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By Chris Brown

Province announces $26M for Persons with Developmental Disabilities program

Dec 22, 2022 | 10:17 AM

The Alberta government is addressing staffing challenges and rising operational costs in the social sector with a further $26 million in support this year.

The government says thousands of Albertans rely daily on services provided through disability programs, homeless shelters and family violence prevention programs and many involved in the Persons with Developmental Disabilities program are having a hard time finding and keeping staff.

Jeremy Nixon, Alberta’s minister of seniors, community and social services, says workers in disability services, emergency shelters and family violence prevention programs are providing critical support to thousands of Albertans.

The ministry funds 179 Persons with Developmental Disabilities service providers and 69 Family Support for Children with Disabilities service providers. The government claims about 20,000 front-line social service workers will be supported with this investment, including about 19,500 disability support workers, 1,000 homeless shelter workers and 175 family violence prevention workers.

Another $2 million will be provided to disability service providers to help with increasing operational costs such as utilities and insurance, the government says.

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Marie Renaud, Alberta NDP Critic for Community and Social Services, issued the following statement in response to the UCP’s social services announcement:

“This is good news, but it is less than half of what workers were asking for and so desperately need.

“This funding does nothing to increase system capacity nor will it help the thousands of Albertans on waiting lists for services. It also fails to address the needs of many other workers in the sector who will receive absolutely nothing.

“This lack of respect for the sector is nothing new and the UCP showed their true colours In 2019, when one of the first things they did was attack vulnerable and disabled Albertans in our province by cutting vital benefits.

“They justified their cruel decision by saying they couldn’t afford the increased costs while running deficits — yet they paid for their ridiculous war room and gave away handouts to wealthy corporations.

“The UCP finally caved to public pressure and recently reversed that heinous decision – on a go-forward basis – failing to acknowledge the harm they caused over those devastating three-and-a-half years.”

-with files from rdnewsNOW