Powell River-Sunshine Coast MLA Nicholas Simons isn’t satisfied with the Minister of Children and Family Development’s (MCFD) response to concerns about understaffing at the ministry’s Sechelt office.
Simons, who was a social worker before entering politics, said with three vacancies that haven’t been filled, the office is down to the fewest social workers he can recall it ever having, and that puts vulnerable children at risk.
“Protection workers are the ones who respond to allegations of child neglect or abuse. They are the ones who provide or oversee the services to help families overcome some of the challenges they face. … These are the social workers who assist foster homes in ensuring children are well cared for and oversee the children in those homes,” Simons said.
Minister Stephanie Cadieux wrote Simons Dec. 12 and said, “One position has been posted and will soon close, and the other one will be filled through the MCFD’s provincial quarterly recruitment hiring, which we are just wrapping up.”
Cadieux and Simons disagree on the nature of the third vacancy. In her letter, Cadieux acknowledged it isn’t filled right now, but described it as an “over-and-above position [that] helps to alleviate workload pressures, for times like these.”
“Although not a vacancy,” Cadieux continued, “it may be contributing to the impression that the Sechelt office is particularly understaffed.”
Simons told Coast Reporter he thinks the minister shouldn’t be downplaying the situation. “I don’t think the response provided is anything more than the minister making excuses, and saying we’re continuing things as normal,” Simons said. “But it’s not normal.
“There’s no elbow room. There’s no margin for staffing issues like we’re seeing in Sechelt,” he added. “The position that’s there to cover for vacancies is vacant itself.”
