Close X
Tuesday, December 24, 2024
ADVT 
National

B.C. special needs kids need more help: watchdog

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 02 Dec, 2022 04:28 PM
  • B.C. special needs kids need more help: watchdog

VICTORIA - There are too many special needs children in British Columbia being shortchanged or left ineligible by government assistance and support programs, says the province's independent children's representative.

Thousands of children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, Down syndrome and a wide range of other neurocognitive developmental needs receive little or no support from the province, Jennifer Charlesworth said Friday.

While she supports the New Democrat government's recent decision to reverse a plan to phase out individual funding for children with autism, she said Premier David Eby also needs to provide equitable resources to help all children with special needs.

"There are many families in B.C. with children who have special needs or support needs who receive no funding and no support under the current system," said Charlesworth during a virtual news conference from Victoria. "These families need help now."

Eby said the decision to keep individualized autism funding came after recent meetings with parents, caregivers, Indigenous groups, child rights organizations and experts who lobbied the government about losing supports for children.

Parents of children with autism have been calling on the New Democrat government and Children's Minister Mitzi Dean to drop the plan since its announcement in October 2021.

B.C. had announced it would open 40 so-called family connections centres, or hubs, to provide services for children, instead of directly funding parents, but that has been paused with the exception of four pilot locations.

Eby said last week the government will work with families and care groups to ensure all children get the support they need.

Charlesworth said she and families with special needs children are awaiting the government's February budget for funding increases.

The government recently projected a budget surplus of $5.7 billion.

"We need to see a commitment for a long-term funding increase," said Charlesworth, who acknowledged she has "mixed feelings" about the government's plan to maintain individualized autism funding while other children are ineligible for supports.

"Let's be clear, change was and still is urgently required," she said. "All kids and youth have the right to be well served. Every child with special needs has the right to enjoy their best possible life."

Charlesworth said maintaining individualized autism funding is vital, but it's only one part of a larger issue where a wider range of children also need help.

Photo courtesy of IStock. 

MORE National ARTICLES

Intersection of 132nd St & 108 Ave closed in Surrey due to 2 vehicle collision

Intersection of 132nd St & 108 Ave closed in Surrey due to 2 vehicle collision
On Friday, at approximately 12:30 p.m., a two vehicle collision occurred in the intersection of 132 Street and 108 Avenue. Two people have been transported to hospital with injuries. 

Intersection of 132nd St & 108 Ave closed in Surrey due to 2 vehicle collision

RCMP release new details about Indian migrants who died at border

RCMP release new details about Indian migrants who died at border
The bodies of Jagdishkumar Patel, 39; his wife Vaishaliben Patel, 37; their 11-year-old daughter, Vihangi; and their three-year-old son, Dharmik, were found on Jan. 19 near Emerson, Man., just metres from the U.S. border. Their deaths were determined to be due to exposure. 

RCMP release new details about Indian migrants who died at border

Police seeking video following shots fired at a South Surrey residence

Police seeking video following shots fired at a South Surrey residence
On Wednesday,  just after midnight, Surrey RCMP received the report of shots fired at a residence in the 12700-block of 27A Avenue. Police attended and located evidence consistent with a shooting. The residence was occupied at the time of the shooting, but thankfully, no one was injured.

Police seeking video following shots fired at a South Surrey residence

Canadian city pays tribute to Moosewala, plants a tree

Canadian city pays tribute to Moosewala, plants a tree
Brampton was a second home to Moosewala, who went there in 2016 as an international student, and soon became a behemoth in the music industry delivering chart-topping hits. Punjab police recently arrested gangster Deepak Tinu, one of the main accused in the murder case. 

Canadian city pays tribute to Moosewala, plants a tree

Police acting as 'social workers' at risk: officer

Police acting as 'social workers' at risk: officer
Sgt. Steve Addison said the stabbing death of RCMP Const. Shaelyn Yang in Burnaby, B.C., this week has highlighted the fact that officers are increasingly ending up in potentially dangerous situations.  

Police acting as 'social workers' at risk: officer

David Eby to be declared B.C.'s NDP leader

David Eby to be declared B.C.'s NDP leader
There's no word on when Eby will be sworn in as premier, but outgoing Premier John Horgan says he fully supports him and accused Appadurai's campaign of resorting to tactics of "thuggery." Eby, the former B.C. attorney general and housing minister, says he will also lay out plans today for his first 100 days in office.

David Eby to be declared B.C.'s NDP leader