Parents of children with autism worried about B.C. disability funding changes
Earlier this year, B.C. announced that it will change how its funding structure works for supporting families raising a child with a disability.
On Saturday, March 14, some of those families will rally at the Vancouver Art Gallery to protest the change.
“Thousands of other autistic or disabled children face being left out entirely of the individual funding model. We’re telling government it’s NOT okay to leave disabled children behind, or with less funding,” reads a release from B.C. Families for Fair Autism Funding, a grassroots group of autism parents that formed after the government’s announcement in February.
Currently, families with children with autism get support through the Autism Funding program. It helps families pay for services to support their children with communication, social-emotional, academic, and life skills.
Through this, kids under six receive $22,000 per year for early intervention funding, while kids over six receive up to $6,000 per year.
“There are long waitlists for public autism assessments, often years long. Many parents choose to go the private assessment route, which costs several thousand dollars, and still have a waitlist, but it’s months instead of years,” Sara Lindberg, a member of B.C. Families for Fair Autism Funding, told Daily Hive in an email.
The funding will stop in March 2027, as the government transitions to new funding models to support families raising children with a disability.
As B.C. makes this transition, the grassroots group says it is asking the government “for no reduction or loss of funding … so no disabled child is left behind, or left with less.”
A government webpage states that “B.C. is moving to a new and expanded support system that focuses on a child’s needs, not just their diagnosis.”
The province has created two new programs. There’s the B.C. Children and Youth Disability Benefit, which provides direct funding based on the child’s level of need (and not household income), ranging between $6,500 to $17,000 a year. The province will launch this in 2026 and 2027.
“Under the current system, many families that include children living with a significant disability do not receive financial support. This new benefit is designed to support families of children with significant needs across all diagnoses,” reads a news release from the B.C. government.
The second program is called the B.C. Children and Youth Disability Supplement, which is a monthly payment to middle-and low-income families to help them with the cost of raising a child with support needs. They can receive up to $6,000 per child per year, depending on household income. It will start in July 2027, for children who are eligible for the federal disability tax credit.
B.C. Families for Fair Autism Funding acknowledge that “many disabled children will be able to access funding for the first time through the new system, or even see increases in disability funding.”
But they are concerned that many families will be left behind.
Through this new funding model, the government will only provide direct funding to level 3 autistic children.
“Most autism assessments do not have levels assigned as that is an outdated system, and psychologists now recognize that autism levels can change over a child’s lifetime,” said Lindberg.
She also added that not all autistic kids qualify for the federal disability tax credit, and thus aren’t eligible for the B.C. Children and Youth Disability Supplement.
“If they do qualify, the supplement will be income tested, so only children whose family net income is under $50,000 will receive $6000. Children under 6, who previously would have received $22,000, even if assessed at level 3, could receive as little as $6500, or even less if level 1 or 2,” she said.
B.C. Families for Fair Autism Funding said that for many families, it takes years for them to acquire occupational therapists, speech language pathologists, physiotherapists, behavioural therapists, counsellors, and more.
Community services
The government also announced that it is expanding community-based services, with an $80-million investment over the next three years.
But B.C. Families for Fair Autism Funding pointed out that this expansion won’t happen for a full year after the current autism funding model ends.
“Putting children at risk by disrupting or discontinuing their therapy has far-reaching implications. Children may face regressions, an increase in difficult behaviour, or burnout.
“For social services, it will mean more pressure on already stressed school system supports, increased demand on mental health services, and eventually a higher need for adult disability services. A loss of funding will create instability for thousands of disabled children who are sensitive to change, uncertainty, and don’t fit in a one-size-fits-all system.”