Social development minister downplays youth advocate's worries about budget cuts
Minister Cindy Miles stresses opportunity to do things differently with this budget
New Brunswick's Social Development minister does not share the same fears about the province's child welfare budget as the province's child and youth advocate.
Advocate Kelly Lamrock released a report on Thursday that took issue with what he calls the largest cut to the child welfare budget in decades.
His report said Social Development's $208.3-million budget for this year falls short of the $231.9 million spent on those same child welfare services last year.
But Minister Cindy Miles doesn't agree that the budget has been cut.
"Last year was budgeted $181 million, and this year was budgeted $208 million, so up $26 million," Miles said Monday during an interview with Information Morning Fredericton.
While that is the case, Lamrock said last week that because the actual cost came in higher than the estimate last year, the department is effectively being asked to reduce its spending on services to children in care by $23 million.
He also said since the budget speech also pledged $23.6 million for new wage increases and services, he said, existing services will be in a $46.6-million shortfall.
When asked about that, Miles didn't directly address the accusation.
"What I'm saying is that we haven't had a chance to sit down with the advocate to really go through what are the opportunities that are existing now with this budget and with the Child and Youth Well-Being Act," she said when asked if she thought Lamrock's calculations were incorrect
"I believe Mr. Lamrock said that he had gone back to [the] finance board to talk to them, but they wouldn't have those breakdowns of what moving forward looks like," she said.
"So I look forward to the opportunity coming up in the next few months to really sit down with the advocate's office."
Miles said the budget was reflective of "wanting to do things differently and putting youth at the centre of everything that we do."
In Lamrock's report, he recommended that the departments of Finance and Social Development reconsider the funding cuts.
Miles said right now, that's not on the table.
"We'll go back with the social development team and look at all the recommendations that the advocate has made," she said.
"But this budget, we can really do things differently, and we need to do things differently."
With files from Information Morning Fredericton
