With reports of potentially substantial budget reductions to service providers for persons with developmental disabilities (PDD) throughout the region, MLA Frank Oberle has said the numbers won’t be as severe as first thought.
Oberle, the MLA for Peace River and associate minister of services for persons with disabilities, delivered a ministerial statement to the provincial legislature last Tuesday, attempting to quell some of the concerns.
In his speech to the legislature, Oberle said, “At this point, the providers have not actually seen a new contract, Mr. Speaker. They do not know what impacts they face. When we implement the changes to community access supports, there will indeed be impacts, but they will not be as severe as has been suggested.”
The minister continued, “We are now working at the individual provider level, and we are working on a way to ensure the impacts to providers are more manageable during this transition. To accomplish this, we will access supports from the budget in Human Services, and we may require additional support, which I will seek if necessary. This is going to be difficult, Mr. Speaker, but at this stage I believe this goal can be accomplished.”
Arno Birkigt, executive director for Blue Heron in Athabasca, has said that from his perspective there has been some “substantial movement … in terms of reevaluating, looking at the SIS (Supports Intensity Scale) results and doing more of an impact assessment study,” which he described as “very encouraging.”
When alarming budget cuts looked likely, Athabasca County Reeve David Yurdiga was included in discussions with various local officials and has since expressed a desire for more concrete financial assurances.
“As the county we’re obviously concerned, and the community is under stress worrying about the potential impact of the impending cuts,” said Yurdiga. “There has been a lot of discussion on numbers, but we’d like to see something concrete from the Province in terms of actual dollars available.”
“The County is committed to working with Blue Heron and the Province to ensure that Blue Heron’s excellent service to our community will continue.”
Oberle did not say if the budget cuts to PDD support would be any less than before — only that they “will not be as severe as has been suggested.”
Speaking to the SIS system, Oberle said, “Among those who fall within category 1, we are providing an alarming range of services, from one individual who receives $114 per year in supports, to one who receives just under $300,000 per year in supports. This clearly underlines the fact that for some individuals, the supports are currently allocated based on reasons other than need. I cannot support such a model, Mr. Speaker, because it is not defensible, or sustainable. People who need services have to get services, but we cannot provide services beyond need.”
Birkigt said he “would not disagree” with Oberle’s statement, and that anyone receiving inflated funding over and above their needs should be re-evaluated.
“I would question if someone is truly a level 1, how they could be funded at such an excessive level,” said Birkigt. “Something obviously went wrong in there. I would see that as an exception rather than the rule.”
“There is a realization that perhaps too much was happening too quickly … Service providers are eager and willing to work with the government, with PDD, to find solutions to these problems.”
“The assurance I gave to (Athabasca Mayor Roger) Morrill, and the same to your great MLA who’s certainly been beating on me, Mr. Jeff Johnson, is that that individual service provider — and, in fact, all our service providers — are very valuable contributors to our program,” Oberle told the Advocate.
“We couldn’t do this without them, and we’re not going to cut them off, and we’re not going to leave them without a future.”
Oberle told the Advocate that any PDD budget cuts are “not going to be that high … there won’t be a 30-per-cent reduction.”
The minister’s reaction to Birkigt’s projected 18-20 layoffs in the Athabasca area was to call them “worst-case scenario numbers,” assuring “that’s not the way it’s going to unroll.”
“Community leaders hadn’t seen the other side of my budget yet, so they weren’t able to provide a clear picture.”
Asked if there is in fact another side of the budget, Oberle responded, “You can imagine in the larger $4.2 billion budget within Human Services that there’s some flexibility.
“We are not going to eliminate these service providers. We just can’t. They’re the ones that do the work for us out there; very great work. They’ve got dedicated staff, and we need them.”
Birkigt was pleased with the minister’s assurances that the cuts will not be as severe as originally thought.
“I’m very encouraged by that, and now it will be incumbent on me to work with the local board (and Regional PDD board) to find solutions,” said Birkigt.
“There’s a lot of work to be done.”
