Plecas Review Report Part One

8/20/2019 Plecas Review Report Part One

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Is the fact that our workers are paid less than the Canadian average important? It could beargued that this is due to a difference in labour markets across Canada. But it is also the casethat child protection workers are paid less than those working in other areas within BC. Theproof of this is that these workers are regularly poached for higher wages in health, education,WorkSafe BC. I know that people do this job for intrinsic reasons, but in our society pay is theway good employers recognize good work. And there is no doubt in my mind that this is one ofthe most difficult jobs in all of government.

Looking Ahead

In the future, we must accept and act on a simple principle: child protection is one of the mostdifficult jobs in government and it should be recognized and rewarded with highercompensation. Higher compensation should apply only to the position of child protectionworker. I am not advocating that it be applied to non-child protection social worker jobs.


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While graphs show that budget has remained at best stable, the Representative has done ananalysis that shows an actual decrease of $100 million from 2008/09 to 2013/14 and it isobvious from the table above that there are significant challenges. The budget has not kept upwith salary increases and inflation. However, to determine a precise figure using restatedEstimates is an impossible task.

One stark contrast is provided by the Ministry of Health. The Representative, among others, hasreported on the difference of levels of funding between what Health has received as annualpercentage lifts, and what MCFD has received, and the gap this creates over time. Health’sbudget is protected because both of BC’s political parties know this is essential for electoralsuccess. However, when the protection of Health’s budget is combined with commitments to

balance the budget and hold or lower taxes, there is simply not enough money for governmentto spend on much else. “Do more with less” has been a mantra of all governments in BC backto the early eighties.

When economic growth stagnates and tax increases are avoided because they are notpolitically popular, we end up with frozen budgets that do not even cover inflationary impacts.

As we have seen in the past, all Ministries respond to the pressures in the same way: they donot cut programs, they just cut them back. Like cutting slices off of a salami.


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I recognize that some of this amounts to robbing staffing Peter to pay program Paul, but what isinescapable is that the system is short on both staff and program resources.

Looking AheadIt must be realized that these programs are what families utilize and benefit from, even ifreluctantly, to prevent their children being removed. In a perfect world no child would beremoved, and families would be kept together using other program areas of the Ministry. It isnot like there is child protection, and the rest is fluff. The other programs are what supportfamilies and get kids safely to adulthood, and when combined with healthy community agenciescreate an environment where kids can be safe.

Over the years, with cuts or staff hiring freezes (although I recognize that child protectionfunctions were exempt from the last hiring freeze), the programs remain, but the budgets areslowly cut back. The amounts needed to provide services are not sufficient to meet needs, evenwith the introduction of new and modern business practices, of which I approve, to gain savingsthrough efficiencies. Although you can't run government like a business, you can run it in abusiness-like way. And all parents know what happens when layoffs occur, or jobs are lost.Important family needs are not met or cut back. Government acting as a parent is no different.

But when financial times improve, the place to start for government, like a parent, is spendingsome of the new found money on the kids and their welfare.


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Plecas Review Report Part One