The Alberta government's decision not to privatize care facilities for Albertans with disabilities came as a relief to St. Albert MLA Marie Renaud.
On Jan. 29, the province announced operations at Edmonton Region PDD Residential and Support Services, Hardisty Home and Rosecrest Home Services in Edmonton, and Graduated Supports Services in Calgary would continue without any changes. The announcement came months after the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) and affected families received letters of intent indicating the province was exploring alternative service delivery.
“We worked really hard, over months, to get families – they were contacting their MLAs and writing letters and meeting and really pushing for people to understand what was at stake just to save a few bucks and in the end, it really wouldn’t be cost-saving,” said Renaud, who is the Opposition critic for community and social services.
“I'm just relieved because I've spent so much time interacting with the families, particularly families of the kids at Rosecrest who are really profoundly disabled. This would have really affected their lives. The other sad part is for many of these kids, the government is essentially their guardians – they don't have anyone speaking for them."
Rosecrest, a residential facility for children, is able to offer children unique programs and schooling, she explained. She added children also have access to regular respiratory therapy and may have an easier time getting into feeding clinics and wheelchairs that fit better when the facility is government-run.
The decision affects 210 people who access the service and 339 staff who are employed at these facilities.
When the province opened consultations on this, 150 people responded to a survey sent to families who would have been impacted. The survey indicated high satisfaction with services: 98 per cent of people were satisfied with current services, 97 per cent were satisfied with staffing, 81 per cent were against privatization and 90 per cent wished to keep loved ones at current locations.
Rajan Sawhney, minister of community and social services, said on top of sending out surveys to families, she had many meetings with parents to try to understand their concerns and she also visited Rosecrest in Edmonton and Graduated Supports in Calgary.
“It was very clear, there was almost a unanimous consensus amongst families that the services that were offered right now should stay the same. And that's what we all landed on together within the ministry,” she said.
The top thing Sawhney heard from families was their loved ones were doing really well and changes and disruptions to their routines would have a detrimental impact on their health and well-being.
“Those kinds of comments about potential detrimental impacts of changes resonated quite heavily with me. There were many comments around the quality of care that was provided and that's always very important too ... that's why I was happy to say, ‘OK, this is a model that's working well – let's keep it intact,’” she said.
Sawhney said she was prompted to do the review because when she was appointed the position as minister, Premier Jason Kenney gave her a mandate of reviewing all programs within the ministry.
“I know that sometimes these reviews cause fear and anxiety amongst people who are impacted, and I would be too. I would feel the same way, but nonetheless, I do my best to engage, and to alleviate fears and also to do the job that I was elected to do and that is expected of me from the premier’s office,” she said.
Sawhney is in the process of reviewing other programs in the Ministry as well, including the Family Support for Children with Disabilities program.
“I would just like to say that I will give the same care, thought and analysis of everything that I do that I did with this particular program, and I look forward to concluding some of those future reviews as well,” she said.
