Kids with disabilities facing long waits to access essential services: Advocates

Advocates are raising concerns about the long wait times Alberta kids with disabilities are facing to access essential services. They believe the delays could impact hundreds across the province.

“We need to reduce the waitlist. These kids can’t wait two to three years for a contract. When kids need help they need help now,” said Keltie Marshall, co-founder of Hold My Hands Alberta.

Hold My Hands Alberta is an advocacy initiative that supports families and kids with disabilities. It has noticed a reduction in caseworker positions in the provincial program called Alberta’s Family Support for Children with Disabilities (FSCD).

“These are frustrated workers saying listen your wait list is over 7,000 kids, we don’t know how to better help you with the resources that we have,” explained Marshall.

The provincial program helps families cover the cost of expensive therapies, counselling, clothing, medications and other services that vulnerable children need to survive.

“We know that early intervention works and we’re failing kids and we’re failing families.. You’re talking about families already who are at a disadvantage financially and now you’re basically telling them to go spend $200 an hour to get their kids help- it becomes kind of a feeling of desperation..”

In 2022, Alberta’s auditor general reported that children with disabilities were getting inconsistent government support, saying that only one in five caseworkers with the family support for children with disabilities had completed all mandatory online training.

“There’s high turn over in the program in terms of their staff. My own family had 6 workers in the last less than two years, so we’re not giving these families and these children continuity,” said Marshall.

The Ministry of Seniors, Community and Social Services acknowledged that there are staff cuts in the program, saying “Seven temporary contracted disability services workers were notified that their contracts will not be extended once they expire.’ in a statement to citynews, the ministry said “The program funding has not changed and the end of these contracts will not affect families’ ability to access services.”

However Marshall says, “That’s impossible. It’s impossible to expect a caseworker to have 400 families on their case load and also deliver the services that these children deserve and need in order to be their best selves.”