Almoat forty years ago, I was Chair of Family ad Children's Service We had launched a Child Care Service. The economy was in bad shape and the Province had provided a hundred per cent fundin for a beautiful new Child Care facility.
Infant care was accommodated and a facility outfitted for Children with Special Needs.
I already had a bad feeling about the future of the program. The Province had set the child/teacher
ratio and the workers were organised .
The union felt the workers were educators and entitled to the same compensation a school teachers.
They may have been right The problm was the ration of teachers to children was six tomes higher and for babies even more than that.
It would have been considerably less expensve to pay mothers a salary to stay home and take care of their children
It took a decade, The Region went from growing the service many times over before getting out of the field altogether. Infant care went first.
At the time I'm talking about, the Supervisor and some others attended a conference. They met a fellow called Max. He sold them on a development program for children with special needs.
For $18 thousand a year, he would provide a development program for children with special needs.
The Director felt it was worthwhile and it wa s recommended . The committee accepted the recommendation.
I wasn't sold. Everything was verbal. Substance and form were lacking .
I made enquiries. No hours of work were established in the contract. Details of program delivery were hazy. Max was a student doing post-graduate work at Toronto University. He was paid assistant to a Professor. His contract with the University limited hours he could work outside his post-graduate studies.
He had no credentials to deliver a program. There were to be no specified hours for delivery.
Max was unsuccessful in exploiting the needs of specail children. No contract was offered by the Region.
I found out later I had become known in University circles as the woman who stopped fast-tlalking Max in his tracks.
Children with the greatest needs were to be the source of his financial advantage. I have been equally offended in vartious helping institutions many times since. Never more offended.
It was before my grandson Adam came into our lives . Before we learned to let Adam teach us about ability as opposed to disability.
As I listened on Tuesday to the arguments for $578,000 to be spent on a playground for children with special needs I remembered Max.
Councillor Pirri argued the project is a fitting tribute to the Queen who is known to value volunteers.
Councillor Abel stated a lack of enthusiasm for the project signified a lack of willingness to allow children with special needs to be included in society.
He said;
Why don't those opposed just come out and say they are against inclusivity. don't want to help children with special needs and stop making excuses for trying to delay or stop the project
The Mayor had little to contribute other than the authority of the Chair to give free rein to Councillor Abel to repeat personal castigation and insult. Councillor Abel speaks very highly of the sterling quality of his own position.
Thursday, 26 June 2014
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7 comments:
Like you I come.from that sector.I.must say I have heard too many negative comments in public about people with autism using the playground at town.park.Residents have said"they scare the other childten".God damn it councilor Abel didnt.even say a word about Mr.Heard not being included at the market.Its all shameful.
They were in full throttle, weren't they ? They seem to forget about people such as Adam except for a few times a year when they make a photo-op at an event. And the event is generally organized by someone other than the town.
As for Cllr Abel, he has been enthralled by Prince Andrew's appearance & will bandy the man's name around for decades.
" And the Prince told ME......."
So the crap continues to flow.....
Same old - same old.
It's time to invest in some new models, those with the capability to think,
You must remember Councillor Buck that Councillor Abel does not have a care in the world about spending taxpayers' money. He will jump on any bandwagon traveling through town and throw money from the sidewalk.
You are in the wrong line of work, E. Some Norwegian won about $2700 by betting that piece of work in the soccer matches would bite an opponent. You just have to figure out how to make your knowledge contribute to your base line.
10:57- He through money at the sidewalk earlier in the year. Apparently we're getting some stamp concrete to spruce up the place. You really don't want to know how much that's going to cost us.
11:37
I have not made any decision about the next election yet. And I was not thrilled with Cllr Abel during the on-going crisis about 3 ill-defined heritage trees. But I do find it odd that you place so much responsibility on the one man for majority decisions of council.
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