CORE Association's children's program for those with disabilities is closing in March as a result of changes to the funding model. Executive director Rita Bessant says CORE accumulated a deficit of about $130,000 as it continued to provide a children's program for those with special needs after government contract funding stopped two years ago.
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A deficit of $130,000 was accumulating for CORE Association as it continued to provide a children’s program for those with special needs after government contract funding stopped two years ago.
Where there were once 80 children enrolled in the daily program there are now only 33, and the “devastating” decision was made to close the program on March 20, said Rita Bessant, executive director.
After the government’s contract funding ceased in 2017, the expenses, which included background checks for staff and training for a fully accredited agency that parents could have confidence in, were $519,000 that first year. Revenue from those enrolled was $377,457 with a net loss of $68,369. The following year the loss was reduced to $28,652 as CORE made changes to staffing levels to relate to enrolment. The current fiscal year 2019/20 revenue was projected to be $150,000 and expenses 180,000 with a projected loss of $30,000.
The program used to be funded by the government through an annual contract. When the government stopped funding CORE, parents were given the responsibility of finding the support services their child needed and had the option of using the services of an agency such as CORE. That option is now gone.
“The only option they have is contracting for-profit,” said Bessant, pointing out CORE is a non-profit charity.
A local government Family Support for Children with Disabilities (FSCD) office determines the level of financial support for the child and provides parents with a list of service providers.
“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 provided recently.
Bessant says CORE now has a document showing that list of alternative providers given to parents does not include CORE.
“The document to say we gave you money and here are people who can provide you services,” said Bessant. “Our name was not even on that.”
Bessant says CORE requires that each of its employee have formal training and background checks. She says FSCD is not doing those checks and therefore it would be up to the parent doing the hiring and firing of staff to take on the obligation. It also means the cost of this would come out of the funding given to parents.
“I don’t believe that all families are going to insist on a criminal record check, formal education and formal training,” said Bessant. “Those areas we have had to continue to do to meet accreditation.”
A local mother, 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 says 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.
Bessant says if a contractor calls in sick it will be up to the parent to make other arrangements. Under CORE that would never have happened.
