
Media release: Bureaucratic & systemic barriers: Inclusion Alberta releases FSCD and PDD survey results
For Immediate Release – January 20, 2025
It has been three years since the Alberta government released data related to the Family Support for Children with Disabilities (FSCD) or Persons with Developmental Disabilities (PDD) programs, such as how many eligible children and adults have requested but are waiting for supports. In the absence of publicly available government data and in response to the growing number of individuals and families requesting our support, Inclusion Alberta launched a survey in the fall of 2024 to hear their experiences.
We have presented these survey results along with recommendations that call upon the Alberta government to take immediate action to reduce barriers that would ensure both the FSCD and PDD programs fulfill their purpose for those they are intended to support.
Monica Braat, President of Inclusion Alberta and parent of an adult son with an intellectual disability says, “The supports my son has received, both through FSCD and PDD, have been vital to our family and his ability to be fully included in his community as a child, and now as vibrant, contributing adult. It’s heartbreaking to know that families are waiting years for support with such valuable time being wasted.”
Read the full reports:
According to survey results, the FSCD and PDD programs provide critical and life-changing supports to enable children and adults with disabilities and their families to sustain themselves and participate fully in our communities . . .if and when they can be accessed.
However, both systems have become unresponsive and bureaucratic, failing to provide families with timely access to adequate support.
FSCD: Too Little, Too Late.
Our report “Too Little, Too Late: Experiences with Family Support for Children with Disabilities (FSCD)” indicates families are waiting up to three years before accessing the full range of FSCD services and highlights the common challenges families are facing when trying to access FSCD. Without the support they need, families report negative impacts such as parents losing their jobs because their child has no support to attend childcare, financial hardship, children missing developmental opportunities during critical early years, and escalating physical and mental health challenges for all members of the family.
PDD: Critical & Urgent
Our full survey report “Current State: Critical & Urgent. Experiences with Persons with Developmental Disabilities (PDD)” describes how PDD’s ‘critical and urgent needs’ criteria denies support to individuals until they are on the brink of crisis. This impacts individuals with no support, and many individuals who have minimal PDD support that fail to meet their needs. Rural families, newcomers and Indigenous families experience additional barriers.
“Alberta’s unprecedented population growth has contributed to mounting pressures on these vital supports for children and adults with disabilities and their families,” says Trish Bowman, Inclusion Alberta’s CEO. “The comments shared by families in the reports are heartbreaking examples of what happens when the systems designed to support them aren’t there when they need them.”
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Inclusion Alberta Chief Executive Officer Trish Bowman is available for interviews. Please contact Sara Protasow, Inclusion Alberta Communications Coordinator at sprotasow@inclusionalberta.org or 780-906-4693.
About Inclusion Alberta: Inclusion Alberta is a family based, non-profit federation that advocates on behalf of children and adults with intellectual disabilities and their families. Together, we share a dream of meaningful family life and community inclusion for individuals with intellectual disabilities. As an advocacy organization we support families and individuals in their desire to be fully included in community life.