BC Children and Youth Disability Benefit

This pathway provides early certainty for families.

Children automatically qualify if they have diagnoses strongly linked to high functional needs, such as:

• Moderate to severe intellectual disability
• Medically or neurodevelopmentally complex genetic or syndromic conditions with highest needs (including Down syndrome)
• Autism combined with any level of intellectual disability
• Autism assessment results showing the highest support needs
• Degenerative conditions with predictable decline (Duchenne muscular dystrophy, SMA types 1 & 2)
• Palliative conditions (life expectancy less than 6 months)
• Gross motor function similar to cerebral palsy (GMFCS levels 3–5)
• Severe self‑injurious behaviour treated by specialized clinics
• Other clearly defined, high‑need medical or developmental conditions

This pathway ensures children with rare, complex, or atypical needs who do not meet a direct-admit threshold are not excluded.

Clinical expertise is applied to determine eligibility based on functional impact, not just diagnostic labels.

Eligibility may be confirmed through:

• A professionally administered functional assessment
• Health-care provider attestation confirming prolonged disability and significant adaptive limitations
• Review of medical complexity, behavioural profile, and functional impact

Families receive lump sum payments directly and are responsible for coordinating and directly paying service providers they hire.

Under this pathway

• Family creates a support plan with professionals of their choice
• Family hires and coordinates providers directly
• Family manages as employer

Best for

• Families who prefer to manage services themselves and want flexibility. They feel comfortable managing as an ‘employer’ and processing federal tax returns and tax audits.

Families choose providers but do not need to manage funding or invoicing directly. This pathway works much like the current Autism Funding model.

Under this pathway

• Family develops a support plan with a health professional
• Family selects service providers
• Providers directly invoice the Ministry

Best for

• Families who want flexibility in provider choice with much less administrative work.

Families can choose a local pre-approved community-based early intervention provider (e.g, Child Development Centre) to coordinate and deliver supports on their behalf.

Under this pathway

• Families identify the organization they have chosen to work with
• Agency receives the funding from the Ministry – in full or in part
• Agency plans with the family, delivers, and coordinates services
• Agency is responsible for all billing and record keeping, hiring staff, providing and monitoring services and managing payroll
• Family stays in charge of deciding what supports their child needs, while spending less time on paperwork, hiring providers, and managing funding

Best for

• Families who prefer a fully coordinated and low-administration approach.

Services and intervention

• Respite 
• Paediatric therapies 
• Behavioural intervention
• Inclusion worker for childcare 
• Family counselling 
• Mental health services and supports 
• Some diagnostics or assessments (e.g., genetic testing not otherwise covered by MSP)

Equipment, supplies and training

• Assistive and Augmentative Communication Supports
• Certain medical travel expenses
• Certain training expenses
• Inclusive recreation programs
• Genetic testing
• Sensory clothing 

Services and intervention

• Unresearched intervention methods
• Services and service providers outside of B.C. – certain exceptions may be made for communities that directly border two jurisdictions

Equipment, supplies and training

• Unregulated medical devices, equipment, and supplies

Families must get special pre-approval to use funds for:

• Safety equipment, containment beds, restraints
• Home and vehicle modifications 
• Services and service providers outside of B.C.
  • Certain exceptions may be made for communities that directly border two jurisdictions
• Exceptions to the limits on certain categories.
  • For example: Families who want to spend more than 20% on non-interventions services must receive an exception and authorization to do so.

Phase 1 (April 2026-March 2027)

• Families already receiving support will transition to the new benefit in stages:
  • April: At Home Program – School-Aged Extended Therapies only
  • July: Autism Funding
• New families apply for support using current pathways, then move to the benefit in March 2027.
• Temporary eligibility rules may be used during this time to keep services stable.

Phase 2 (April 2027 onward)

• Full implementation for all current families
• Intake opens for new families

During the transition period, ministry workers will contact all families currently receiving supports to discuss their eligibility for the new disability benefit. They will also explain the expanded community-based services and how the new disability supplement works.

Step-by-step support for families

CYSN workers, the Autism Funding team, and Autism Information Services will help families with:

• Understanding how the redesigned system works
• Determining what supports and services their child might be eligible to receive
• Preparing Disability Tax Credit (DTC) information, if needed
• Setting up direct deposit for new benefits
• Choosing a funding payment option (invoice/bill payment, direct funding, or agency‑coordinated payment)
• Identifying service options that best meet their child’s needs