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BC increases funding for individuals living with developmental disabilities

Simons is critical about level

An additional $40 million will be provided by the provincial government to increase services and capacity for individuals living with developmental disabilities, Premier Christy Clark announced January 19.

“British Columbians with developmental disabilities and their families can have confidence that their government has listened,” said Clark.

The announcement came after a controversial year that saw group homes being closed in favour of cheaper living arrangements.

By paying households to care for those with disabilities it was felt that money could be saved for people on the wait list for services.

But critics of this strategy pointed to the lack of permanence in living arrangements, the uprooting of existing households and a detachment between government policy and the needs of those using the services.

“In order to succeed as we move forward, we need to re-commit ourselves to moving forward together,” said Stephanie Cadieux, minister of social development.

The opposition’s community living critic, Sunshine Coast-Powell River MLA Nicholas Simons, welcomed the announcement.

“They recognize that action needs to be taken,” said Simons. “Whether or not that’s sufficient action in terms of funding allocation remains to be seen.”

Alongside the new spending, the government also released an internal audit and a deputy ministers’ review of the program.

Chief among the review’s recommendations were calls for more consistency in levels of support for families, better identification of individual needs, improved employment services and more accurate tracking of demand.

Of the $40 million allocated for the coming fiscal year, $18 million has been marked for CLBC (Community Living BC), directly, while $12 million was set aside to help with case loads and continuing transitions into the program.

Another $10 million will be budgeted to help improve employment services.

By comparison, the cost of housing four people in a staffed residence can be approximately $200,000 per year.

More details on the funding will be made available in February when the government brings forward its next budget.

“The grassroots advocates are saying it’s not going to be enough, that it’s a band-aid,” said Simons.

The MLA was highly critical of the attempts to close group homes and transition to alternative living arrangements, pointing to an inconsistent quality of care across care homes that he said were sometimes recruited through Internet classifieds like Craigslist.

“Probably the most significant sort of eyebrow raiser is the fact that they still haven’t got a clue about the number of people waiting for services,” he said.

Lilla Tipton, executive director of Powell River Association for Community Living, said it remains to be seen what the impact of the funding will be for clients in Powell River but she’s sure some change will occur. For one thing, the annualizing of what was thought to be a one-off funding increase will stabilize services for new clients, said Tipton.

“When you look at the whole province it’s not a huge increase,” she said, “and it’s certainly not as much as what families were looking for, but any improvement is good. Even if it doesn’t mean immediate support for local families, it will mean that they’ll move up the wait list for sure. That’s always a positive move.”

~with files from Kyle Wells, Powell River Peak