Provincial supports for children with disabilities during teacher strike shines light on backlogged FSCD program

By MEDICINE HAT NEWS on October 15, 2025.

newsdesk@medicinehatnews.com

The Alberta government announced additional supports for families of children with complex care needs following widespread criticism this week that children with disabilities were falling through the cracks of the province’s strike support measures.

The province’s initial measures included a parent payment of $30 per day for children under the age of 12. Parents of children with disabilities argued that the measure did not offer support for older children who need complex care, which is both costlier and required by children of all ages.

In response, the province announced additional financial support today which includes an additional $30 per child per instructional day for children 12 and under, and $60 per child per instructional day for children 13 and older. The total compensation totals $60 per day per child for children with complex care needs.

Payments will be facilitated using the Family Support for Children with Disabilities program. Eligible families with active FSCD agreements will be asked to provide their FSCD File ID number through a portal on the provincial webpage. A separate application process is not required.

While the program provides respite to families of children with complex care needs, changes made by the UCP government to the administration of the FSCD program limits the utility of this measure.

As of 2021, more than 3,000 families were on the waitlist for FSCD. The province has not updated publicly available data regarding the program, including waitlists, in more than three years.

“Intake has essentially been cut and frozen for those programs,” said St. Albert NDP MLA Marie Renaud. “The only people getting through are what they call ‘health and safety’ – people that are at high risk of harming themselves or others.”

Estimates of the number of families now on the waitlist are as high as 12,000.

“With Alberta’s growing population, along with the increasing prevalence of disabilities, the demand for the FSCD program remains high and Assisted Living and Social Services is working hard to connect families to services as quickly as possible,” wrote Amber Edgerton, press secretary to Jason Nixon, minister of assisted living and social services, in a statement to the News.

Edgerton says the government has invested record amounts into supporting Albertans with disabilities, including an increase of $30 million for the FSCD program.

A report based on a survey conducted by Inclusion Alberta earlier this year shows that some families have been waiting for as long as three years to access FSCD services.

Edgerton outlined supports for families that do not have an active FSCD agreement, including programs offered by Alberta’s family resource centres and family and community support services.

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