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AUPE members rally for disability service support, ministry responds
More than two dozen Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) members showed up in downtown Red Deer on Jan. 28, to help raise awareness of staffing shortages amongst programs that serve disabled youth and individuals.
Alberta’s Family Support for Children with Disabilities (FSCD) and Persons with Developmental Disabilities (PDD) programs are particularly struggling, with AUPE members working in PDD, citing caseloads of up to 200 files in some cases, which is said to be double the maximum recommended number. FSCD workers are also reporting caseloads of 130 files and climbing, and say there are about 12,000 families waiting to gain access to services.
“It’s a workplace that’s unsustainable. The caseloads are out of control and it means Albertans don’t receive the level of service they deserve and need,” said AUPE vice-president Sandra Azocar.
Azocar explained, this isn’t a new issue; noting the province hired 30-40 temporary workers last year to address the caseloads and a full-time equivalent (FTE) deficit of about 38 positions, but only as a Band-Aid solution. Now, she said, they’re getting laid off.