“Status Quo” Budget a Scary Prospect for People with Developmental Disabilities and their Families

B.C.’s Minister of Finance announced the provincial budget yesterday, revealing yet another flat-lined budget for Community Living BC (CLBC) the crown agency that provides vital support to adults with developmental disabilities in B.C. and their families.

B.C.’s next leader must recognize the danger of maintaining a “status quo” budget for supports and services for people with developmental disabilities in B.C. An alarming number of individuals and families are on waitlists for urgent supports and services and that number keeps growing. CLBC’s service plan shows a 35% expected increase in caseload over the next five years, but there is no budget to cover this increase or to help the hundreds of individuals and families on waitlists.

“CLBC is pushing families to spend countless hours creating detailed personalized support plans for their loved ones,” says Annette Delaplace, BCACL president. “The problem is, there is no money and no hope of even beginning to implement these plans.”

We are disappointed that the provincial government chose not to heed recommendations from the Select Standing Committee on Finance, to “ensure sufficient resources are available to provide supports for adults with developmental disabilities and their families.”

In an attempt to recover a $22 million budget deficit, CLBC has implemented a service redesign process that is resulting in the rapid closure of group homes and service reductions across the province. Yesterday’s budget predicts a bleak future of further cuts and longer waitlists. “The only strategy to address waitlists in the latest CLBC budget and service plan is to cut services to others,” says Faith Bodnar, Executive Director. “This is not a sustainable, responsible or moral approach. We are on the brink of a looming crisis.”

On March 12 of last year, Canada (with the support of all the provinces) ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. We challenge B.C.’s next leader to implement the directives in the Convention by investing the resources necessary to support people with developmental disabilities and their families.

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