EDMONTON – The Alberta government should immediately release the results of a study that could affect the way thousands of vulnerable Albertans receive care, says Alberta Union of Provincial Employees President Guy Smith.
“It isn’t easy for people with developmental disabilities to deal with conditions like Down syndrome, cerebral palsy and autism,” said Smith. “Their problems should not be made worse by forcing them to wait for an indecisive government to release the details of a study on their care.”
In June 2010 the government ordered the accounting firm KPMG to perform a review of the administration of care for persons with developmental disabilities (PDD). The review was delivered on Sept. 15, 2010.
But for three months, the government has refused to make the results public, saying that it is “reviewing the information.”
Smith sees the release of the KPMG report as a first critical step in an urgently needed restructuring of the province’s PDD system. For several years controversy has mounted over the costs of administering PDD care.
Since the early 1990s the province has gradually privatized PDD care, creating a cumbersome system that now comprises more than 200 agencies, each with its own management and administration, resulting in massive administrative cost increases.
“Any additional funds for PDD are not going to where they are needed on the front lines,” said Smith. “Instead, they are being absorbed by the administration of a patchwork of various groups and agencies.”
Smith also said he has heard of a decline in the quality of service delivered by the current system. “Before the government started contracting out services, PDD caregivers typically had decades of experience. They understood the complex needs of the people they cared for. They had a rare skill set. But many of those people have been replaced. We’ve been losing a valuable resource.”
The solution, according to Smith, is a simplified system that takes better advantage of the government’s existing processes and people. “Our taxes pay for administration, management and even buildings that we’re not using. We’re losing our best caregivers. And the PDD population is suffering. It’s a mess, and we need to make sense of it.”
Last month the AUPE public affairs website, YourWorkingPeople.com, published a feature story on Alberta’s PDD problem, including facts, figures and personal perspectives from caregivers.
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For more information, contact:
Guy Smith, President, AUPE, 780-930-3301 or 780-265-2294 (cellular phone)
David Climenhaga, Communications Director, AUPE, 780-930-3311 or 780-717-2943 (cellular phone)
David Climenhaga, Communications Director, AUPE, 780-930-3311 or 780-717-2943 (cellular phone)
