|
For immediate release – February 28, 2022
Edmonton, AB – Alberta’s 2022 Budget offers no visible progress for children and adults with developmental disabilities. It is encouraging that no cuts were made to existing programs and that there was some increase in funding for both the Persons with Developmental Disabilities (PDD) program and Family Support for Children with Disabilities (FSCD).
Monic Braat, Inclusion Alberta President and parent of an adult son with developmental disabilities stated, “As the government has yet to provide any specifics, we cannot yet adequately evaluate the impact of the increases. For example, it isn’t yet clear if these increases will only accommodate new families and individuals or reduce the thousands of individuals and families waiting for supports and funding, or address those who have yet to receive adequate supports.”
The government has announced funding for Family Resource Centres in the range of $1.5 – $2 million but no specifics are available yet. The government acknowledged the need for the provision of disability-related supports for Indigenous Albertans, including those living on reserve who are either severely underserved or denied supports entirely, but offered no specific allocation of funds or actions.
Education received an overall increase in funding of over a hundred million but it’s impossible to know if or how this will benefit children with disabilities who are receiving an inclusive education or those parents who seek to have their child included. As the government provides limited accountability or oversight, we suspect far too many parents will continue to be told there isn’t sufficient funding to support their child’s inclusion but there is available, as always, segregation.
Trish Bowman, Inclusion Alberta CEO said, “Most disappointingly the government has chosen not to restore the indexing of AISH leaving tens of thousands of Albertans with disabilities to fall further behind as the cost of living soars. The Minister of Community and Social Services at that time stated the suspension would be temporary and indexing restored when the Budget was balanced. It appears balancing the budget was achieved in part by ensuring persons with disabilities on AISH slide further into poverty.” |
