Thousands of children with special needs in BC are waiting for crucial early intervention services. Read about how we're putting this and other issues on the 2013 BC Election agenda.
CLBC Funding Crisis
Quick LinksReaching Out. Weighing In. Report on Community Living Crisis, with recommendations For families: Steps to take when you can't get the support you need. In the MediaNOTE: *If the link to the article you're looking for is no longer live, we may have it saved in our archived files. Contact info@inclusionbc.org for the article. |
Community Living BC (CLBC), the crown agency that provides support for people with developmental disabilities in BC and their families, is in crisis. In an attempt to recover a $22 million budget deficit, the agency embarked on a “service redesign” process that resulted in drastic cuts to supports for people with developmental disabilities and their families and the rapid closure of group homes. We are calling for an immediate moratorium on the service redesign process. While Inclusion BC, formerly BCACL, fully supports and encourages the assessment, evaluation and improvement of services, it has become clear that “service redesign” is driven and motivated by budget pressures and not the needs of community. Along with a significant increase in funding, Inclusion BC has called for for an independent, external review of CLBC. UpdatesThe following updates have been posted to the Inclusion BC website and are arranged from most recent. Visit the "What's New" section of our website for a full list of updates in all areas. January 19, 2012 - Inclusion BC (then BCACL) Press Release: Internal Review Results in $40 Million Funding Announcement and Plan to Improve Services to People with Developmental Disabilities and their Families Inclusion BC issued a press release in response to the results of an internal review of Community Living BC (CLBC), the government funding body that provides supports to people with developmental disabilities. Read more. January 2, 2012 - The Year in Review (from a notice sent from the Community Living Action Group) The BC Community Living Action Group (of which Inclusion BC is a member) reflected on the past year and looked to the year ahead in this recent notice to supporters. Read more. December 8, 2011 Voice of BC - Protecting the Vulnerable Michael Prince from the School of Social Policy University of Victoria and Lindsay Kines from the Victoria Times Colonist look at the issues around the failure of CLBC to provide for the needs of the developmentally disabled and how best to move forward. Inclusion BC's Faith Bodnar asked one of the featured questions. View the video here. December 16, 2011 - Community Living Action Group: Premier must commit to a full fix of the systemic crisis The Community Living Action Group, of which Inclusion BC is a member, sent this letter to the Vancouver Sun in response to comments from Premier Christy Clark. Read more. November 18, 2011 - CLBC Interim Report fails to acknowledge systemic problems November 18, 2011 - Report from Finance Committee Recommends Improvements to CLBC November 17, 2011 - Inclusion BC (then BCACL) Press Release: Minister's Comments on Client Support Team Misguided November 16, 2011 - Families Driving Change won't wait any longer October 21, 2011 - Newly announced CLBC "client support team" a piecemeal approach to a systemic problem October 20, 2011 - CLBC Crisis in the Legislature Since the CLBC Board announced the immediate departure of CEO Rick Mowles on Friday, October 14, the crisis within CLBC has been brought up in BC Legislature and in the media. On Monday of this week, NDP MLA and CLBC Opposition critic Nicholas Simons introduced a motion to place a moratorium on the closure of group homes. Liberal MLA's Gordon Hogg (who played an active role in the creation of CLBC when he was Minister of Children and Family Development), Randy Hawes and John Van Dongen also expressed the urgent need for their government to act. Inclusion BC continues to call for a moratorium on service redesign that is resulting in the reduction and denial of choice and services for people with developmental disabilities and their families. Read the recent Hansard transcript here. Premier Clark finally admitted that her government can do better, saying "we can do far better than we have for the people who are depending on government to look after them" (Van Sun). She stopped short, however, of acknowledging the need for an increase in CLBC's budget. While an internal financial audit of CLBC is currently underway, Inclusion BC continues calling for an independent external review of CLBC that would include the voices of individuals, families and advocates. We also call on the Premier and Minister to make an immediate financial investment in CLBC to meet the urgent needs of the thousands of people waiting for services. Visit the Inclusion BC website for more information and links to recent media articles. October 15, 2011 - CEO of Community Living BC (CLBC) Steps Down as Board "seeks new leadership" - CLBC's Board of Directors issued a statement yesterday evening announcing that Rick Mowles, CEO of CLBC, was stepping down immediately. Read more... September 18, 2011 - Minister Harry Bloy, NDP critic Nicholas Simons and CLBC's Carol Goozh on CKNW World Today weekend editions Minister of Social Development Harry Bloy and NDP critic Nicholas Simons were guests on the Sean Leslie show on CKNW on Saturday, September 17, 2011. Simons stressed that the work of advocates is making a difference but this investment is a drop in the bucket. Listen to the interview in CKNW's archives. Click on Saturday, September 17, 2011, 3:00pm. (The interview begins at 6:45). Visit the link here: http://www.cknw.com/other/audiovault.html Sean Leslie from CKNW's World Today Weekend edition interviewed Carol Goozh, Vice President of Policy and Program Development at CLBC on Sunday September 18 at 3:30pm. Sean Leslie asked Carol specific questions about what the new money will accomplish and for CLBC's reaction to the investment. Listen to the interview in CKNW's archives. Click on Sunday, September 18, 2011, 3:00pm. (The interview begins at 33:10). Visit the link here: http://www.cknw.com/other/audiovault.html September 15, 2011 - Councillor Geoff Meggs presents motion to end funding cuts to CLBC Vancouver City Councillor Geoff Meggs has put forward a motion to "end funding cuts, implement a moratorium on the closure of group homes and provide sufficient financial resources both to maintain this vital housing resource and address growing waitlists"... Read the motion here: http://vancouver.ca/ctyclerk/cclerk/20110920/documents/motionb7.pdf September 15, 2011 - BCACL (now Inclusion BC) presents to Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services Inclusion BC representatives presented to the Standing Committee on Finance today, stressing the importance of making a substantial financial investment in Community Living BC... Press Release: New funding a small step forward August 31, 2011 - BC-CLAG Press Release and Backgrounder: 70 M budget lift needed immediately to stem community living crisis, halt growing safety risks & restore public confidence. Update from the Community Living Action Group The Community Living Action Group (of which Inclusion BC is a member) released an update on July 18, 2011. The update includes links to letters written to Minister Harry Bloy and CLBC CEO Rick Mowles, and their respective responses. June 8, 2011 - In the News: Agencies serving residents with developmental disabilities push back against province Service providers across B.C. are speaking out against the provincial Government's "aggressive attempts to cut spending." We applaud the CEO network for speaking out in support of community living. ... Read more... May 26, 2011 - CLBC Funding Crisis in the Media The impact of Community Living BC's funding crisis on people with developmental disabilities and their families has recently been reported by local and national media. Inclusion BC is collecting these stories and posting them to our website.... Read more... May 19, 2011 - Action Group's visit to Legislature prompts comment from Premier and media attention A group of family members and representatives from the Community Living Action Group visited the Legislature yesterday to bring attention to Community Living BC's funding crisis. ...Read more... May 18, 2011 - CLBC Funding Crisis in the News and Debated in the Legislature CLBC's funding crisis was reported on last night's Global newscast (May 17) and continued to be discussed in the Legislature yesterday, May 17, 2011....Read more.. May 10, 2011- Crisis in community living - family stories and how you can help May 4, 2011 - BCACL (now Inclusion BC) letter to Minister clarifying comments made in the Legislature April 28, 2011- Report prompts questions to Minister about CLBC funding April 12, 2011 - BCACL (now Inclusion BC) meeting with Minister of Social Development Harry Bloy March 2, 2011 - Highlights from CLBC Service Plan (2011/12 - 2013/14) January 24, 2011 - BCACL (now Inclusion BC) Letter to Minister of Social Development regarding Service Redesign and Employment How you can helpWrite to your MLA. Whether your MLA is NDP or Liberal, it is important that they hear from their constituents about this important issue. If you believe families should be getting the supports they so desperately need, call or email your MLA.Here is a brief sample letter. We have also included links (to the left of this email) to more information and resources. Write to the Premier, Christy Clark.Christy Clark has promised to "put families first" and was recently quoted in a press release as saying, "for a senior or someone with special needs, the security of a comfortable home and a welcoming community are key components to a healthy and happy lifestyle." The Premier needs to know that families who support family members with a disability must be included in her family agenda. You can contact Christy Clark online here:http://www.christyclark.ca/premierchristyclark/contact.php*Note that the website above may change after the byelection. Go public with your story.Inclusion BC has been speaking with media who want to talk to families who are having difficulty accessing vital services. If you are willing to tell your story to your local media, Inclusion BC can help connect you. Please call or email Danielle at Inclusion BC at dkelliher@inclusionbc.orgor 604-777-9100 ext. 527. Write to the Hon. Stephanie Cadieux, Minister of Social Development, responsible for Community Living BC.
Write to or call the opposition critic for Community Living BC, MLA Nicholas Simons. While the Legislature was sitting, Opposition MLAs kept up pressure, challenging the Minister of Social Development Harry Bloy to increase funding to Community Living BC. Opposition members want to hear from families who are waiting for services, whose services have been cut back, or who have been told there are no services available to them. You can email Nicholas Simons at nicholas.simons.mla@leg.bc.ca or call his office at 250-387-3655. You can reach him toll-free by calling Enquiry BC and asking for the Official Opposition Caucus:1-800-663-7867 Tweet or Facebook your Message.If you're on Twitter, include#bcpoliand @christyclarkbc in your tweet, or retweet Inclusion BC's messages. Check out Inclusion BC's Twitter page here, for up-to-date messages:http://twitter.com/#!/BCACL. If you're on Facebook,visit our page and "like" us to see updates in your newsfeed. You can also either send us a message or post on our wall. Donate to Inclusion BC
Thanks again for your support.
What are people waiting for? Adults with developmental disabilities and their families are waiting for supports and services that help them lead quality lives in the community. These services range from respite for families, to homemaker services that help adults live independently. Click here for a list of definitions and services. How many people are waiting? After repeated calls from Inclusion BC and our community partners to make waitlists public, CLBC released the numbers on October 6, 2011. You can view the document here. While the numbers are high and unacceptable, they are conservative, as many families and individuals are not included in them. We have heard from many famlies who are told not to apply for certain services because they are "too expensive" or families whose services were reduced and who have not applied for more. We are also concerned with the lack of transparency and consistency in releasing the numbers and call for a more in depth explanation of how the numbers were calculated. Who is responsible for funding the services? The Ministry of Social Development is responsible for funding Community Living British columbia (which is a crown agency) to provide services for adults with developmental disabilities and some services for children and youth with special needs and their families. What needs to be done to fix this problem? More funding An external review An immediate moratorium on service redesign Can we afford this? We can’t afford not to. As long as families are in crisis and our most vulnerable population is suffering, we are not a civil society. In troubled economic times, investing in people is perhaps even more effective in providing much-needed economic stimulus than investing in roads, bridges and skating rinks. British Columbia has the money. How much do we need? Based on research using CLBC projections the following new investments to address waitlists are required:
What is the Guide to Support Allocation? The GSA is is an internal tool used by Community Living BC (CLBC) staff to determine the support needs of people with developmental disabilities and their families. It determines the amount of service and funding that an individual needs to live successfully in community. |
*These figures are based on information contained in the February 2011 CLBC Service Plan and the June 2010 CLBC Annual Report. They do not include the additional funds required to address the rising operating costs experienced by agencies who provide services and supports.
| Year | Percentage increase in adults qualifying for CLBC funding | Actual number of adults qualifying for CLBC |
Total funds required for CLBC based on average per person costs of $50,300/year.
|
| 2010/2011 | 5.5% | 701 | $35.3 Million |
| 2011/2012 | 5.1% | 688 | $34.6 |
| 2012/2013 | 4.8% | 677 | $34.0 |
| 2013/2014 | 4.5% | 668 | $33.6 |
| Total | $137.5 |
- The operating budget for CLBC for 2010 through to 2014 remains the static at $681M for all services (excludes the Personalized Supports Initiative).
- Cost recoveries through Service Redesign amounted to $20.3M in 2009/10 (annualized).
For Families
If you are having trouble getting the support you or your adult family member with a developmental disability needs from Community Living BC, Inclusion BC has outlined steps to follow that may be useful. Visit www.bcacl.org/BC-advocacy-who-to-talk-to for more information.
You can also visit the Families section of this website for information such as where to get the support you need, scholarships, the Registered Disability Savings Plan and other resources.
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Thursday, May 23, 2013 - Saturday, May 25, 2013· Vancouver, B.C.
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Saturday, May 25, 2013· Surrey
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Saturday, June 1, 2013· Nanaimo
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