Alberta’s new regional victim services model prompts concern [Video]

A new regional model for victim services that rolled out this week is prompting major concerns from Albertans who’ve utilized the program, and for former social workers who worry that the proper level of care won’t be provided.

On Oct. 1, Alberta’s UCP government implemented a victim services regional model ‘to improve stability, consistency and sustainability of police-based victim services.’

As a result, the province terminated funding to all RCMP-based victim service units in Alberta, and has now installed four regional victim serving societies (western, eastern, central and southern) to take over operations.

The original system had relied on local boards with paid and volunteer staff that helped victims of crime navigate the court system.

Under the new model, the government says it will provide more stable funding, add coverage to communities that lacked victim services and employ more full-time equivalents. 

But Paul McLauchlin, president of Rural Municipalities of Alberta …