Act NOW to help Alberta’s most vulnerable families

Tell Minister of Seniors, Community and Social Services Jason Nixon and your representative that it’s time to fix the crisis in care!

<h4>Minister Nixon: It’s time to fix the crisis in care&nbsp;</h4><h5>Families caring for the severely disabled need and deserve help now</h5>Why is the Alberta government picking on families struggling to care for severely disabled family members?&nbsp;Why are 12,000 families waiting years before government workers can assess their situation and help them get the support they desperately need?&nbsp;We challenge you, Minister Nixon, and members of the Alberta government to meet these families and explain to them why they are waiting years to get the help to which they are entitled.<h5>&nbsp;</h5><h5>Crisis in care&nbsp;</h5>&nbsp;There’s a crisis in the government’s running of two programs that are supposed to help these families.&nbsp;&nbsp;For years, members of AUPE who work in Family Support for Children with Disabilities (FSCD) and Persons with Developmental Disabilities (PDD) have warned that staffing shortages made their caseloads so big that families weren’t being assessed and helped.&nbsp;The government was forced to act, but applied only a Band-Aid solution. It hired about 40 case workers last year to speed things up, but many of these were on temporary contracts.&nbsp;The government has decided to end those contracts, meaning dozens of jobs are being axed, making caseloads soar and wait times grow.&nbsp;Some AUPE members in PDD are reporting caseloads of up to 200, while some are at 130 and rising in FSCD. This is far above the recommended maximum of 95-100.&nbsp;The government has also imposed a hiring freeze, leaving nearly 40 positions unfilled. It is also refusing to fill positions of workers who are on leave or take on other roles.&nbsp;Some of the 12,000 families have waited more than two years to be assessed. Without assessments, they don’t get assistance from agencies that exist to provide help.&nbsp;The government is using smoke-and-mirror tricks to create the illusion that caseloads are down, including:&nbsp;• Stopping new applications from being processed. About 700 new applications come in every month, making the wait list soar;&nbsp;• Siphoning off cases to students who aren’t qualified to do assessments; and&nbsp;• Assigning cases outside the area where the applicants live to artificially spread caseloads;&nbsp;Not only are no new assessments being made, the quality of service to existing clients has been eroded.<h5>&nbsp;</h5><h5>Do the right thing</h5>&nbsp;Minister Nixon, the solutions are simple.&nbsp;Restore the jobs of the temporary workers and make them permanent.&nbsp;&nbsp;Cancel your hiring freeze and fill open full-time, permanent positions.&nbsp;Make these changes permanent by increasing funding for these departments in the February budget.&nbsp;Stop telling applicants that there are delays in assigning caseworkers while cutting caseworker jobs.&nbsp;We expect to see a clear, measurable and properly funded plan in the budget that spells out to the 12,000 families waiting for assessments, and for the thousands of other families who rely on these departments every day, how and when you are going to resolve this crisis in care.

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