Letter from T. Hurst/Lilloet, BC

To: Honorable Mary Polak, Minister
Ministry of Children and Family Development
PO Box 9057 Stn Prov Govt
Victoria, BC V8W 9E2

From: Teresa Hurst, IDP Consultant
Lillooet Infant Development Program
PO Box 2170 Lillooet, BC V0K 1V0


October 18, 2009

Dear Minister Polak,

I am greatly troubled by the recent announcement of the upcoming closure of the provincial office of the Infant Development Program of BC (IDP) and the elimination of provincial and regional advisors. I am an IDP consultant in Lillooet, BC and have been in this position for just over a year. It is my opinion that more, not less, supportive infrastructure is needed within the IDP of BC.

Although recent accounts have labeled these cutbacks as administrative and not impacting the direct care of families, this is clearly not the case. Our provincial IDP office serves as the foundation for the operation of all Infant Development Programs in BC. Through our provincial office, provincial advisor, and regional advisors, many essential services are provided, both directly to families and to IDP consultants, province-wide. I would like to focus on the supportive function of our provincial IDP infrastructure to IDP consultants.

Lillooet is a small and remote community and our local IDP, in its twelve years of operation, has been subject to many systemic barriers to acquiring and keeping qualified staff. In rural communities, a common challenge is fulfilling the professional staffing requirements of the IDP. It is often out of necessity that staff is hired with less that ideal academic training and professional experience. In these cases, professional support must be available to new consultants. Mentorship, ongoing training and evaluation need to be built into all programs, at local, regional and provincial levels.

I have Bachelor degrees in the Arts and in Social Work, and have worked for roughly thirteen years with preschool aged children and families, in the areas of ESL instruction, play school instruction, and child development. I am currently enrolled in the Infant Development Diploma program. Regardless of my relevant education and professional experience, I myself have experienced great challenges to obtaining the training, mentorship and support that is necessary for a new IDP consultant. Due to changing staff within our local program and the loss of our most experienced Infant Development Consultant/Supervisor, there has been no system in place for providing orientation and ongoing evaluation to new consultants at a local level. The specialized training and professional support I have obtained since I was hired has been entirely through accessing provincial and regional in-service trainings (I attended two sessions last year and am attending one this week) as well as phone consultation and on-site orientation and training by our regional IDP advisor. The support of our regional advisor, who is extremely experienced, knowledgeable, and passionate about her work, has been an enormous and valuable source of guidance in my own work.

I have thought of various ideas of how this gap in provision of staff mentorship and support at a local level to new consultants in rural communities may be narrowed and all solutions require increased intervention and support from our regional and provincial advisors and provincial office. Although I will not go into a detailed description of these ideas, it is suffice to say that decreasing, rather than increasing provincial and regional support to IDP consultants in BC will be detrimental to Infant Development Programs and ultimately impact the quality of support offered to families and children. This impact will be felt most noticeably in rural communities.

I strongly feel that the decision to terminate the contracts of the IDP provincial office and provincial advisor, as well as all regional advisors is a decision that will do harm to those served by IDP of BC- infants and young children with disabilities, developmental delays and risks of delay, and their families, caregivers, and communities. It is the right of these children, families, caregivers, and communities to access quality early intervention and I believe it is the responsibility of the provincial government of British Columbia to ensure that the necessary infrastructure is in place to support IDP consultants and the families they serve. It is not too late for this matter to be reevaluated, and it is essential that all parties that are invested in the wellbeing of children, families and communities served by Infant Development Programs in BC work collaboratively to come up with alternative actions.

Sincerely,

Teresa Hurst, BA, BSW
Infant Development Consultant
Lillooet, BC