The province is waging an "all-out war" against the disability community, says the AUPE, whose members are staging information pickets to alert the public, including an event in Red Deer held on Tuesday.
"We are working with allies within the disability community to make sure that we raise everybody's voice in this fight because this government has waged an all-out war against the disabled community in this province," said Sandra Azocar, vice-president with the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees at noon where about 50 AUPE members raised their voices and flags.
"We're seeing it with their move to cut disability advocacy groups. We're seeing it in how they are treating educational assistant workers who are currently on strike with CUPE. It's an all-out attack, and we need to make sure the services provided to Albertans that need it the most are actually there when they need it."
The AUPE says the Family Support for Children with Disabilities (FSCD) and the Persons with Developmental Disabilities (PDD) programs have a staffing crisis with about 12,000 Alberta families waiting for assessments to access needed support.
Members working in PDD report caseloads of up to 200 files, nearly double the recommended maximum. Caseloads in FSCD are over 130 files and climbing.
The AUPE said about 35 temporary staff were hired in mid-2024 to address case overload, but since November, there have been layoff notices for dozens who complete assessments, with more anticipated across the province in February and March. A new hiring freeze is also in place.
"We need to have these positions back in place and for (government) to also recognize the ongoing need to hire more people, to stop the hiring freeze. We need the government to recognize that this program provides essential services for the most vulnerable in this province, and to actually have some empathy and grow a heart."
Earlier this month, Seniors, Community and Social Services Minister Jason Nixon said the temporary contract work ended and there were no layoffs. Staffing and the budget remains stable for children with disabilities.
The AUPE recently sent a letter to Nixon with a staffing plan to tackle the crisis and await a response. A letter campaign was also launched asking Albertans to contact the minister and their MLAs.
Azocar said for years, the government has failed to address Alberta's population growth and the increased need for the programs.
"What we're hoping we're going to see in the provincial budget is a significant increase that actually matches the growth, not just in population, but the growth of the need that we're seeing in the complexity of cases."
