The government says parents affected by the closure of a CORE Association program for children with developmental disabilities, should talk to their caseworker. CORE executive director Rita Bessant says the organization's program had been running at a deficit since the government stopped funding two years ago.--NEWS PHOTO GILLIAN SLADE
gslade@medicinehatnews.com@MHNGillianSlade
The provincial government says the solution for parents affected by the cancellation of CORE Association’s children’s program is to contact their child’s caseworker.
A total of 33 children with special needs are currently enrolled in the program that will end on March 20.
“Community and Social Services staff will work closely with individuals and families who may be impacted by this change. We will help them find alternative providers and we encourage anyone with questions to speak with their caseworker,” said Diane Carter, press secretary for Community and Social Services, in an emailed statement.
For about 40 years CORE has provided this program for children with developmental disabilities and was funded by the government through an annual contract. In 2017 that all changed, said Rita Bessant, executive director.
When the government stopped funding CORE, parents were instead given the responsibility of finding the support services their child needed.
A local government (Family Support for Children with Disabilities) office determines the level of financial support for the child. Parents then decide whether to use a service such as CORE’s or hire their own staff to provide care for their child. Now CORE is no longer an option.
Without the stable government funding that used to go to organizations such as REDI Enterprises, CORE and Next Step, the children’s program depended on an unreliable source of funds.
Bessant says REDI and Next Step stopped their programs. CORE continued even though it was running at a deficit, hoping the tide would turn. That did not happen.
Wendy Ebach, manager of service co-ordination at CORE, says before 2017 up to 80 children were enrolled in the program.
Some CORE staff are also affected by the program closing. Ebach says they are is still in the process of trying to offer those people alternative positions.
Community and Social Services would not provide an interview to the News.
“The province does not directly fund CORE or have a contractual relationship with them. Family Support for Children with Disabilities funding is provided to parents who decide how to use it,” said the spokesperson in a statement.
Tashia Mac Whirter says her “severely disabled” son, Kai, 10, has been in CORE’s program for eight years. She’s a single mom, who has disability challenges of her own, and no family to help.
Mac Whirter wants to know why staff at FSCD are being paid when the job of finding people to provide the necessary supports for children simply falls in the laps of parents who are already overwhelmed.
Ebach says the parents then become the employer, doing the hiring and firing of staff, background checks and handling a payroll like a small business owner.
CORE is also concerned about the alternatives. Bessant says parents will have to hire someone operating on a for-profit basis while CORE is a non-profit agency that provided a program with proven results and knowledgeable staff.
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Les Landry
4 years ago
Hello,
This government isn’t doing it slash and burn policy cutting with any thought or precision. They are not using a scalpel, they are using a chainsaw and they do not care who gets caught in the meat grinder.
I just read that our “Award-Winning” Core has lost its funding because of this government’s twisted and sick attitude towards people including children with disabilities.
Where’s MLA Drew Barnes on this? Maybe if he curbed his complaining about Ottawa and stopped feeding the Trudeau anger machine to distract everyone from what they’re really doing to our community and started doing the job he was elected to do. Where is the invisible Brooks-Medicine Hat MLA Glasgo? We haven’t heard too much from her “church carbon tax” gaff. How about trying to get over that and do the job you were elected to do.
Hatters are having everything pulled out from under your feet and the lack of action from our MLAs is very questionable. I have friends with families that work in the Hospital’s laundry. I’m impacted by the crap they’ve done with AISH and now we’re witnessing their continuing attitude towards people with disabilities as they cut services to children with disabilities using the CORE programs.
Think about the 33 families that are impacted by the closer of CORE and more importantly think of Minister Sawhney’s advice to the parents of their children being cared for by CORE. She said, “The provincial government says the solution for parents affected by the cancellation of CORE Association’s children’s program is to contact their child’s caseworker.”
Let me ask, “Are you really better off than you were a short ten months ago?”
It’s like I said in my Feb 10th “Letter to the Editor” … “Let me ask: When will you be concerned? Only when they come for you? When you can’t insure your car? Because let me remind you, we are already at that point and it will only get worse.”
Your car insurance is obvious, what until your property taxes go up because of the UCP cuts to the municipalities. And the UCP already have their talking points on that, “If Calgary, Edmonton, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat or any other town only knew how to budget, you wouldn’t be in this situation.”
It’s only a matter of time they burn you, and then it will be too late. Start contacting Barnes and Glasgo and tell them that you expect them to stand up for our workers whether they work in the Hospital laundry or if it’s the community’s children with disabilities.
Tell them enough is enough and if this continues, remind them we can vote them out just as easy as we voted them in. It’s time they started working for us and not Kenney’s hidden agenda, even if it’s coming from Harper.
Hello,
This government isn’t doing it slash and burn policy cutting with any thought or precision. They are not using a scalpel, they are using a chainsaw and they do not care who gets caught in the meat grinder.
I just read that our “Award-Winning” Core has lost its funding because of this government’s twisted and sick attitude towards people including children with disabilities.
Where’s MLA Drew Barnes on this? Maybe if he curbed his complaining about Ottawa and stopped feeding the Trudeau anger machine to distract everyone from what they’re really doing to our community and started doing the job he was elected to do. Where is the invisible Brooks-Medicine Hat MLA Glasgo? We haven’t heard too much from her “church carbon tax” gaff. How about trying to get over that and do the job you were elected to do.
Hatters are having everything pulled out from under your feet and the lack of action from our MLAs is very questionable. I have friends with families that work in the Hospital’s laundry. I’m impacted by the crap they’ve done with AISH and now we’re witnessing their continuing attitude towards people with disabilities as they cut services to children with disabilities using the CORE programs.
Think about the 33 families that are impacted by the closer of CORE and more importantly think of Minister Sawhney’s advice to the parents of their children being cared for by CORE. She said, “The provincial government says the solution for parents affected by the cancellation of CORE Association’s children’s program is to contact their child’s caseworker.”
Let me ask, “Are you really better off than you were a short ten months ago?”
It’s like I said in my Feb 10th “Letter to the Editor” … “Let me ask: When will you be concerned? Only when they come for you? When you can’t insure your car? Because let me remind you, we are already at that point and it will only get worse.”
Your car insurance is obvious, what until your property taxes go up because of the UCP cuts to the municipalities. And the UCP already have their talking points on that, “If Calgary, Edmonton, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat or any other town only knew how to budget, you wouldn’t be in this situation.”
It’s only a matter of time they burn you, and then it will be too late. Start contacting Barnes and Glasgo and tell them that you expect them to stand up for our workers whether they work in the Hospital laundry or if it’s the community’s children with disabilities.
Tell them enough is enough and if this continues, remind them we can vote them out just as easy as we voted them in. It’s time they started working for us and not Kenney’s hidden agenda, even if it’s coming from Harper.