Children with disabilities need immediate and equal access to child and youth care

Universal child care should include access for every child — but right now, child care in BC is not accessible to families who have children and youth with disabilities.

Families of children with disabilities are continually denied access to child and youth care, as most programs do not provide support as a right for every child. This tells us that both children with disabilities and their caregivers are neither valued or prioritized.

The issue of discrimination against children with disabilities has reached a crisis point. The disability community is struggling, getting knocked down by barrier after barrier. We need our government to put action in place, and do right by all kids in this province.

We call on Mitzi Dean, Minister of Child and Family Development, to provide funding to organizations that employ support positions so they can increase the wages of current support staff and reduce waitlists for families trying to access this care. We also call for training for organizations who provide childcare on sign language, inclusion and working with kids with disabilities.