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Power Grab
May 12, 2005 permalink
The problems of CAS having too much power over families are to be solved by giving CAS more power. To understand Marie Bontrogianni's letter to the Toronto Star, note that "making more services available" means more funding for Children's Aid, "supports" in social worker jargon are people who coax, or coerce, others, and "special needs" means handicaps.
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May 12, 2005. 01:00 AM
More services now for special needs' children
Province forsakes parents of disabled
Your recent editorial about children with special needs identifies some of the complexities in this difficult issue. I take issue, however, with your suggestion that our government has "failed to address" it.
The solution to the problem lies in making more services available to families of children with special needs, so that they can access the supports they need in their communities. And while it is true that the previous government failed to invest in children, our government boosted spending on children with special needs by $74 million in just our first year -- an increase of 15 per cent in a single year.
One important area of investment is children's mental health, which received $25 million last year -- the largest investment it has received in more than a decade -- and will increase again by a further $13 million this year.
A second investment is in children's treatment centres, which provide physical rehabilitation for children with physical and developmental disabilities. In addition to an operating increase, we committed funds to build two new centres in regions that didn't have one and expand four other centres. These investments won't solve the whole problem. But the reality is there are more services for children with special needs today than there were a year ago, and there will be more next year than there are today. We will continue to build a system that meets the needs of children and families.
Marie Bountrogianni,
Minister of Children and Youth Services, Toronto
Source: Toronto Star
