Children with disabilities from some regions may see their registration at a day camp compromised, as Quebec has delayed the announcement of funding allowing the hiring of companions, less than two weeks before the holiday. at school.
The Quebec Association for the Recreation of Persons with Disabilities (AQLPH) and its 17 regional bodies are urging the Ministry of Education to disclose the amounts allocated to the Financial Assistance Program for Recreation for Persons with Disabilities (PAFLPH).
This program supports accessibility to activities for people with disabilities, a large portion of which covers the salary of those included in the day camps. The distribution of the sums is assumed by L ‘AQLPH and regional bodies, if necessary.
The challenge for day camp organizers is not to have the money right away in their hands, but instead to figure out the amount of subsidy they will eventually receive to continue getting, suggests the director general. of ‘AQLPH.
” The whole process is delayed. As long as one does not know how many pennies one has to give, one cannot launch the machine; analyze our requests, warn organizations that there will be a value of x, then it just needs to sign the check. “
So far, day camps have had to cancel places for children with disabilities, due to a lack of attendants. And in the context of labor shortages, it is difficult to find staff quickly, Ms. Bergeron.
L ‘AQLPH and the regional authorities in the last days sent a series of letters calling on representatives to move the objects.
Many organizations cannot afford to hire coaches without these grants. And the most worrying thing is people with disabilities, children and adults, that we are eliminating an enriching experience and parents we are eliminating work-family balance options.can we read in the letter sent to Minister Chantal Rouleau.
Asked about the reason for the delay, the Ministry of Education replied that the amounts would be allocated as soon as possible.
Confirmed in mid-summer
This expectation is not new for regional bodies administering funds. Last year, the money was confirmed in mid-summer.
In Montreal, Altergo decided to move forward with financing, despite the lack of response from Quebec.
Hopefully we will have the same values as last year. We announced values to organizations, but we had no money. So we found ourselves in a situation where organizations were impatient to receive values that we could not distribute to them. It’s a bit stressful for us. This year, we decided not to take this risk because we didn’t know what could happen.said Altergo general manager Elsa Lavigne.
L ‘AQLPH Wants better predictability of funding in agreements that will establish values over several years, as has happened before.
Something security
Having companions is not only important for the child with special needs. It’s also a question of safety for everyone, says a mother from Montreal, Stéphanie Harvey, who has been waiting for months for a niche at a camp in Lachine.
Her son Dominic, 7, has a developmental coordination disorder, which is characterized by slower movements, difficulty changing clothes or putting on sunscreen, details Ms. Harvey.
If he takes three or four times longer than the others, and everyone goes to the swimming pool, they cannot leave him and cannot let the others go to the swimming pool, if he has only one monitor in his group. .he argued.
Ms. regrets. Harvey noted the inequality that prevails in allocating areas with support services as opposed to regular registrations.
He filed a request with the Lachine Recreation Center in February, but received confirmation just days ago. The center will be able to provide the service within three to five weeks requested by reducing its operating budget, Ms. Harvey, who must find another solution at the last minute for another two weeks.
” We make our request before everyone else, but we get our answer after everyone else. “
Montrealer launched a petition on the National Assembly website to ask that the government provide recurring and predictable funding for the inclusion of children with disabilities in camps.
In theory, from a legal standpoint, day camps cannot refuse an accompaniment service for the simple reason that they do not have funds for the program, Ms. underscored. Lefebvre. But in reality, the situation is somewhat different due to limited resources, he says.
L ‘AQLPH it is estimated that 5% of young people attending day camps have special needs.
The education minister’s office did not respond to The Canadian Press’s request for comment.
The Canadian Press
Source: Radio-Canada
