Concerns raised over support backlog for children with disabilities

Families and advocates of children with disabilities are concerned about backlogs in the system leaving some without support.

Some people trying to access these services say they've been waiting about a year and are still in limbo.

The Groats' son has autism and they were approved for services in October of last year but they still haven't received basic supports, let alone a caseworker for their specific needs.

That means they're paying out of pocket, about $1,000 a month for things including occupational therapy, speech therapy and counselling.

Inclusion Alberta says they've heard from many families with the same struggles.

"It used to be a family would apply and get some supports in place within about six months but now, families aren't even hearing anything for up to a year," said Trish Bowman with Inclusion Alberta.

"We just feel that we are bleeding money for services that we are approved for but can't access because they are so backlogged," said Veronica Groat.

The province says funding for the Family Support for Children with Disabilities program funding has not changed, but the program was evaluated and seven temporary workers were notified their contracts won't be extended once they expire.

The province says the end of these contracts won't affect families' ability to access services.

"We continue to work closely with families to make sure their needs are supported," the province said in a statement to CTV News.

But people trying to get help say the problem has been building for some time.

Inclusion Alberta says it was also concerned when the 2024-25 budget came out, and the amount of funding for the program was not increased to account for the record population boom or inflation.

"In our view, (it's) insufficient to meet demand, especially when you factor in population growth and inflation," said Bowman.

"Alberta talks a lot about being progressive and wanting families to thrive and be successful and you can't do that if your child has a disability and your whole family system is falling apart because you don't have support services," said Groat.