B.C. revamps funding for children with autism and other support needs

British Columbia has unveiled a revamped funding system for children and youth with disabilities, including those with autism, with the province saying the goal is to make services “fairer, easier to access and better co-ordinated.”

Jodie Wickens, minister for children and family development, said the province was allocating $475 million in new funding over three years, while her ministry said $298 million in existing autism funding was being redirected.

The changes will deliver direct financial support and community-based services to “thousands more children” in B.C., Wickens told a news conference Tuesday.

The move comes after the government faced heavy criticism from parents over a previous attempt to revise the model in 2021, resulting in the rollout being paused.

“It was clear that we missed the mark, and we needed to pause and engage to get it right,” Wickens said. “That’s why we listened and we changed course.”

Wickens said the province heard families “loud and clear” when they asked for more funding and flexibility, and it was moving forward with those changes.

“There are thousands of children and families who feel that they have been left behind by the current system,” she said. “Families of children and youth with Down syndrome, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, intellectual disabilities, and many more under these new programs will be receiving direct support for the very first time.”

The changes include the introduction of a complex-needs disability benefit based on what Wickens’s ministry describes as “functional impact,” rather than diagnosis alone, while a separate disability supplement will be means tested.

The ministry said the disability benefit, ranging from $6,500 to $17,000 per year, will reach up to 15,000 children with prolonged disability or complex developmental support needs, or those whose needs “create significant challenges in daily life.”

An estimated 33,000 children in lower- and middle-income households will be eligible for an income-tested supplement, with the funding cutting off when a one-child family has after-tax income of about $200,000.

The supplement will provide a maximum of $6,000 per year, per child, paid monthly, with the amount decreasing as household income increases.

The government estimates the new system will provide funding for about 48,000 children, up from about 30,000 under the current system.

While Wickens said no child will lose access to supports, the amount of funding and the way some families receive supports may change under the new system.

Up to 5,000 children may see a reduction in their direct funding benefit, she said.

Those children will be prioritized for community-based supports, Wickens said, with the province earmarking $80 million for expanding those services.

“For some children, who have low needs — those needs could look like slight social skills deficits, needs for neurodivergent clinical counselling support — they will be directed into our community-based services and systems,” Wickens said.

“That direction was guided by expertise and medical advice about what best supports those cohorts of children,” she said, adding the province would work with caregivers to make sure they feel their child is receiving the support they need.

Community-based services such as behavioural and mental health supports should increase by 40 per cent over the next three years, Wickens’ ministry says.

Wickens said the province is taking a phased approach to rolling out the new disability benefit. While some families will move to that system on April 1, the current autism funding program will stay in place until next year.

The first payments from the supplement are scheduled for July 2027.

Under the current system, the province says children with autism have access to direct funding to purchase services, with the amount remaining unchanged regardless of the needs of the child or their family’s income.

Children with other diagnoses do not have access to such funding, though they have access to community-based therapy and intervention programs up to age six.

Children the province describes as “medically complex,” or those with the highest needs, have access to medical supplies and school-aged therapies.

With the changes announced Tuesday, that program and direct funding for kids with autism are being phased out in favour of the disability benefit and supplement.

Jennifer Charlesworth, B.C.’s representative for children and youth, said thousands of families and caregivers have shared with her office that “it’s not their children who exhaust them,” rather it was navigating the system that weighed them down.

She told Tuesday’s news conference that she was hopeful the changes will translate into substantial, on-the-ground improvements in young peoples’ lives.

“I’m optimistic that with this investment and the streamlining of service access for so many more children and youth, the precious energy and time spent by families who’ve been trying to get what their children need, can be redirected to where it should be — loving, nurturing and enjoying their young ones,” Charlesworth said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 10, 2026.

Brenna Owen, The Canadian Press