AUPE makes case for disabled adults

The best way to fix the Persons with Developmental Disabilities  (PDD) program is to ensure there are enough staff on the front line. That’s the message AUPE representatives delivered on Sept. 19 to senior officials at Alberta Seniors and Community Supports during a meeting about the long awaited investigation into administrative waste and inefficiency.

“We made the point that while the government needs to rein in a top-heavy administrative structure, those savings must be put right back into front-line services, especially direct operations and Client Service Co-ordinators (CSCs),” explained AUPE President Guy Smith. “The administrative review shed light on some serious problems in the system, but everyone must remember that the ultimate goal is improving the lives of the most vulnerable Albertans and their families.”

The administrative review pointed out that the heavy caseloads of ministry-employed CSCs, who oversee each individual’s program, are causing major problems. On average CSCs manage 150 case files, three times more than what’s considered manageable. This can lead to unacceptable delays, miscommunication and inadequate monitoring.

The review was ordered last year after it was learned that nearly 25 per cent of the PDD program’s $597 million budget ($142 million) was spent on administrative functions. The review’s findings were released publicly in May, and since then the government has been putting together a plan to reform the system. It revealed a Byzantine, patchwork system bogged down by multiple layers of administration that duplicated work and confusing, inefficient reporting systems. Most notable of all, the report says that the nearly 200 private and not-for-profit contractors delivering community services all have their own management systems that gobble up $96 million in administrative costs.

PDD serves 9,300 Albertan adults with such conditions as Down syndrome, cerebral palsy and autism. Services are delivered through three methods: direct operations (government-run facilities serving about four per cent of clients), community service providers (contractors who serve 86 per cent) and family managed programs (where families hire staff and choose service providers themselves).

AUPE pressed the case for increasing direct operations, which serve the clients with the highest needs. As Penny Bates, who works at the Michener Centre in Red Deer, the largest direct operation in the province, put it, “many are medically fragile and need constant monitoring and care. Some have behavioral issues that require very specialized supervision and facilities. Most community agencies simply don’t have the capacity to provide the care they need.”

AUPE argues that the ministry can better guarantee the safety and wellbeing of clients, workers and the community at large by taking more high-needs clients into direct operations. The union also argues that direct operations are highly efficient, with lower than average costs to deliver direct frontline services. Clients living in direct operations also do not need the Assured Income for the Severely Disabled (AISH) subsidies, which saves the government $14,000 a year per client.

AUPE argues that having more CSCs on the front line will not only lead to faster, more compassionate and safe service for PDD clientele, it will also be more efficient financially. Closer monitoring of each individual’s programming will ensure funding is more effectively allocated.

To download a copy of the position paper AUPE presented to the government, click here.