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Your B.C. Government

Children and Youth with Special Needs

Your B.C. Government is providing more focused funding and programs for children with special needs and their families than ever before because the Province is committed to building the best system of support in the country.

What your B.C. Government is doing for Children and Youth with Special Needs:

  • Your B.C. Government makes a significant investment of more than $600 million each year for services for children and youth with significant special needs and their families. This is in addition to the funding that is provided to school districts for students with special needs.
  • B.C. is the first province in Canada to support Jordan’s Principle, which commits government to protect Aboriginal children regardless of who, or which level of government is responsible.
  • Your B.C. Government created the first ever Child and Youth Mental Health Plan in Canada, and doubled the funding to support it.
  • Across government, more than 90 programs are provided for children and youth with special needs.
  • The Supported Child Development program provides B.C. children with special needs the opportunity to participate in a child care setting.
  • Funding for the Supported Child Development program increased from $37.7 million to more than $57 million in 2005, increasing the number of children served to an estimated 9,000 today – an increase of 35 per cent.
  • The 2009/10 budget for autism is more than $46 million – more than 10 times the budget in 2000/01.
  • Now direct funding for early autism intervention is serving more than 6,000 children and youth – up from only a few hundred prior to 2001.
  • Your B.C Government expanded the school funding formula to provide extra funding for students diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), providing $16,000/student identified with ASD.
  • In September 2003 B.C. became the first province in Canada to create a comprehensive provincial strategy on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FASD).
  • In March 2008, B.C. released a new 10-year Provincial Plan for Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FASD). The Ministry of Children and Family Development collaborated with eight other ministries to develop Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder: Building on Strengths (2008-2018).
  • The Ministry of Education provides nearly $740 million annually to support students with special needs – the highest level of funding ever.
  • Your B.C. Government is investing more than $70 million in 2008-09 on children with autism through the Ministry of Education’s special education program, which serves over 4,500 children at $16,000 per child.
  • In 2005, your B.C. Government introduced changes to ensure that students with special needs attending independent schools are funded at 100 per cent. Prior to 2005, independent schools received only half what public schools received for students with special needs.