Staffing at MCFD Already Cut to the Bone

Fiscal restraint measures at kids ministry

Children and family development top bureaucrat Lesley du Toit has told staff her ministry will be looking at "fiscal restraint measures" in the coming weeks.

According to an email distributed on Wednesday, that means it may be "necessary to revisit" timeframes for some ministry initiatives. Although there will be no "across-the-board hiring freeze." We will manage some of this budget pressure through the natural attrition that will occur as people retire or leave their positions.

For example, I require you to consider ways to do your work that create efficiency with regard to travel, meetings and conferences. You will hear more details of these measures through your Leadership.

Continue reading "Fiscal restraint measures at kids ministry"

Posted by Sean Holman. Public Eye Online. December 04, 2008.
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There is NOTHING "natural" about MCFD's attrition rate.

That's sick!
Sean Holman. Public Eye Online.

Children and family development employees took $7.3 million of sick leave in fiscal 2007/08 - costing the government more money than any other provincial ministry. This, according to documents exclusively obtained by Public Eye via a freedom of information request.

That money equals 47,313 sick days or an average of 12.39 days per employee - significantly more than the 8.55 day average across government. In fact, only the smaller ministry of employment and income assistance was sicker, averaging 12.89 days per employee at a cost of $3.2 million.

Nevertheless, the average number of sick days at children and family development has -for the most part - increased since the Liberals took office, starting at 10.97 days per employee in 2001/02 and reaching its highest level in the past fiscal year. By comparison, that average has decreased across government over the same period, starting at 9.45 days. So what action is the ministry taking to ensure its employees are healthier?

But British Columbia Government and Service Employees' Union research, campaigns and communications director Mary Rowles said the Campbell administration should be doing more. "Everything the ministry spokesperson mentioned was all about attendance management - sending nurses to badger people who are at home. Where are the actions that will actually reduce caseloads, for example, with child protection workers, reduce stress and actually address the root causes of this?"

The following is a complete listing of the average sick days per employee at children and family development and across government by fiscal year.

Average sick days per person at children and family development

Fiscal 2007/08 - 12.39
Fiscal 2006/07 - 11.46
Fiscal 2005/06 - 11.71
Fiscal 2004/05 - 11.71
Fiscal 2003/04 - 11.52
Fiscal 2002/03 - 11.77
Fiscal 2001/02 - 10.97

Average sick days per person across government

Fiscal 2007/08 - 8.55
Fiscal 2006/07 - 8.37
Fiscal 2005/06 - 8.69
Fiscal 2004/05 - 8.31
Fiscal 2003/04 - 8.67
Fiscal 2002/03 - 8.88
Fiscal 2001/02 - 9.45

Read more.
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Government must put funds into child protection services
BCGEU. May 7 '08

A growing cascade of independent reports on child protection show BC's
government is failing vulnerable children, says BCGEU President George Heyman.

Heyman adds, "Services are fractured and disconnected for families on and off-reserve. Communication within the ministries responsible must be improved. And considering the continuing high attrition rate of social workers, the Ministry of Children and Families is still not putting enough social workers needed on the frontlines."

Heyman notes that despite the BC Representative for Children and Youth's recent recommendation that BC government consult with stakeholders such as the BCGEU - it has yet to respond to our union's frequently-made offer to work together to address systemic problems in child protection.

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The BC Government Must Demonstrate Leadership and Commitment To Resolve Crisis In Recruiting And Retaining Child Protection Social Workers
BC Association of Social Workers. September 22, 2008

The BC Association of Social Workers is delighted to learn that the BC government has decided to increase the salaries of correctional officers and sheriffs in British Columbia by 9.2 per cent as a market adjustment, in recognition of their challenging workload demands, high attrition rates and the difficulty recruiting and retaining them. It is now time for the Minister of Children and Family Development Tom Christensen to demonstrate this kind of forward thinking and enlightened leadership in recognition of the serious workload demands, short staffing and the astronomical attrition rate of child protection social workers that is equal to, or surpasses, the annual loss of 12 per cent of correctional officers and sheriffs in BC.

Read more.