 | there will be 24
board members - 13 from TSC and 11 more appointments waiting for final
approval of the Premier. |
| The chair is
David Driscoll. |
| Interim Board
met on January 9 & 10, next meeting is on Feb 5th, 6th and 7th.
|
| Board's role
will be to focus on the development of the structure of the new authority -
goal of September 2003 for formal start of "Authority". |
| Doug Woollard hired as "senior consultant" on
operations and budget for present co-management |
| Doug Walls hired as "senior consultant" for planning
and development |
| Doug Woollard provided an update on the budget plan for
2003-2004:
 | The co-management group has begun meeting with
service providers across the province to discuss the plan to reduce the cost
of services |
| Doug Woollard, Melinda Heidsma & Rick Mowles will
continue meeting with service providers over the next four weeks to explain
the plan for reducing costs. |
| Families and individuals must agree with
ands support the proposed changes. |
| The only contractors not being included are the
family care home providers receiving the standard rates for proprietary
care. |
| The message being given to providers is that
"tinkering" with the margins is not what is being proposed... there needs to
a fundamental re-thinking of the way some services are being provided. |
| There is an innovation website where people can share
ideas about new ways to do things -
www.communitylivingbc.org/innovation and the interim authority is
planning a conference for March 28/29
where families and service providers
can gather to share ideas. |
| The target for savings for next fiscal year is $20
Million from contracted services. |
| There is also a committee looking at the
issue of funding of collective agreements. The goal is to resolve the
current disputes between the MCFD and service providers regarding historical
overpayments in a fair and equitable manner; and, establish a sound basis
for continuing payments.
|
| What's the plan for 2004-2005? The Authority
will address next year's budget in the fall of 2003 when they have taken
control of community living services. |
| The deadline for receiving the agency savings plan is March 14,
2003. |
|
| Will there be a monitoring process to help families who
are feeling that they aren't being included in planning and changes?
| The document outlining the savings plan will be
posted on the website and shared with family groups so that families know
they must be consulted and agree with the changes. |
| The coalition will share the document through the
community communication facilitators. |
| The co-management group has included the need for
family consultation in their presentation and that will be reviewed when the
plan is delivered to the co-management group. |
| A formal route will be developed for families who
want help when they are faced with change proposals. |
| The development of the independent planning capacity
needs to begin soon so that individuals and families will have access to
planning support as they face changes in services. |
|
| Can there be a communication plan for families too?
It was suggested that there should be some examples of the opportunities for
improving the quality of life through changing the way services are provided,
so that families can see the opportunities in change, and also give them
strength to say no to inappropriate proposals.
These stories could be included on the Innovation
web site. |
| If people feel that they are at an impasse with their
service provider - not being listened to - they can call the community
representatives on the co-management team:
| Co-management office phone number: 604 - 660 - 3653
|
| Doug Woollard Cell:
604-817-5588 |
| Melinda Heidsma Cell: 250 - 960 - 9917 |
| Rick Mowles Cell: 604 - 351 - 1183 |
|
| Children's issues: There are ongoing discussions
on working out an agreement on where services for families and children with
special needs will be hosted. There is a draft MOU that will be
presented to David Young soon to lay out a plan for the next two years.
Children in Care is the primary issue of contention. Guardianship rests
with the Province and the Province must be assured that effective guardianship
will be provided by the Authority. |
| Supported ChildCare - budget cut reduced to 14% from
28% but that is still too significant a cut to a vital service for families.
The Minister will be asked to address this issue at the BCACL federation
network meeting next weekend - January 25, 2003. |
| Ministry / Interim Authority Community Consultations:
There will be a Ministry Representative at every meeting - Elaine Murray, and
three board members of the Interim Authority to hear the feedback from the
community. The feedback will be transcribed and presented in its
entirety to the Minister. The schedule of presentations is posted on the
Interim Authority website at
www.communitylivingbc.org . |
| How will the Ministry's review team Evaluation Report
be integrated with the community feedback and the TSC's final report?
The Minister will look at all the feedback, including the Evaluation
Report before determining the direction of development for the Provincial
Authority. The TSC was clear that independent planning was an essential
component of the vision of the new Provincial Authority. |
| Key pieces of Interim Authority work include:
| Memorandum of Understanding on children's services |
| Legislation for the creation of the Authority is
being drafted now |
| Bylaws of the Authority are being drafted |
| Developing a Research Project that will look at the
the evolution of services to this point, and then be able to gauge the
changes that occur in the future accurately. |
| Reference groups: The Interim Authority will
establish reference groups around specific subjects for which they want
broader input. |
|
4. Update on CLC /
IFFC facilitators: There are 21 people listed on the CLC website, members of
communities around the province, who are willing to foster discussion in their
communities. A proposal was made to explore pulling community facilitators
together to do some group training to give them skills to foster these
discussion groups and provide them with support of the coalition - help build
networks across the province. We also need to have a proactive agenda -
get people involved in moving the process forward, rather than just coming to
listen to updates. Lorraine will contact the current facilitators to gauge
their interest and ability to attend a one-day session in the Lower Mainland.
The facilitators present expressed their strong interest in getting together.
5. New business:
Family Partners - meeting tomorrow - primary concern is the need for better
communication with families across the province - Riley Park Community Centre -
10:00am to 1:30pm.
6. Setting next
dates for meeting - February 26th, 2003 - 7:00pm - 9:30pm
