The directors of two St. Albert agencies that serve Persons with Developmental Disabilities (PDD) say they are in limbo.
Marie Renaud of the Lo-Se-Ca Foundation and Paul Fujishige of Transitions attended a recent meeting between Edmonton service providers and the provincial government, regarding $42 million in funding cuts from community access programs.
The service providers walked out feeling even more uncertain than when they walked in.
“The phrase that got me the most was ‘Listen, you need to trust us,’ ” said Renaud. “Well, you need to earn that trust.”
Announced in April, a “redistribution” of funds in the provincial PDD budget was originally slated for July 1.
About $42 million would be taken from community access, programs for employment and volunteer placements, life skills and leisure classes and transportation to and from medical appointments. Fourty-five million dollars would be allocated towards agency staff to top up wages and benefits. The average wage for a support worker in the industry is $15 per hour.
During the meeting, PDD officials stated they would “press pause” on the implementation deadline until September or October.
Associate Minister of Services for Persons with Disabilities Frank Oberle has pointed to the need for changes in order to fix a broken system.
“We are providing an alarming range of services, from one individual that receives $114 per year in supports to one who receives just under $300,000 per year in supports,” he said. “People who need services have to get services, but we cannot provide services beyond need.”
Provincial PDD changes also include a new support need level delivery model called the supports intensity scale, whereby funding would be aligned with the individual’s assessed needs. The province has begun evaluations using the new assessment tool without consultation with service providers and families.
The service providers have cited several concerns over the model, including clients being interviewed one-on-one without family members or support workers present, no information on reassessment when needs change as clients age and the discrepancy in how people were categorized before and how they are categorized now. The differences some describe as “night and day.”
“There seems to be something really wrong when (the new assessments) are coming back so far apart from that initial analysis. In some cases it’s a third of the funding (PDD) had approved earlier,” said Fujishige, adding he also sees a conflict with the province being both the assessor and the funder, instead of having a third party perform the evaluations.
Aside from the new assessment tool, service providers have also expressed their concerns for the safety and well-being of their clients if the funding cuts go through. They insist the money could be trimmed elsewhere.
“How do you cut from something you’ve already stretched so thin?” asked Renaud.
In a 2010 report compiled by consultants KPMG, a look at the PDD program identified inefficiencies in the system including duplication of services and high administrative costs. For every $100 spent on direct supports to individuals, PDD spent an additional $31 on administration. This compares to developmental disability programs in British Columbia, Massachusetts and Western Australia where administration costs ranged from $6 to $20.
Off the top of the 2013-14 PDD budget for the Edmonton region, $26 million is slated for agency administration, $7.5 million for PDD administration and $150,000 for PDD governance. $13 million is allocated for agency employee wages.
Going forward, Oberle insists that people who need services will get them and $42 million is not a final figure.
On Friday, people living with development disabilities, their families and agencies finished their fourth week of protests at the Alberta Legislature. Groups across the province rallied at several MLA offices as well as the Peace Bridge in Calgary.
“They just pushed it so far this time, there was just no choice, (they’ve put) people at risk for safety,” said Fujishige, referring to the public demonstrations that have erupted.
“Initially we all thought that just pointing (the danger) out would be enough for them to back off.”
Renaud and Fujishige said they have no plans to cut more than $60,000 each, or 20 full-time staff from their respective organizations, until they receive something in writing from the province.
“Certainly we’re willing to look at change if it makes sense, but we won’t be forced to make a change that is to the detriment of our people,” commented Fujishige.
“Well, not without a fight.”
