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Vaughn Palmer: Alarm bells ringing for parents of children with autism as B.C. revamps supports

Vaughn Palmer: B.C. is revamping supports for complex needs kids, but thousands of families will get less

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VICTORIA — When cabinet minister Jodi Wickens announced new funding this week for children with disabilities and complex needs, she downplayed how some families will be facing cuts in support.

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“I’m thrilled to be among you, and to share a new approach and a new way of delivering support for the children and families across our beautiful province,” the minister of children and family development told advocates and onlookers on Tuesday.

Vaughn Palmer: Alarm bells ringing for parents of children with autism as B.C. revamps supports Back to video

“With a major new investment of $475 million over the next three years, we will expand and strengthen services for children and youth with disabilities across BC.”

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The expanded coverage applies to children with Down syndrome for the first time as well as for others with complex needs.

Wickens also announced in passing that the government would replace “the current autism funding program.” It was as close as she came to acknowledging that the changes would mean reductions in coverage and funding.

Her own officials provided the specifics of the reductions in a technical briefing preceding the minister’s relentlessly upbeat presentation.

About one if five recipients — 5,200 out of 27,000 — will be getting less support when the changes are implemented. A lot less in some cases. The ministry provided the example of a child, in line for $78,000 in annual assistance under the current system, whose entitlement would be reduced to $41,600.

When asked about the latter example, Wickens responded with a clumsy effort at redirection.

I just want to say this new system will deliver direct financial supports and community-based supports to thousands more children in our province. And that is a significant change and investment than we’ve seen in many years. No child in our province is going to lose access to support.”

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Excepting the thousands who will, by the testimony of her own ministry, lose support in whole or in part.

Another reporter went at it asking point blank: “Minister, how many children will be getting less direct funding, especially those with autism?”

“Again, it’s really important to highlight that thousands of more children will be receiving support under our new system,” replied Wickens in another feeble attempt to put off the reckoning.

Finally she admitted it: “We anticipate approximately up to 5,000 children may see a reduction in their direct funding benefit. We’ll make sure to work very closely with those families, with their service providers, to have priority access to the tailored supports that they need to address some of the challenges that they may face.”

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Yet she also suggested that the main challenge would be with folks who just can’t handle change.

“You know, there are families who may be used to the old system and it will take some time for us to work through that with everyone.”

Could a family opt to stick with the old system?

“If families disagree with the process or the assessment that occurs, there will be a process in place where they can challenge those assessments, or that process, and we’ll work with families on that journey,” replied the minister.

They shouldn’t get their hopes up. The current autism funding program is scheduled to wind up a year from now.

Wickens’ hesitation to admit the fate of all those recipients is probably connected to Premier David Eby’s intervention on autism funding more than three years ago.

One of Eby’s first actions on taking office in late 2022 was to cancel a government plan to phase out individualized funding for children with autism.

He handled the announcement himself, pointedly sidelining the unfortunate minister of the day, Mitzi Dean.

Eby called it a “reset” so “those parents that have systems in place that are working for their families — that are working for their kids — will be able to continue with those programs. We don’t want those parents to face any more stress. We’ve been listening and government is responding.”

Today, the New Democrats maintain the reset was never intended to be permanent,

“In 2022, our government announced that it would make changes,” Wickens told reporters this week.

“It was clear that we missed the mark and we needed to pause and engage to get it right. That’s why we listened and we changed course because the goal has always been to get it right for children,” the minister continued.

“Today, I’m proud to say that we heard loud and clear and are moving forward with the changes that families asked for.”

Not all families. Though the wider coverage and increased funding drew praise in many quarters, by week’s end the alarm bells were again ringing for parents of children with autism.

The combination of tighter qualifications and means testing adds up to less financial support and some may be cut off altogether.

It is similar to the threat that provoked the backlash and led Eby to intervene back in 2022. Then he was sitting atop a $5.7 billion surplus, inherited from John Horgan.

Today Eby is deep into the fiscal thickets of debt and deficits, and far less able to afford another expensive intervention to restore funding for thousands of children with autism.

vpalmer@postmedia.com 

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