The Partners in Care Alliance (PICA) is a place where concerned caregivers serving the bereaved can meet with each other and with ethical funeral professionals in a partnership dedicated to bringing fair funeral regulation to the market place.

The "Partners In Care Alliance" is a result of a decade of focus groups with social workers, clergy and other professional caregivers. Our collective voice has already resulted in several positive changes in regulations to protect the bereaved, although unfortunately in some jurisdictions, these are yet to be enforced.

It is evident that in spite of major corporate scandals, the current climate in North America still remains "less government, less funding and for consumers, less regulation". We recognize that the bereaved are uniquely vulnerable, and therefore it is up to all of us to be vocal and vigilant in order to effect change.

Our group has been formed to bring together our voices, and provide each other with resources. Our program focuses on visiting with caregivers and others the public look to for information and advice.

We are sponsored by the Family Funeralhome Association (FFA), a group of independent funeral home owners who have joined together to find a way to dispel the tide of negativity towards what has long deemed an honourable rofession. While much of their government lobbying efforts are paying off, the public has unfortunately remained largely uniformed.

PICA has been organized in hopes that we can decrease and hopefully eliminate further stories of vulnerable consumers being "oversold", misled or taken advantage of by aggressive sales practices and/or lack of knowledge.

The first and foremost challenge in educating the public is explaining to them the fact that Funeral service providers are not all the same. There are three distinct types: 1) Family owned funeral homes-local community businesses, 2) National chain owned funeral homes- publicly traded on the stock exchange, and 3) Discount facilities, using minimum or even mobile facilities, sometimes with unlisted facility addresses. Our research shows that prices and service levels vary greatly between types of providers. For example, local family owned Independents "on average offered funerals for $2,000 less than the big national chains." (Consumer Reports Magazine, May 2001).

In the North West region where PICA started, it is now law that: National funeral chains must disclose which funeral homes they own. Chain owned cemeteries can no longer solicit the plot owners in their cemeteries to pre-pay their funerals and; "Alternative" providers must include their real address on all business and advertising materials. Better regulations are needed pretty much everywhere and PICA is working now to accomplish ten goals, which include a ban on the use of commissioned sales people in the selling of funeral and cemetery goods and services to the bereaved in their time of loss (for ninety days following a loss).

We also believe licensing requirements must be established for "pre-need" salespeople. There must also be established adequate mechanisms for ensuring adequate trusting and compliance with existing laws. PICA can serve your community as well. Bring your community into the light! Call 1-88-UNVEILED to contact us at the PICA/FFA offices in Vancouver and/or complete the attached application form.

* Click Here for Caregivers Membership Application