Despite promises to protect the budgets for special needs, senior Ministry staff have confirmed that unfunded new costs and rising demands will further strain existing services. On top of this, the Ministry is in the midst of another major restructuring, which includes integrating special needs services with other children's services in a new regional management framework.

MOMS was invited to a meeting on February 15 for an update on Ministry plans and challenges. Our unofficial report on the discussion can be found here.  We will continue to share any further information or updates as they reach us and welcome first-hand reports from families about how the restructuring and budget challenges may be affecting them personally.

The Association calls for significant increases to the current autism funding levels for preschoolers, for funding to be tied to individual need, and for restoration of the direct funding option for families. It also strongly condemned the lack of consultation over the controversial changes announced by Children's Minister Mary Polak last fall. 

"Many people in the Autism community were shocked and disturbed by the closure of all of the EIBI programs and the funding structure changes," the BC ABA statement reads. "...Furthermore, discussions with stakeholders might have resulted in a more sound decision on how to achieve province-wide, equitable access to services for individuals with ASD."

The BC ABA joins parents, advocacy groups and other professionals who have universally panned the province's abrupt autism policy changes, stating that the new provincial funding formula for preschoolers with autism "is not sufficient to purchase intensive behavioural therapy at the level (25-40 hours per week) which research has shown to be effective."  The Association cites the example of other Canadian provinces that fully fund the costs of early intervention, noting that "given the discrepancy between provincial funding and the actual costs of implementing an intensive ABA program, few children in British Columbia will likely receive the intensity of treatment that has been empirically shown to improve the core characteristics of Autism." (Emphasis added)

The statement also criticizes the elimination of the direct funding option for families, which means that all families must now submit invoices for often lengthy government approval and payment instead of being able to directly pay the private therapists who provide early intervention services for their children.  The BC ABA warns that a critical obstacle for many families is being able to find and retain qualified therapists and that delaying payment in this mannner will only exacerbate this problem.

The statement urges the provincial government to increase funding per child to between $40,000 and $70,000 [i.e. approximately what government was formerly paying for the now cancelled EIBI programs which the Minister portrayed as wasteful] and to fund each child based on individual need.

The BC ABA recommendations support those that have been presented by parents, advocacy groups and international autism experts in numerous meetings and communications with Children's Minister Mary Polak and Premier Gordon Campbell, all of which have been ignored to date. Polak and Campbell now stand entirely alone, with no one left who has not denounced their unilateral actions that deny hope to BC's children with autism and their families.

UPDATE: Times Colonist reports on Victoria parents' Feb 1 protest plans

 Surrey: Last week, Surrey DPAC warned that some $18-20 million in downloaded/unfunded provincial costs will result in program cuts that directly harm students. (Press release attached)

Victoria: Victoria trustees told the Times Colonist yesterday they would have to consider cutting the district's Special Education program to balance their budget.

Vancouver: Last week, Vancouver served notice that up to 800 teachers could be laid off to address a provincial funding shortfall ranging from $17 to $35 million, depending on what the province decides to fund in the upcoming provincial budget. And at a meeting for parents of students with special needs this week, the Board Chair acknowledged that special education was particularly vulnerable to cuts, since staff costs are protected via contracts and class size is now protected by legislation, leaving unprotected services like special education as one of the few areas they can cut.

Virtually every school board in the province is confronting similar choices, given the limited number of unprotected programs, like special ed, that they can cut to make up for unfunded provincial costs, since all boards are required by law to balance their budgets regardless of provincial funding shortfalls. Accentuating the looming threat to special education is that the province only funds half or less of what districts actually spend on special ed - a subsidy that is hard for trustees to defend when schools are being closed and core programs slashed.

At the core of this unprecedented crisis is the growing number of downloaded costs that the province has so far refused to cover in provincial education funding grants. These include further increases for teacher salaries and benefits under contracts that the province negotiated, new provincial carbon tax and carbon offset charges, increases to provincial MSP and WCP premiums, implementation costs of new provincial requirements like Bill 33 and full-day kindergarten, and general inflation, which the provincial funding formula also does not cover.

The provincial government will present its budget for 2010-11 in early March and has to date refused to consider new funding to cover these new costs, leaving districts projecting the largest deficits seen in a decade, and cuts that will seriously impact students.

Vulnerable kids unfairly targeted

Provincial officials are justifying the cuts by stating that districts have to tighten their belts like anyone else. This response fails to acknowledge that districts cannot force most district services to tighten their belts because they are protected by provincially-negotiated contracts and requirements. Staff will not sacrifice pay or benefits and boards must also find a way to cover new pay and benefit increases negotiated by the province. Along with provincial requirements governing a host of activities, from class size to reporting and administrative roles, this means districts actually have very few options or "discretionary" spending that can be cut when they are told to tighten their belts. 

In effect, school board "belt tightening" amounts to downloading a provincial budgetary crisis onto the most vulnerable students in our public schools - students with special needs, ESL and Aboriginal students and those who need additional programs and supports to succeed. In failing to provide any policy to protect these programs and students while protecting everything from teacher pensions to teacher-student ratios in law, the province has created an uneven playing field that forces school boards to unfairly penalize their most vulnerable students whenever cuts must be made. 

ADVOCACY: What you can do

The harsh reality facing our kids is just emerging and there is very little time to act. Parents and advocacy groups representing students with special needs and other vulnerable groups need to act immediately, by telling their MLAs, Education Minister Margaret MacDiarmid, Finance Minister Colin Hansen and Premier Gordon Campell that it is not acceptable to target BC's most vulnerable students to solve a problem they had no hand in creating.   

1. We need to convince government to cover all education costs in the 2010-11 budget before it is presented on March 3.

2. Strength in numbers. We can be most effective if we join with broader groups of parents, PACs and public education advocacy groups to demand that the province fully fund all provincially-mandated costs, including special education - instead of fighting each other for shares of an inadequate budget and ignoring the roots of the problem. 

- Contact your PAC and DPAC and encourage them to write the Premier, FInance Minister, Education Minister and your local MLAs - just as Surrey DPAC has done.

- Join our growing Facebook group "Stop BC Education Cuts" to find out what other parents and districts are doing, to find and share information about cuts and to connect with other parents or advocacy efforts in your community.

Children's Minister Mary Polak stopped funding the province's EIBI programs last fall to save $1.5 million annually, despite the desperate pleas of families and many studies confirming that these programs are hugely effective, saving on average $3 - 5 million PER CHILD in net lifetime costs to society (for more details and sources, see our EIBI Facts).

As a result, at least 70 BC children per year will be denied the intensive early behaviour intervention that provided the only hope for these children and their families of a near-normal life, unless they can afford to privately pay tens of thousands annually to top up inadequate subsidies and susbstitute programs to replicate the benefits that only a full EIBI program can offer.

These children join thousands more in BC who are already being denied access to the early intervention supports and programs that they need, due to foolish and short-sighted policies that place enormous and unnecessary strains on other provincial services, such as education, health care, welfare, community living, social housing, justice, etc etc....

Minister Polak and her colleagues also ordered the closure of a series of other cirtical children's programs (which collectively don't put the tiniest dent in the current provincial deficit). These include the provincial Infant Development, Supported Child Care and Aboriginal Supported Child Care program, the Roots of Empathy program, FASD prevention, child and youth mental health and more - all of which will directly impact children and create significantly higher long-term costs than the meagre short-term budgetary savings.

These actions cruelly target the province's most vulnerable children and directly violate Premier Campbell's 2005 promise to build "the best system of supports in Canada for children with special needs."

Your support

We invite families outside of Victoria who can't make it to the vigil to show their support by signing and circulating our petition calling on Premier Campbell to honour his promises to BC's children with special needs and/or by writing their MLAs to remind them that BC families will not rest until these and other programs are restored, and that all children with special needs are able to get the basic help and support they need - in a timely manner and in a form that respects their individual needs and those of their families.

The petition can be accessed online here. 

Find out more and support the ongoing FAIR campaign to restore EIBI programs on Facebook

MOMs marks Children’s Day, 20^th year of UN Convention, with petition urging BC Premier to honour promises to kids

NOV. 19, 2009:—This Friday, Nov. 20 marks the 20^th anniversary of the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child – a date that is also celebrated annually in Canada and elsewhere as universal Children’s Day.

The MOMs provincial family support network, which has staged a series of actions in recent weeks to draw attention to BC families’ concerns about new cuts and ongoing gaps in critical services for children at risk, is marking the occasion by officially launching an online petition urging BC’s Premier to start living up to commitments made to BC’s vulnerable children.

The UN Convention, a legally binding instrument, states that “in all actions concerning children …the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration.” Article 23 notes the obligation of signatory states to provide special supports for children with mental and physical disabilities “in a manner conducive to the child's achieving the fullest possible social integration and individual development.” Article 29, which deals with the right to a free public education, re-emphasizes the right to “development of the child's personality, talents and mental and physical abilities to their fullest potential.” Elsewhere, the Convention addresses the obligation of signatory states to support parents in meeting the needs of their children where families are unable to do so themselves.  

While the Convention acknowledges that state support will be shaped by available resources, nowhere does it suggest these supports should be way down on the list of national priorities, after political leaders and senior bureaucrats have enjoyed exorbitant pay and benefit increases and spent billions on hosting lavish events and costly physical infrastructure projects.   

Under Great Goal #3 of his Strategic Plan for BC, Premier Campbell implicitly acknowledged these commitments when he promised to “build the best system of support in Canada” for children with special needs and those at risk. It was a truly laudable goal – but one that was never honoured and that has now been forgotten.

While BC enjoyed record budget surpluses, waitlists for crucial supports grew longer, both in and out of school. Now Children’s Minister Mary Polak has cut millions, eliminating key programs for autism, FASD, infant and child development and Aboriginal children at risk. Other cuts include youth programs (mental health, addiction treatment), Special Olympics and funding for community-based children’s services. Polak also cut critical monitoring and oversight roles that assure children’s welfare and safety, and cut out important delivery options like direct funding. There was no risk assessment of impacts and these cuts accompany yet another major ministry re-structuring that will further strain capacity to support children at risk.

Just this week, a leaked Ministry memo revealed that the Ministry is already planning even deeper cuts targeting early intervention and community-based intervention for vulnerable children and youth in BC for 2010-11, in order to meet budget reduction targets.

Professionals, disability groups, families, community organizations, staff and ordinary citizens have pleaded with Premier Campbell, Minister Polak and their colleagues to reconsider the damage they are causing. Decades of research affirm the cost benefits of intensive early intervention and support for at-risk children – this offers real hope to struggling children and saves us all far more than it costs. For example, if families cannot cope with severely challenging children as a result of the cuts limiting access to therapy, the Ministry will be forced to assume professional 24/7 care for them, at a cost of $150,000 per child per year or more, possibly for the rest of their lives.

These cuts are not necessary – they’re about priorities that dishonour both the UN Convention and the Premier’s commitment under Goal #3. The revised BC budget commits $14 billion in new capital spending. Alberta spends twice as much on autism for fewer kids – and hasn’t cut this despite a far higher deficit. BC’s cuts will impose far higher costs on other ministries (education, housing, justice & social services). But Polak says this is the best we can do to help BC’s vulnerable children.

We disagree. These cuts are foolish, short-sighted, dishonourable and heartless. MOMs does not believe that denying supports to children in need and children at risk is consistent with the values that we hold as British Columbians. Since BC’s vulnerable children can’t speak up against these cuts, it is our job as parents and citizens to stand up for them. If enough British Columbians choose to speak up, government will have to respond. Remaining silent means turning our backs on each child in need.

We are therefore appealing to all British Columbians to join us by signing and circulating our petition urging Premier Campbell to honour the promises made to BC’s children by acting immediately to restore, protect and strengthen vital supports for all children in need and at risk.

Details of cuts, affected programs and our ongoing campaign at MOMs: http://MomsNetwork.ca 

MOMs media contacts: Cyndi Gerlach: 604 987-6608 h./ 604 831-6608 c. or momsonthemove@telus.net

Dawn Steele: 604 874-1416 h. /778 235-4998 c. or dawns@telus.net

The "North Region STOB 80 Reduction Planning Process and Principals" (sic) document refers to a process for "cost recovery" for the current year and outlines planning, roles, principles and provincial direction guiding a second process that is also now underway to determine further reductions for 2010-11 in order to meet Ministry budget targets.

While the document specifically refers to the process underway in BC North Region, Children's Minister Mary Polak has confirmed that this is a Ministry-wide initiative that affects all regions.

The leaked document refers to management teams being informed of budget targets at the outset of this process but does not stipulate what the funding reduction targets are for 2009-10 and for 2010-11. Minister Polak told Public Eye Online today that there were no targets and that this was just a discussion document, which is not consistent with what the Ministry document itself states (the Minister has also repeatedly claimed that there are no cuts, which is not consistent with any grasp of reality)

This process appears to be the same one cited in an earlier memo leaked via Public Eye in August, which cited a provincial budget reduction target of $3.6 million for 2009-10 for the contracted agencies under one provincial grouping.  

The STOB 80 Reduction document states that contract funding reduction plans for 2010-11 must be submitted by December 15 and approved by December 18, so that the Ministry can give notice to impacted contractors by January 31, 2010.

The document also outlines the provincial direction guiding the funding reduction planning process now underway:

• These reductions are consistent with the $32 million in cuts or "streamlining" being implemented internally by the Ministry.
• Consultation and collaboration with partners such as the Federation of Community Social Services of BC (Federation) and the BC Association of Child Development and Intervention (BCACDI) in exchange for the Ministry agreeing not to meet its reduction targets via across-the-board funding cuts.
• Non-discretionary services that already face significant cost pressures to be exempted: Children in Care (permanency planning), Delegated Aboriginal services, Child Care, Autism, Medical Benefits and Nursing Support
• Budget cuts will primarily affect community-based intervention and early intervention services and non-residential services, whether the contracts are managed by the MCFD Regions, provincially or under CLBC
• Cuts "required for 10/11 fiscal year may involve some service reductions after all other opportunities for savings have been exhausted."

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR REDUCTIONS

1. Funding services outside the Ministry Mandate (NOTE: MCFD's legislated mandate cover a very narrow range of child protection services, so this is a very broad range)
2. Uncommitted Funding Review
3. Discretionary funding
4. Contracts  that have Repetitive  Surpluses
5. Resolve any commitments that are greater than allocated budget
6. Reorganising contracts to provide efficiencies
7. Programs not Providing any Direct service

 GUIDANCE

1. A communities vulnerability must be considered when planning reductions
2. Non Aboriginal Agencies First
3. Reductions to Agencies must not affect their financial Viability
4. Large contractors have the potential to manage some reductions through efficiencies

Moms shared this information earlier today with community groups, agencies, Ministry staff, media and the Opposition critic, calling for a transparent public process to review where BC is going with regard to services for vulnerable children in this province.  Other concerns raised:

• That Minister Polak and her senior staff have consistently and repeatedly denied to family stakeholders, the public, the Legislature and the media that budget cuts are in store or occurring within our sector, while discussing budget cuts for the current year and further cuts in the year ahead with staff and contracted agencies. 
• The extent to which some or all contracted community agencies have helped government to keep families and the public in the dark about budget cuts expected to negatively impact vital early intervention services for thousands of at-risk children in this province.

This Friday, we mark the 20th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which committed us all to putting the interests of children first.

MOMS calls on all those who still believe in that commitment to join us in making it clear that budget cuts to ANY services, programs or sectors that serve vulnerable children in BC are not acceptable - NOT when existing budgets already deny vital services and supports to so many children with special needs and children at risk in our province and NOT when this province can simultaneously afford to spend BILLIONS on other "priorities".

Family photo: Nov 6 rally at Mary Polak's Langley office

Thanks to all the families who came out to Langley Friday for the rally co-hosted Friday by MOMS and FAIR (Families Fighting Against Autism Intervention Reductions) to highlight autism cuts. (Especially the heroic Victoria folks who got up at 5 am to pack up kids & minivans to make it!!).

A great family turn-out, strong local media interest & fantastic public support more than made up for the horrible weather.  Mary Polak decided to close her office for the day, but no one seemed too offended. later, parents distributed hundreds of flyers (attached) explaining the impact of cuts & why they are so foolish, inhumane and short-sighted.  

Check out a mini U-tube clip  or photos of the energetic FAIR families on their Facebook page (pls join to show support while you're at it!) 

Langley rally: One Mom tells it like it is

Next rally:

• Friday, November 13 at 12 noon
• Premier Gordon Campbell's MLA office, 3615 West 4th Ave in Point Grey, Vancouver. 

This rally is organized by FEAT BC (Families for Early Autism Treatment) to highlight concerns over Minister Polak's cancellation of the direct funding option in the autism program. FEAT families supported the EIBI rally in Langley and we encourage other families to show support for their concerns. We're all in this together! ...and hopefully the BC government will start to see that we're not going away and we're not shutting up!

2. Next Steps: Broader  MOMs campaign

Despite rallies, meeting, letters, calls & emails, government is still not listening. In addition to recent cuts to vital children's services (e.g. IDP, SCD and EIBI), Premier Campbell has failed to honour his promise to children with special needs and children at risk by fixing existing problems: waitlists, underfunding of Special Education, denial of early intervention services to many children, repeal of the IQ 70 limits to access services. 

So MOMS is planning an extended next phase of action that takes our message directly to British Columbians, who have demonstrated strong support wherever we've created awareness of these concerns.

HOW YOU CAN HELP:

We need financial support for this next phase to develop and run targeted ads and public service announcements in local community media, explaining why the cuts and the failure to fix other gaps for special needs and kids at risk is foolish, short-sighted and inhumane. We'll be urging British Columbians to take a simple step to indicate their support & join us in telling their MLAs, Premier Campbell and Minister Polak that BC's vulnerable kids deserve better and that cutting now means paying more later.

Please contact us if you can provide financial support or if you have potential leads or connections to other organizations in your community who can support this campaign. MOMs has already received our first grant (a big thank you to BC FamilyNet Society for helping to cover recent rally costs!!). Since having $$ is a first for MOMS, we are making arrangements with a "blue chip" registered organization to receive and manage further donations on our behalf.
 
Thanks for all those supporting us by participating or behind the scenes! With your support, we can do it! And when we actually get out and hear the fantastic public support out there, it makes all the effort worthwhile!!

A beautiful sunrise in Victoria

Hi everyone,

What a great day and it's not even 10 am yet! 

MOMs wants to thank everyone who came together and contributed in so many ways to making this a success and to helping us get the message out about the importance of putting our money where our mouth is when it comes to putting BC's vulnerable kids first. It truly was a province-wide team effort and we couldn't have done it without literally hundreds of people who all came together to make it happen!

We forgot it would be so dark in Prince George!

We had at least 21 groups out across the province this morning (Sechelt contacted us last night to let us know they'd be joining in too!)

Lots of great media coverage too, helping to get the word out. I will start posting info, photos and video clips later.  If you're on Facebook, you can start sharing your own photos and video clips via our MOMS Facebook group (see link on the right of this page)

The honking big MOMs banner at Burrard

I was out with a terrific, lively bunch on the Burrard Bridge this morning, waving signs and our huge MOMS banner, with fabulous support from all the commuters going by - cars, bikes and pedestrians.

Then the teachers showed up bringing bagels!

In Victoria, a passing motorist came back with TimBits. In Abottsford, another parked his car and joined in.

Abbotsford crew on the H/way #1 overpass

How did it go in your community?

Use the Comments form below to let us know.

Add your voice

If you couldn't make it, you can still add your voice and urge Premier Campbell to live up to his promise to kids with special needs and kids at risk:

Vernon tells it like it is

• Call the Premier's Office in Victoria: (1) 250 387-1715
• Email the Premier at premier@gov.bc.ca

For a sample letter to the Premier, click here.

Sample message to Premier

Thank you!

A huge thank you again to everyone who helped make our MOMs provincial day of action a success, whether you were out waving banners, emailing or calling in to share your views with government, or just helping connect us with other families and supporters!

Chris & Lori's group on the 176th St overpass in Surrey

If you can't make it in person, you can still participate by emailing a letter to Premier Campbell urging him to honour his promises to BC's children. Or call your MLA on Wednesday to express your support.

Communications:

Media Release: click here

Letter to Premier Campbell: click here

Fact Sheets: Backgrounders on key program cut: EIBI (autism), IDP (Infant Development)

Oct 28 Action flyer: For information about the event, click here. 

MOMs Op Ed: For a summary of issues & concerns, click here

Action Kit: For sign-making tips, click here; for suggested slogans, click here. 

Photos/video: Reminder to all groups: please take digital photos & brief video clips to help us compile a U-tube video for further distribution.

Media contacts: 

• Vancouver: Dawn Steele: dawns@telus.net, 604 874-1416 h./778 235-4998 c.
• Victoria: Catherine Turnquist: catherine.queeb70@gmail.com 250 686-3953 c.
•  (or local coordinator - see below)

Confirmed Locations:

Vancouver Island

 Victoria: Five locations - all from 7:30 - 8:30 am

• A: #1 H/way overpass b/tween McKenzie & Helmken: Catherine Turnquist: 250 686-3953
• B: #1 H/way: Town & Country Walmart overpass: Coordinator Hollie Davis: 250 882-6450
• C: Pat Bay Highway - Royal Oak Bridge: Coordinator Chris McIntosh: 250 588-3061 
• D: Blanchard/Caledonia - SaveOnFoods Arena:  Contact Cher Sherwood 250 881-3996
• E: Sooke Bridge: Coordinator Kathleen Forget: 250 589-2890
• F: Bay Street Bridge area:  Coordinator Nicole Strong 250 217-9797

Victoria participants will later assemble at the Legislature to deliver balloons to Premier Gordon Campbell and MLAs . Victoria coordinator Cher Sherwood: 250 881-3996 c. or vwcher@hotmail.com

Campbell River: Tamarac Street  Bridge (new bridge over the Campbell River), 7:30 - 8:30 am. Local coordinator Coralee Boyce: 250 204-1200 c. or CBoyce@viic.ca

Mayne Island: March from the school to the bakery starting at 12 noon. More details from Mayne Island coordinator Annette Witteman: 250 539-5011 or annettepmw@shaw.ca

**NEW: Sunshine Coast

*NEW! Sechelt: In front of St Mary's Hospital, 8:30 am. Contact Merrily at merrilyc@dccnet.com

Lower Mainland

North Van - Lions Gate Bridge: North Van side, from 7:30 - 8:30 am.  Extra signs available or bring your own. Further details from Cyndi Gerlach, North Van MOMs Coordinator: 604 831-6608 cel or MomsOnTheMove@telus.net

Vancouver Burrard Bridge: South end from 7:30 - 8:30 am (opposite Molson & Seaforth Armoury at Burrard & Cornwall - see map for details of roadworks & parking) .  Extra signs available. At noon, Vancouver groups will reconvene at Premier Campbell's Constituency Office, 3615 West 4th Avenue, to deliver balloons and a statement asking him to live up to his promises to BC's children. Further details available from Dawn Steele, Burrard Coordinator: 778 235-4998 or dawns@telus.net.

Vancouver Oak St. Bridge: Vancouver side (see map), from 7:30 - 8:30 am. Extra signs available or bring your own. At noon, both Vancouver groups will reconvene at Premier Campbell's Constituency Office, 3615 West 4th Avenue, to deliver balloons and a statement asking him to live up to his promises to BC's children. Further details available from Barb Laird, Osk St Coordinator: barb@telus.net or 604 910-9990 cel.

* NEW: Burnaby: Burnaby parents will deliver messages & balloons  to local MLA offices to symbolize vulnerable kids who are waiting for help.

Surrey: Highway #1/176th overpass, 7:30 - 8:30 am. Local coordinator Chris Doucette: 604 307-6346 c. or cjdouce@yahoo.com

Langley: Highway #1/Langely overpass, 7:30 - 8:30 am. (UPDATE!!!Consolidated with the Surrey action at the 176th overpass - please join Chris's group there instead!)Local coordinator Chris Doucette: 604 307-6346 c. or cjdouce@yahoo.com

Abbotsford: Clearbrook overpass on Highway 1, 7:30 - 8:30 am. Extra signs available or bring your own. Contact Karen Davis: 604 302-6949 or kayceda@mac.com

Interior & North

Kamloops: Sahali & Columbia St. intersection, 7:30 - 8:30 am. Parking in Superstore & Sahali Mall. Signs available or bring your own. Local coordinator: Samantha Warden: 250 371-7541 or swarden@gmail.com

Kelowna: 2121 Ethel Street (outside MLA Steve Thomson's office at the corner of Ethel &  Springfield/Cadder) starting at 9:30 am.  Signs available or bring your own. Local coordinator is Lisa Watson: 250 212-4075 c. / 250 762-3076 h. or kellylisa@shaw.ca. Kelowna area residents who can't attend are urged to telephone Kelowna  area MLAs on Oct. 28 to voice support for the MOMS campaign:

• Steve Thomson - Kelowna/Mission: 250 712-3620
• Norm Letnick - Kelowna/Lake Country: 250 765-8516
• Ben Stewart - Westside/Kelowna: 250 768-8426

Vernon: Polson Park at the Fountain (32nd Street & 25th Avenue), 7:30 - 8:30 am.  Local coordinator is Craeg Pohorelic: 250 260-1758 h. /250-308-9851 c. or craegp@shaw.ca or craeg@noyfss.org

Merritt: Corner of Vogt & Nicola (across from 7-11), from 7:45 - 8:45 am. Local coordinator Lynn Krausert 250 315-8118 c.

Prince George: 770 Central Street (MLA Pat Bell's office - across from Spruceland Shopping Centre), from 7:30 - 8:30 am. Local coordinator Milanka Pavlic: 250 552-2040 c./ 250 596-1407 h or mpfortuneaw@hotmail.com or Heather Allison 250 962-9680

Invermere: Local coordinator Susan Kurbis: 250 342 3056 h. or susan_kurbis@hotmail.com.

Questions/info about locations or to register additional groups: Cyndi Gerlach, 604 987-6608 h./604 831-6608 c. or MomsOnTheMove@telus.net 

Children's cuts - in the media:

Kelowna Daily Courier: Parents of autistic children not giving up

The Tyee: In BC, suffer the children: Premier Campbell's forgotten promise to BC's youngsters with special needs

The Medical News: Health Sciences Association: BC's autism cuts not good for kids

Langley Times: Strange priorities

Kamloops This Week: The problem is Campbell, Polak don't get it

Click here for more...

Children's cuts - other groups speak out:

Health Sciences Association: Statement

 BC FamilyNet: Letter to Minister Polak

BC Association for Community Living: Press release

BC Coalition for People with Disabilities: Letter to Minister

Burnaby Association for Community Inclusion: Letter to Minister

Provincial Advisor, IDP: press release

Provincial Advisor, SCD: press release

MP Keith Martin: letter of support

One mom's petition re autism cuts: sign here 

MOMS needs you!

So far, we have small local actions planned for the following communities. To send a strong message to Victoria, we need more families, more supporters & more communities to join in!!

Please let us know ASAP if a group in your community can join in - so we can add you to the list and connect other local volunteers with you. All you need is a few local parents & supporters  - pick a time & place on Oct 28 and go out with some home-made signs (& a digital camera so we can include a photo in our community album!!)

Participating communities so far:

• Victoria (various locations)
• Vancouver N & S (Oak and Burrard)
• North Van
• Kelowna
• Kamloops
• Surrey
• Langley
• Ladner/Cloverdale
• Abbotsford
• Vernon
• Prince George
• Invermere
• Sooke 

Join us!

If you live in any of these communities contact us at MomsOnTheMove@telus.net ASAP and we'll connect you with the group to get the time & details for that location.

If you live in another community and want to join is, let us know ASAP.

Thanks everyone for supporting BC families and children with special need!