November 17, 2009
Honourable Mary Polak, Minister ,Ministry of Children & Family Development PO Box 9057 Stn Prov Govt
Victoria BC V8W 9E2 Minister.MCF@gov.bc.ca
Dear Minister Polak,
We are writing to you in response to the planned closures of the Provincial Offices of the Infant Development and Supported Child Development Programs. We have waited to contact you feeling that the efforts of larger communities who represent larger population bases would perhaps have the needed impact to change your view towards the loss of these services. It’s clear to us now that you need to hear from every community, particularly ones that have so few resources to replace the lost support and services that the removal of the Provincial Offices will create.
As the Fort Nelson Family Development Society we serve the community of Fort Nelson and the very large surrounding area stretching as far north as Fort Liard in the Northwest Territories, northwest to Toad River and beyond if needed and south to Prophet River. Our region, the Peace Liard, lies in the most northeastern part of BC. As a remote northern community, the provincial office and regional advisors have played an instrumental role for us providing support, updated information, training, mentoring for new consultants, and has acted as a vital link to other agencies and communities.
We do not view the Provincial Offices of IDP and SCD as administrative bodies. They provide tangible services to our community programs, to the consultants and to parents. The staff at the provincial level acts as a clearinghouse for infant/child development information and services. They provide us with timely access to the experience and knowledge of every consultant and program in the province by networking us together. These services have a direct, positive effect on the quality of the programs that we are able to offer. The IDP Regional Advisor for the North, Mary Stewart, was able and willing to travel up to Fort Nelson to provide direct training and mentorship to the new IDP consultant last January. As well, she provides leadership and guidance by answering clinical questions, question on best practice and sharing resource information. This information, guidance and support will be much more difficult to access with no provincial or regional experts in place to assist remote communities like ours.
We are strongly urging you to reconsider the decision to close the IDP and SCD Provincial Offices. Who will be responsible for maintaining the integrity and quality of these programs so that even very remote communities benefit fully from them? Who will be responsible for providing the leadership in best practice, training, current information and resource sharing? Who will act to provincially and regionally coordinate the efforts of the IDP and SCD programs so that all families and children have access to the same quality of service and expertise? We need the services and support of the Provincial Offices in order to offer the best services to our families. It’s clear that only by maintaining and supporting the current Provincial Office structure can we best meet the needs of the children in our care.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Respectfully yours,
Kym Brenton Executive Director
CC: Pat Pimm, MLA Peace River North
Premier Gordon Campbell
Lesley Du Toit, Deputy Minister
Maurine Karagianis, Opposition MCFD critic
Carole James, Leader of Official Opposition
Dana Brynelsen, Provincial Advisor Infant Development Program of BC
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