Wait times for support for children with disabilities are unacceptable

The Family Support for Children with Disabilities program (FSCD) has been an integral part of many families in Alberta. Above all else, this program helps parents out financially. It also helps in providing caseworkers to help children with disabilities develop in a healthy and supportive environment. In the last few years, though, wait times have grown exponentially for the FSCD program. A wait list of over 20,000 Albertan families waiting three or more years for services is entirely avoidable. But it has turned out to be a major failure, not only of Alberta, but all of Canada, in supporting some of our most vulnerable Canadians. 

While many believe that these disabilities are non-life-threatening, this is far from the truth. Due to these extended wait periods, families are suffering not only with the costs of supporting a child with a disability but also in maintaining a job and their own health. 

According to feedback received by CBC News from parents, families are suffering from depression, burnout, exhaustion, and lack of resources. An Edmonton woman even shared that she has had to put off cancer treatments until she can obtain support for her child so she can stay in the hospital for the necessary extended period of time. It’s clear the lack of help is impacting both the children’s and families health. But, consequences are also appearing in the complexity of classrooms. Without support like therapy, behaviour can often deteriorate and further impact extended groups.

This is a complicated problem. The overload in the FSCD is not very straightforward. According to Premier Danielle Smith, though, the overload to social programs regarding persons with disabilities and handicaps is being caused by Canadians moving to Alberta to exploit the social support. Whether Smith’s claim that migrants intend to exploit “overly generous” social programs has any truth, it seems to be an indication that the entire country has unmet needs in this sector. The migration towards programs in Alberta is not an excuse for our overrun program. It is simply proving the need for an appropriately funded system that is standardized and accessible across the entire country. 

Canadians must be aware that the Alberta government is choosing to tighten eligibility requirements and cut back on other social programs. Smith would rather disincentivize migration towards Alberta rather than work towards a larger, federal solution to better support the well-being of Canadians. While this has yet to be implemented in the case of FSCD, it is important to assure this is not a rationale used in solving this issue. The solution also does not solely rely on Alberta, since increased provincial funding is unlikely to cover the demand of this program.

Across provinces, there needs to be an FSCD equivalent program. There needs to be an improved baseline for social services to ensure they all have appropriate funding. This federal solution would ensure that Canadian families don’t have to uproot their lives to access help and lower waiting times for these programs. 

However, Canadians must stand up for those struggling families and work to improve the situation for the good of all Canadians. The causes of the problems include inadequate funding, the need for more centralized programs in other provinces, and overworked conditions for caseworkers. In order to improve the situation, there must be a standardized federal program. This solution would also improve conditions for case workers, inspire more interest in the sector, and improve the triage system.