Cuts 'an attack on the poor people of this province,' union says

The union representing child protection workers is concerned with a provincial budget that promises cuts to child welfare and disability support services, less than two months after a consultant found New Brunswick children are at risk because of an under-resourced child protection system.

That same child protection system failed to protect a family of five impoverished siblings from "damaging chronic neglect," despite countless warnings about their safety, New Brunswick's child and youth advocate revealed in January.

But Tuesday's provincial budget raises questions about how the province can improve the flaws exposed in the system without more money, CUPE Local 1418 president Stephen Drost said.

"It looks like it's an attack on the poor people of this province," he said.

Drost said he was "dumbfounded" when he heard child welfare and disability support services was one area slated for cuts.

"I'm at a loss to try to figure out how are they going to hire people and improve the system, but cut. It doesn't seem to make any sense to me."

In January, Social Development Minister Dorothy Shephard vowed to fight for money "for what I feel needs to be done for this department," including making changes to the child protection system.

"I can't imagine that the department could lose any amount of money without hurting services," the minister said then.

Child protection not a priority, consultant found

While the new government's 2019-20 budget promises a small increase to the Department of Social Development overall, child welfare and disability support services are poised to receive $313.9 million.

That's less than the $316.7 million spent on those programs during the 2018-19 fiscal year.

For 2019-20, the amount earmarked for child welfare services specifically is $135.5 million.

The biggest increase in the department was reserved for seniors and long-term care services, which will see an additional $21 million.

Miguel LeBlanc, executive director of the New Brunswick Association of Social Workers, said the government needs to at least maintain the level of front-line services if it hopes to improve child protection.

"We just hope that if there is any cuts that it doesn't go directly onto the front lines," LeBlanc said. "That is our message to government."

Earlier this year, a report by consultant George Savoury called for major changes to the child protection system, including:

• Immediately filling all temporary child protection jobs will full-time positions.

• Creating a Child Protection Act.

• Developing a provincial strategy that would provide more training in how to detect neglect.

"The additional demands and the complexity of the problems that children, youth and families are experiencing, exceed the resources that are available," Savoury's report said.

He found child protection has struggled to be a priority within a department that has "many programs."

"In fact, in one situation, child welfare resources were allocated to long-term care/seniors, despite the pressures on child welfare," the report said.

On Wednesday, Shephard confirmed between $500,000 and $2 million will be spent on implementing recommendations made by Savoury and the child and youth advocate.

Not clear where money will come from

It's not clear where that money will come from within the child welfare and disability support envelope and which other programs may suffer as a result.

Shephard's department declined to provide a breakdown of the budget figures, saying details would be available during the main estimates process in the coming weeks.

The minister said she is determining what the needs are and these may or may not include hiring more social workers. Shephard said she plans to consult front-line child protection staff as they implement Savoury's recommendations.

"I need their input and I need their help in understanding where we need to put those resources," Shephard said.

"So I'm not going to say no, but I'm not going to say yes. It's going to be how we come at this problem together."

The minister said policy changes will be coming within the next 60 days, but it's too soon to offer specifics.

Social assistance rates won't be cut

Shephard also clarified that cuts in the area of income security won't mean a slash to social assistance payments for the poorest people.

Income security will receive $229.8 million in the upcoming fiscal year, less than the $239.4 million spent on that program area in 2018-19.

"The reason that there is a lower amount of money in that pocket is because we have an aging population and people have aged out of social assistance to go on with senior benefits," Shephard said on Wednesday.

"That's the only reason that number came down."