Autism groups debate Province’s $20M investment in a provincial autism centre

A major debate is underway among BC autism groups and organizations over the Province’s plans to invest $20 million to help construct a new building in Vancouver to house a proposed provincial autism centre (Pacific Autism Family Centre or PAFC).

Last week, we circulated a position paper from BCACDI, which represents agencies and providers for early intervention services across BC, urging the Province to undertake a needs assessment to determine the best way to allocate available Provincial dollars -- a suggestion that has attracted significant comment. We've been urged to share the various perspectives via our networks to test the community pulse, so please share this link!

B ACKGROUND: When the proposal was made public in 2008, a poll of over 500 families in MOMS & other autism networks indicated:

1. Strong preference that the promised provincial investment address program/service gaps vs. to construct a new building;
2. Process concerns (no public consultation, needs assessment and/or competitive bidding);
3. Strong concern that investing in a physical Vancouver centre was not conducive to supporting home- and community-based services, especially for rural communities
4. Some felt that new investments should address gaps for other special needs as well.

After we shared this feedback with govt and PAFC’s principals, we were excluded from further community discussions as project development got underway.

In 2010, we received internal Govt documents about PAFC. After extensive further research & advice, we issued a statement noting information given to families during PAFC’s provincial consultations was not consistent with plans that government was discussing internally. Of particular concern were plans to use existing autism program budgets to subsidize PAFC’s operating costs. Ministry officials warned this would reduce access & effectiveness & increase waitlists for diagnosis, for example.

We acknowledged different views within our community and encouraged families to share their views with Govt. We remained concerned that PAFC’s development process was ignoring key concerns, that the Province had never clearly stated its objectives or intentions, and that Government has never consulted with families, service providers or professionals on PAFC or on how best to spend new autism dollars. Still, when the former premier announced a site for PAFC at a recent media event, he claimed broad community support for a project that would serve the needs of children with ASD .

COMMUNITY VIEWS:

MOMS and other groups responded to the former Premier's claims by reiterating the concerns, noting that neither the Province nor PAFC has ever shown how investing $20 million to help construct a new building for PAFC addresses the priority needs we hear from families. MOMS urged the Province to listen directly to families to determine priority needs and to invest the promised funds directly on identified gaps and deficiencies, whether in new or existing programs.

1. BCACDI position : BCACDI called for a needs assessment, pointed out that the Province has never consulted publicly, and urged that new capital and operating dollars directly target gaps in existing community-based provincial early intervention services.

Two autism groups on PAFC’s advisory committee have rejected BCACDI’s call for government to consult directly and for an objective needs assessment to determine how best to spend available funds. Their full positions are linked below, but in essense, PAFC supporters are saying:

• MOMS has misinformed and unduly alarmed families.
• There’s no need for a needs assessment or for government to consult directly with families because as community leaders they already know what families need, they’re at the table speaking for families and they believe PAFC will benefit families.
• Supporting the proposed $20 million Provincial contribution to PAFC’s capital fund is the best hope of addressing existing program gaps to better serve autism needs.
• Despite concerns over the PAFC concept and process, many autism groups are working together on PAFC’s advisories to make the best of it and this in itself justifies support.

2. ACT position : The non-profit agency contracted by MCFD to provide family support and a service provider registry wrote to BCACDI, copying the new Premier and MCFD Minister. ACT dismissed the family concerns conveyed by MOMS as “rants” and “polemics” driven by Dawn Steele’s “fervent hostility to the current government,” suggested BCACDI was misinformed, and urged support for investing in the PAFC facility as the best way to address autism needs.

3. MOMS response to ACT and the Premier supported calls for an objective needs assessment as a good way to determine priority needs and what families really want.

4. FAIR position : The Victoria-based family group formed to fight the closure of EIBI programs also rejected BCACDI’s call for a review. FAIR, calling itself the largest autism organization in BC with 1,400 Facebook members, urged support for the Province’s capital investment in PAFC.

(We’ve reminded FAIR that most of their Facebook friends are actually supporters from outside the autism community, and that joining a FB page in solidarity with a few dozen families fighting to save their kids EIBI programs in 2009, as we did, is not a blanket endorsement of any future position that FAIR’s families may take on other issues, especially one this controversial!)

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

As always, we encourage groups and families to share their views with us and/or with ACT, FAIR and directly with government.

• ACT: [email protected] or http://www.actcommunity.net
• FAIR: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=134222624507&ref=ts or [email protected]
• BC Premier: [email protected]
• MCFD Minister & Deputy: [email protected] ; [email protected]

There is nothing wrong with being direct and expressing views strongly but we do urge that comments are respectful of other individuals and diverse views and focussed on the issues (vs personal attacks): i.e. identifying what you see as the priority needs of families and what is the best use of scarce Provincial dollars to address those needs.

Dawn & Cyndi, MOMS