Foster parents petition

Foster parents in British Columbia were one of the community groups that became involved in the Solidarity Coalition and protested the elimination of Family Support Workers by signing letters to the Premier and Cabinet Minister.

Transcription:

Dear Premier Bennett and Mrs. Grace McCarthy,
WE’RE INVOLVED TOO!!!
As a group of Foster Parents and concerned citizens, we wish to bring to your attention the effect that your recent cutbacks will have on us. Personally, the ellimination of the Family Support Worker Program has the most devastating effects. We depended heavily on this program to provide us with help and support in dealing with our Foster Children. Our Family Support Worker provided PROFESSIONAL, LONG TERM counselling in dealing with the problems of children who came into our care as a result of being:
SEXUALLY ABUSED
EMOTIONALLY DEPRIVED
BATTERED
MENTALLY RETARDED
HANDICAPPED
DRUG AND ALCOHOL ABUSERS
RUN AWAYS
JUVENILE OFFENDERS
UNWED MOTHERS
ORPHANS
AND FROM BROKEN FAMILIES.
PROBLEM SOLVING TAKES TIME! Our overworked Social Workers just don’t have it. Our Family Support Worker provided us with immediate help for immediate problems and long term counselling and support in all the areas listed above. Your cutbacks in other areas of Human Resources mean an end to valuable programs of which you assume Churches and volunteers from the community will handle. Where is the consistancy, the knowledge and training needed to handle such problems? A volunteer is a volunteer. They can not spend the working hours needed to do the Ministry’s job. WE ARE THE COMMUNITY. WE ARE VOLUNTEERS. WE CAN NOT PICK UP THE SLACK YOU HAVE CREATED!!! Signed,
[signed at the bottom in ink. “B. Spragg” “M. Lenaghan” “L. Lenaghan” “Leon Yamsich” “Maisee E Mosell” “[illegible] Penn” “Dr. Michelle [illegible]” “Louise Allman” “[illegible]” “P. Turner” “[illegible] MacLeod” “May Duncan” “Carrie George” “LE Kinnaird” “Marie McEwan” “Guy Bradfield” “[illegible]” “[illegibile]” “T Evans” “[illegible]”