MOMS ACTION: Summary of cuts

Tell the BC government that investing in children is a top priority . (Deadline for 2010 Budget input: Oct. 23)

(Please distribute widely, with apologies for cross-postings!)

Vancouver, October 13, 2009

Premier Campbell's  forgotten promise:

BC government's 2006 - 2009 Strategic Plan: 5 Great Goals for the Golden Decade:

Goal #3 : ' Build the best system of support in Canada for persons with disabilities, those with special needs, children at risk, and seniors.'

Three years later, the BC government has forgotten all about about Great Goal #3. We've seen no improvements in supports for children and youth with special needs. Existing systems are being dismantled and services cut, with no effort to resolve long-standing service gaps:

• Intensive intervention programs for autism axed, despite overwhelming need & evidence these programs work well & expert advice that direct funding is not an effective alternative for many.
• Parents who effectively manage autism funding forced to switch to Ministry-administered payments . This will create new problems, including delays and higher costs
• Provincial offices that provide direct services including oversight, coordination, training and standards for community Infant Development Programs and Aboriginal IDPs to be axed.
• Axing of the provincial Supported Child Care office, which was recently created to resolve problems from the lack of oversight, coordination, training & consistency in local SCC programs.
  • URGENT NOTE : A month's notice won't allow SCC staff to properly transfer roles. Pls. urge govt to at least extend these roles to March 2010 to permit an orderly transition.