qathet Regional District (qRD) directors will ask for a staff report and consider becoming involved in Foundry qathet, which is an organization involved in child development.
At the July 24 meeting of the qRD committee of the whole, Electoral Area B director Mark Gisborne said correspondence from Foundry qathet project manager Delyth Harper indicated her organization was reaching out for participation from a qRD elected official on the anchor table, indicating it is important for the development of the organization, and that the table would not function effectively without such representation.
“We should give it some light around the table and see if we want to participate in this,” said Gisborne.
Electoral Area D director and committee chair Sandy McCormick asked what the Foundry is. City of Powell River director Cindy Elliott said Foundry is being funded here by the provincial ministry of children and family development to provide services to children with developmental needs. She said currently, the ministry of education is heavily relied upon to identify children for assessment and there are backlogs for being assessed.
“Many children who require mental health assistance don’t have access to systems,” said Elliott. “The Foundry is a place where you can self-refer and show up with your kid and get assessed. It’s going to coordinate community resources and provide access directly for children who need it.”
Elliott said wanted to make a motion that staff bring back a staff report regarding appointing a director to Foundry qathet anchor table.
Gisborne said there was the question of whether a staff report was necessary. He said Elliott had adequately explained what the anchor table is and the regional district should absolutely send someone there. He added that in his role as qathet Regional Hospital District chair, referrals for young children to get assessments for their learning difficulties is something that is coming up in health care discussion.
“With that bit of overlap, I can throw my name in if that helps,” said Gisborne. “I could do double duty. If the board wants to do a staff report, I’ll go along, but I don’t think it is necessary.”
City director George Doubt said the Foundry was an exciting idea and it is just in the formation stage. He said to have an opportunity to have someone there on the ground floor from this local government is important.
“I don’t believe we can learn a lot more from a staff report than we know today,” said Doubt. “I’d be happy if the motion passes, but if it doesn’t, I would make one to participate in the anchor table. It would save staff time.”
Electoral Area C director and board chair Clay Brander said looking at the correspondence from Foundry, it indicated it was an initial email to confirm interest in participation. He said he didn’t know if it was necessary to choose an individual to participate in the table because it is so early on.
“All that is really necessary is to send a letter saying yes, we have interest,” said Brander. “They say they are forming in October, so I imagine we’ll have more information about it at that point and what the responsibilities are. We can choose a member then.”
McCormick said having been a school trustee, she understands the difficulty for special needs children and youth. She said so much of the problem is the delay in getting assessments.
“I really support a motion that will speed up that process,” added McCormick.
Chief administrative officer Al Radke said staff could reach out to Foundry representatives to determine the involvement if a board member was to be part of the anchor table.
“It’s prudent that we get a report and find out what is going to be on your shoulders, and on staff’s shoulders, too, because the last bullet says staff are involved. We can make a decision on the data and facts we bring back.”
The committee unanimously recommended that the regional board request staff to bring back a report regarding appointing a director to the Foundry qathet anchor table.
The committee also passed a motion for the committee to recommend to the board indicating that the qRD is interested in participating in the anchor table. The motion passed unanimously.
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