Letter to Government: B. Jagdis

Honourable Mary Polak, Minister
Ministry of Children and Family Development
P.O. Box 9057 Stn Prov. Government
Victoria, B.C. V8W 9E2
November 17, 2009

(From Brenda Jagdis, Victoria, BC)
Dear Minister Polak,
I am writing to express my deepest concern and dismay at the announcement that the Provincial Advisors Office of the British Columbia Infant Development Program (IDP) is being closed.
In Victoria, I worked as an Infant Development Consultant and the key to this program is and has always been Dana Brynelson and the Provincial Office (PO). I cannot state emphatically enough how crucial the Advisors are to the high level service delivery of the IDP. Dana Brynelson and the Regional Advisors in no way function solely as bureaucratic entities. They are indeed “front line workers” through giving direct advice to parents for resources, sharing expertise in infant development and linking families together with similar situations. The PO Advisors keep up to date on advances in research and practices while offering their vast worldwide respected knowledge to others including physicians, psychologists, therapists, community agencies and more beyond our borders. The PO regularly provides training to the IDP Consultants from others such as OT’s, speech pathologists, child protection SW, etc., all with expertise in this specialized field. Dana is THE resource and her honourary doctorate from UBC is absolute recognition of her continual outstanding contributions to the field. The Provincial Office has developed a manual and comprehensive standard of practice that is the model for other early intervention programs. Best practice is found throughout the standards/manual and meets current requirements as noted in my ethics paper written for SCYC MA program at UVic in 2008.
Cutting out the Advisors of this vital program will weaken the program, the effectiveness of service delivery and consequently lead to its downfall. Many Infant Consultants work in isolation and the common link through Dana is a lifeline for the Consultants as well as the families they serve. We are often faced with unusual diagnoses and the opportunity to receive information and guidance from the PO is essential to the quality of care and service given to the child and family. The success of our intervention can rely on this resource. A letter included from Erin exemplifies how the support I received from training and research through the Provincial Advisor was implemented in a time when the local “expert” suggested Erin should be placed in an institutional setting for the blind.
The degree of expertise from my IDP position became clearly evident when my youngest daughter had an encephalopathy from her 2nd pertussis (whooping cough) immunization. Dr. Dunn her pediatric neurologist, told me he had never had a parent give such detailed and thorough developmental and behavioural descriptions before, and I left him with no questions to ask about the delay she exhibited. She would have been referred to IDP had I not been her mother. BC IDP Consultants are considered outstanding in their field. The depth and breadth of knowledge obtained through IDP is unique. Many times expert speakers that taught us in-service were so impressed at our knowledge base that they put away their planned lecture and asked “what do you want to know?” I am certain that without the Provincial Advisors this level of education will be lost especially as the Consultants have different background educations eg. Child & Youth Care, teaching, Occupational Therapy, nursing, Physiotherapy, etc. I have not had any university coursework offer this type of knowledge, especially when it can be directly applied to the children and families we serve.
The kind of parents that come out of IDP are informed, empowered and committed to accessing or creating the services required for their child. They understand that the only lifetime constant in their child’s life is themselves. These parents are initiators of forward thinking, acceptance and tolerance of differences. Over twenty years ago, COCF Community Options for Children and Families, a home based respite care service in Victoria was created by four IDP parents and one IDP Consultant (me). COCF is an unquestionable success thanks to these parents. Their attitude was formed through the IDP experience where they were supported to trust their decisions for their family as a result of the exposure to information important to their circumstances.
The IDP is one of the best and most successful programs developed in BC. It has a reputation for being ahead of it’s time and removing the Advisors will take the whole Province backward in it’s care of vulnerable children and their families. Please don’t. I know you are aware of Dana’s qualifications but I think you are mistaken about her purpose and how essential the PO is to the quality and maintenance of the British Columbia IDP. I ardently appeal to you to please reconsider your decision. You cannot possibly remove the leadership from this cost effective exceptional program and keep it functioning at the present standard.
Most sincerely,
Brenda Jagdis B.A. (with distinction)
School of Child and Youth Care, University of Victoria, BC
cc. Premier Gordon Campbell
Lesley du Toit, Deputy Minister of Children and Family Development
Ida Chong, MLA Oak Bay Gordon Head