Whereas the Supported Child Development SCD program in British Columbia enables children with developmental and diverse abilities to participate in licensed childcare by providing consultation and funding for extra support staff; And whereas current SCD funding is inadequate to meet demand, resulting in waitlists, limited service delivery, and significant hardship for families: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM advocate to the Ministry of Children and Family Development urging increased funding to the Supported Child Development program to ensure: i. Timely and sufficient support for all eligible children; ii. The capacity of SCD programs to meet demand without rationing services; and iii. That parents and caregivers can maintain employment and provide for their families.
Ministry of Children and Family Development Thank you for your resolution requesting funding increases toward the Supported Child Development SCD and Aboriginal Supported Child Development ASCD programs. SCD and ASCD are programs delivered under the Inclusive Child Care portfolio, shared between the Ministry of Education and Child Care ECC and the Ministry of Children and Family Development CFD. ECC is responsible for strategic planning around inclusive child care and for supporting and enabling child care providers and professionals to deliver quality, inclusive, culturally safe child care; while CFD is responsible for the operational policy and delivery of SCD and ASCD programs. CFD contracts with community-based agencies to deliver these programs. SCD and ASCD receive funding allocated at a regional level to ensure equity and reflect needs within their communities. Contracted agencies are responsible for managing budgets, hiring, and allocating funds to support families. In alignment with government policy, these programs do have discretion on how funding resources are allocated. All child care providers in receipt of operating funding through ChildCareBC programs, including the Child Care Fee Reduction Initiative CCFRI and 10 a Day ChildCareBC, must be willing to accept children with support needs, as stated in their funding agreement. As independent business owners, each child care provider sets their own program policies and determines admission according to their facilitys capacity to meet the needs of individual children. In 2022-2023, to address the growing demand of support, the Province increased funding by more than 30 million through two Early Learning and Child Care Agreements with the Government of Canada. This investment was in addition to the annual 70 million in provincial base funding and 10 million in federal funding. However, as you highlight, demand for services delivered through SCDASCD programs remains high as these programs are balancing the needs of many families with support needs in our province. In June 2024, ECC released the Where All Children Belong: BC Inclusive Child Care Strategy the Strategy. This Strategy identifies goals and actions which the Province is taking to make progress towards inclusive and sustainable child care families can afford, including: - Embedding equity and inclusion in all aspects of child care. For example, the Design Guidelines for Child Care Centres, released in 2024, provide guidance to support new facilities to meet community needs, foster belonging, and promote respectful, inclusive and accessible environments. - Supporting the child care workforce to deliver equitable, inclusive child care. For example, the Leaders in Inclusive Child Care initiative provides training, resources and an upcoming community of practice to support child care leaders in building inclusion through their programs. The Early Childhood Educator ECE Specialized Certification Grant incentivises ECEs to obtain their Specialized Certificates Infant and Toddler Educator ITE andor Special Needs ECE SNE. - Meeting the specific needs of children who are neurodiverse, have a disability, or other support needs. For example, continued investments in SCD and ASCD programs are allowing these programs to increase their emphasis on capacity building in partnership with child care providers, rather than relying solely on a 1:1 support worker model. In February 2026 CFD also announced the Province is investing 475 million in new funding over the next three years to significantly increase financial supports and expand access to more free community services for children and youth with support needs and their families. This funding will include two new direct funding programs: the BC Children and Youth Disability Benefit and BC Children and Youth Disability Supplement. The Benefit will for children and youth up to age 19 with a long-term disability resulting in significant andor complex support needs and can be used towards disability-related supports that improve a childs functioning and daily life, including respite and inclusion supports like child care. Implementation of the Benefit will be divided into two phases. The first phase will be April 2026 March 2027 and include the transition of the families currently receiving MCFD CYSN supports e.g. At Home Program, Autism Funding Program into the new services. The second phase will be the full implementation of the Benefit, beginning April 2027. The Supplement will be an income-tested cash benefit designed to help families with the costs of raising a child with support needs up to age 18 and will be paid directly to families starting July 2027. It will be available to families who have children and youth with support needs who meet the eligibility criteria, up to age 18. Families can use the disability supplement for any costs related to raising a child with support needs, including child care.