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December 21, 2004
For Immediate Release:
FEAT-BC’s December 20th press release attacking the integrity of ACT - Autism Community Training is permeated by a conspiracy theory that cannot be supported by the facts. FEAT has done important work in bringing to the attention of the public the right of children with autism to intensive early intervention but it is a cause of concern that Sabrina Freeman, FEAT’s Executive Director, finds it so difficult to turn a new page and move on from the defeat in the Supreme Court of Canada. Now it is time for FEAT to turn a new page and make an effort to work with other parent-based organizations to push for strong federal legislation to protect the interests of all children with disabilities.
While it is disappointing for the Autism Society of British Columbia (ASBC) to have lost government funding to ACT, the current board has long expressed discomfort at receiving government funding. Now is the opportunity to reform itself by recruiting a board that truly reflects the diversity of perspectives from around the province and employing an Executive Director who does not also hold a position on the board, in the interests of transparency and good governance.
To provide the facts about ASBC’s failure to win the contract to provide information and training to parents, ACT offers the following corrections:
- The contract went out to public tender last summer in the same process used in all government contracts
- ACT – Autism Community Training was in negotiation with the Ministry for Children and Family Development from early October. Our proposal was comprehensive, well written and demonstrated the wide-ranging knowledge of the two principals Clair Schuman and Deborah Pugh. It was supported in writing by leading parent advocates from across BC
- MCFD couriered the final version of the contract the day before the Supreme Court decision and Clair Schuman, ACT’s Executive Director, signed it the day of the decision. Anyone with any knowledge of how slow government works in Victoria cannot seriously believe that MCFD was able to generate a contract and have it signed the day of the SCC decision
- The allegation that the Ministry financially rewarded people who “supported the government’s
failed attempt to defeat families in the BC Supreme Court” is false. In fact, no one on ACT’s volunteer Board or Advisory Council receives any financial benefit at all from the contract and no one employed by ACT supported the government’s appeal of the Auton case in any way. The staff of ACT and several members of the ACT Board are parents of children with autism. It is patently absurd to suggest that they are out to “defeat families”. Further evidence of this is in ASBC’s own archives. In October 2000, Deborah Pugh, who was then the Executive Director of ASBC wrote in the Autism BC newsletter: “The judgment of Madame Justice Allan of the Supreme Court of British Columbia in late July, the Auton decision, is undoubtedly the most positive development in the history of autism in this province.” Moreover, Clair Schuman, ACT’s Executive Director, was a parent representative on a committee of the Canadian Association for Community Living which was an intervenor at the Supreme Court of Canada in support of the families not the government.
In the interests of setting the record straight about ASBC sudden interest in upholding the right of parents to more information about those on the qualified service provider list that it has run for 2.5 years years, it is only proper to address the claim that MCFD’s Assistant Deputy Minister “forcefully directed service providers to not disclose [to ASBC] any information about their credentials”:
- The ADM informed service providers in writing that they were not obliged by the Ministry to provide information to ASBC, as a letter and questionnaire from ASBC had falsely implied. In particular, they were not required to answer questions that were not related to their qualifications as autism consultants such as questions about their income. They are completely free to respond to the questionnaire if they so wish. ASBC has been asked to post their letter to service providers on their website and to the government’s response, so that observers can judge for themselves, but that has not happened.
- Long before ASBC issued its questionnaire, ACT had developed a Service Provider Profile, as part of our proposal, in response to the complaints from parents from around the province that so little information was available on the ASBC website, beyond a list of names and addresses – many of them seriously inaccurate or outdated. MCFD readily accepted ACT’s proposal to collect and publish more detailed information than ASBC had ever provided about the education, training and experience of service providers. It is obvious that this information is desperately needed by families, what is not clear is why it had not already been done
by ASBC
- Soon ACT will be sending out this profile to service providers to give them the opportunity to better describe their credentials, specialties, services and fees. Meanwhile, ACT is working to revise the contact information on the list that ASBC has had for over two years – roughly 90 percent of the entries have required updating. We are concerned that in the files provided to us by ASBC supporting documentation to verify credentials for many of the Service Providers on the list is lacking. Extremely serious is that ASBC did not follow-up with those service providers who have not provided a criminal record check, in the interests of protecting our children. Receiving those checks is a priority for ACT.
It would appear from the information above that ASBC’s interest in running the “Qualified Service Providers List” has lacked a commitment to provide a strong service to families within the context of their contract with government. This may be because many in leading positions in FEAT and ASBC felt able to assess qualifications independently of this list but there are many families who complain that they feel lost once their child has received a diagnosis and that the information available from ASBC is not sufficiently helpful.
ACT is committed to supporting all parents to learn how to assess the qualifications of service providers by making this information easily assessable so that parents can be assured that minimum standards have been documented and that criminal record checks have been received. With our strong board and staff and with the support of our outstanding advisory Council, ACT will be able to make great progress in the months ahead. In the past 19 months, ACT has provided over 15,000 hours of training to parents and professionals on a wide-range of autism related issues. We are absolutely committed to raising the standard of professional development in this province and we believe we can do this as an independent not-for-profit society open to diverse opinions and grounded in research that is transforming the lives of children with autism.
While ACT understands the both ASBC and FEAT have experienced a stunning blow from the Supreme Court decision we call on ASBC and FEAT to re-asses their current focus on alleging conspiracies on the part of service providers and government bureaucrats. With a provincial election looming, it is necessary for parent-based organizations to work together to push for government commitment to continue funding and to increase it so that it truly covers the real costs of providing effective therapy for our children.
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