, there is no other profession that trains exclusively in the field of 0-3.
– No other governing body: Other professions, having been established longer and a larger pool of professionals, have governing bodies that oversee the maintenance of professional standards of practice.
– Working in relative isolation: Working in a small community means there are few, if any, other professionals nearby with this background and experience. As a consultant, I rely on the Provincial Office to advise me of current best practices recommended in the field, and to provide guidelines around those practices.
– Necessity of the work: Current research is consistent in supporting the need to intervene when children are as young as possible, since it is now known that the brain pathways formed through experiences in the first 3 years lay the foundation for all future development.
– Complicated nature of the work: The knowledge necessary to provide effective interventions with families in this stage of the life cycle is by nature “cross disciplinary”, as each member of the family as well as the dynamics between them has to be understood and taken into account. This is much more complex than addressing the individual needs of a single client, since young children’s development is dependent on their biological makeup as well as the experiences provided by their family and community.
– Need for specializing: Currently the infant development program is the only program that specializes in intervening in the needs of very young children. While other professions (mental health, occupational therapy) provide intervention to children and their families in this age range, there are not enough registered professionals to possibly meet the demand.
– Families & taxpayers need accountability: The provincial office of the Infant Development Program provides standards for practice, holding consultants accountable to an acceptable standard of service delivery.
– Ongoing training is essential: The Provincial office also organizes and coordinates training designed especially to meet the high demands of this work, which is not available elsewhere, ensuring that families all around the province are getting up to date, quality services.

Adapting to society’s changing needs:
· Changing issues affecting children: Advances in technology continue to impact on the optimum development of children in our society. Since the Infant Development Program started, there have been advances in medical technology that have directly influenced the numbers of children born with recognized childhood disabilities. The disabilities that the Infant Development Program was initially developed to address are now a minority in many regions. Unfortunately, these disabilities have been replaced with other, more subtle, but no less potentially debilitating disabilities.
· New issues need new initiatives: The Infant Development Programs, under the umbrella of the Provincial Office, is in the process of adapting services to meet the “new” needs of families where children’s development is at risk. As society changes, programs need to be adaptable to meet the needs presented. The Provincial Office continues to ensure that consultants are able to take the training and provide services according to what is considered “best practices” in the field. This level of coordination and access to new training would not be possible without the Provincial Advisor and the Provincial Office.
· Staying current with best practices: Currently, the Provincial Office has been overseeing the training of consultants in the complex field of infant mental health. The first cohort of consultants have just begun this process. It would not be possible for this type of training to be organized among such a geographically diverse and relatively small number of consultants without the Provincial Office.

Effective Service Delivery:
- Coordination at all levels: The Infant Development Program depends on positive, trusting relationships with community partners at all levels all over the province in order to reach, engage, and provide effective interventions to the children and families who need it most.
- Trust: The Provincial & Regional Advisors work to maintain the Infant Development Program as a legitimate and trustworthy program that doctors, health nurses, and other professionals can feel confident in referring families.
- Ongoing process of maintaining credibility: Without the accountability and efforts at maintaining awareness, understanding, and relationships with other community partners that are taken care of at the Provincial Office level, knowledge and awareness of the needs of families will fade, and individual programs will eventually collapse and crumble.
- Avoiding duplications, overlaps, and gaps: Communication, collaboration, and cooperation between programs and between service providers is recognized as the key to effective service delivery. Without these efforts at the Provincial level, there is a much greater potential for duplications of services, overlaps, and gaps. None of these are helpful to families or their children who are at risk.

Without the Provincial Office, services to families all around the province will be directly affected. The quality of services provided and the ability of consultants to meet the needs of families will become drastically less and less effective over time. To achieve a healthy society, we need to make our programs stronger, not weaken them.

“If it’s not broken, don’t fix it”.



Sincerely,