No Cuts For Kids Campaign from SAOT

 

The Society of Alberta Occupational Therapists (SAOT) supports equality for all children living in Alberta. Alberta’s children and families are facing unprecedented challenges in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Added to these stressors are UCP announcements to reduce funding for early education supports, including occupational therapy (OT) services, for children who are most at risk of being left behind. What happened to the PUF Grants Program? Program Unit Funding (PUF), which follows children through early education, will no longer apply to kindergarten students. The program was reduced to two years from a three-year model (now only available to children aged two years eight months to four years and eight months) Previously, children up to age five years and 11 months could qualify. Instead, the funding will be rolled into the new Specialized Learning Support Grant, which allocates money in a general envelope for the entire school. The new Specialized Learning Support Grant will only support those children with severe disabilities or severe language delays. This means that many children with moderate delays in language and motor skills may no longer receive occupational therapy supports as they may not qualify for the Specialized Learning Support Grant. The total amount of funding available for children who have a severe delay is now decreased because access to funding is based on how many hours of programming the child receives under this new model. Virtually no pre-Kindergarten aged children attend school for a full day resulting in substantially reduced funding available. Don't Let "At Risk" Children Fall Behind Occupational therapy services play an integral role in school classrooms and in Early Childhood Services (ECS) programs in particular. In the absence of OT support in ECS, children who are currently “at risk” are more likely to develop complex needs and face the reality of not being able to “catch up” to their same-aged peers. We define “at risk” children as those children experiencing physical, cognitive and/or emotional barriers to success. Read our Position Statement Will You Help? SAOT has launched a comprehensive campaign to let politicians know that funding needs to be reinstated this school year. We are calling on stakeholders, parents, teachers and concerned residents to take action.  Visit No Cuts for Kids and share your concerns with MLAs and School Board Chairs in just a few clicks. As one of the key stakeholders we have identified, your organization can help by 1. Sharing this campaign with your members, friends, associates 2. Sharing this campaign on your social media Please take a few minutes to voice your concerns and help ensure access to supports for children are put back in place this school year.

No Cuts for Kids Society of Alberta Occupational Therapists advocacy@saot.ca