Children and youth with support needs, including neurodivergent children and those with disabilities deserve a comprehensive system that sets them up to reach their goals. But under today’s patchwork approach, this isn’t happening and too many children are being left behind. That’s why on October 27th, I announced our government’s plan to build a comprehensive system for the first time in British Columbia’s history.
Following the announcement, parents and advocates have been reaching out to my office with questions and concerns over how this will affect their families, and the children and youth they support. Many concerns are rooted in fear and mistrust, built upon years of dealing with limited services that failed to meet their needs.
As someone who has delivered services to children, youth, and families in B.C. for many years, I understand these concerns and the shortcomings of the current patchwork approach. Today, a child with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, with Down Syndrome, or those with unique complex needs are not having their needs met, and many families who live in rural and remote, or Indigenous communities don’t have access to adequate services – even if they qualify for individualized autism funding.
Under our new system, all children and youth with support needs, including those with an autism diagnosis, will have access to the services they need when they need them, and their parents will be there every step of the way co-creating the plans with professionals. This approach has been based on extensive research, consultations with families and service providers since 2019, and on the repeated calls to action from families, and British Columbia’s independent Representative for Children and Youth.
I have been hearing from parents and caregivers, and many have pointed out that lengthy wait times for a diagnosis have meant months or often years where their child was ineligible for support – at a time when early intervention is key. Parents have also told me how, after waiting, an autism diagnosis opened new doors previously unavailable for their children – but how challenging it was to manoeuvre through a fragmented system to find, hire, and train individual contractors and service providers to help their child. Many have told me how they struggled to pull together a team of people to support their child’s needs and goals.
We know that a one-size-fits-all approach does not work for children with diverse support needs. That’s why in the new provincial network of family connection hubs, multidisciplinary teams will be there to support the unique individual and cultural needs of each child or youth. Services at each hub will be provided by a community agency, and each hub will be required to be culturally safe and include trauma-informed practices to support the needs of all children and youth and their families, including for Indigenous families. The network of hubs will include a variety of ways to ensure services are reaching rural and remote areas: these may include satellite offices, virtual services, and outreach, depending on the community and families’ needs. In addition, we made a commitment to all First Nations that we would engage in consultation with rights holders, consistent with the Declaration Act, to ensure services are delivered in a way that meets their communities’ needs.
I understand people have questions and we invite families, Indigenous Peoples, service providers, and advocates to connect with us. The Ministry of Children and Family Development will be hosting information and engagement sessions beginning November 29 and will continue to provide regular updates at gov.bc.ca/ChildYouthSupportNeeds . Individuals can also call our support line at 1-833-882-0024.
I am committed to listening to families to make sure we get this right. It is essential to me that we put children and youth at the centre of our system and build a social safety net that better serves the unique needs of children with disabilities and other support needs all across the province.
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By Mitzi Dean
Minister of Children and Family Development