Change is no longer a prospect in the air in Alberta. It's happened, and in quite spectacular fashion on May 5th. On June 15th, when the Legislature sits for a Speech from the Throne and a short spring session, the house will see 52 NDP MLAs, 21 from the Wildrose, 9 from the PCs, Liberal leader David Swann, its first elected Alberta Party member and one independent MLA.

Among those numbers are few individuals with hands on experience in the Human Services sector, including Social Workers and former Executive Director of one of ACDS member agencies.

A new government will certainly have its growing pains and progress on changes and new initiatives may not happen at the pace many would like, but we have every reason to be optimistic in the months ahead.

So what happens from here? ACDS is preparing a comprehensive briefing document for Members of Cabinet and the Legislature that will be distributed shortly. It will cover immediate action that we'd like to see take place, such as the suspension of the PDD Safety Standard 8. In addition, there are several other topics, being treated as an equal partner at the decision-making table, being consulted and met with early and often in the decision-making process.

We'll also be providing a shorter version of the briefing document which you'll be able to distribute to the families whom you serve to help them in reaching out to MLAs individually.

Our updated list, mapping ACDS members to MLAs and provincial ridings, is available in the "members only" section of ACDS' website. We'd ask you to download it and let us know if your organization owns homes or other properties in ridings other than what we have listed for you.

It's important in these early days that we all make the effort to reach out and schedule meetings with our elected representatives. MLAs are being sworn in on June 1st, making that the first day you should begin making your calls to their offices, introducing yourself and arranging for that first meeting.

Our tip-sheet on contacting your MLA is still available on ACDS' website as well. Jamie Post (ACDS' Communications Coordinator) is available to you if you have questions or require assistance in the process. Also, don't hesitate to contact your Service Provider Regional Councils and regional ACDS Board and Communication representatives. The messaging we will be providing in the coming days will help to ensure a coordinated approach in moving our sector's agenda forward. Once you've met with your MLA, please take the time to let us know how your discussions went.

Above all, be excited for the opportunity this change represents, both for the immediate issues we face and the opportunity to change the way we work with government in the years ahead.