Facts & Figures
In 2010, Community Living BC (CLBC) began ordering budget cuts and “service redesigns” across the sector to reduce its operating expenses by $22 million. With new demands, rising costs and frozen budgets, ongoing cuts continue, and even deeper cuts will be required to accommodate new pressures in the coming years, unless urgent action is taken by the Provincial government to address the growing and systemic crisis that is unfolding.
Funding for community living has failed to keep pace with growing demographic and inflationary pressures and is not nearly adequate to meet the support needs of adults with developmental disabilities, families and caregivers. Day programs are being cut or eliminated, group homes are being closed, and family supports are being reduced. Waitlists are long and growing. Individuals and families have not been consulted about the disturbing changes underway.
Human costs
Appropriate choices and support options to meet the range of needs have been eliminated, creating severe suffering and hardship for many individuals and families. The very real risks and impacts to human health, safety and wellbeing are not being effectively monitored or publicly reported.
These dramatic cost-driven changes are destroying the community inclusion infrastructure that supports adults with developmental disabilities in our province.
Families, who provide the vast majority of lifelong supports for adults with developmental disabilities, are collapsing under the crushing burden that they are being asked to shoulder all alone.
Most importantly, these sweeping cuts violate the fundamental rights of persons with disabilities to autonomy, independence, choice and support.
This cannot continue.
There’s a growing movement in the province to expose this crisis—to stop the erosion of BC’s community living sector and to help avert the tragic consequences of failing to acknowledge and address the deepening systemic crisis.
The spin
B.C. Government Reviews of Community Living British Columbia (CLBC) – Reports:
- The BC government’s progress report one year after internal review, audit, and funding announcement. Read media release claiming “significant milestones” and reports: Improving Services to People with Developmental Disabilities
- MSD CLBC Report: Improving Services to People with Developmental Disabilities: Deputy Minister’s Review of Community Living BC (Publicly Released: January 19, 2012)
- MFIN: Internal Audit Review of Community Living British Columbia (Publicly Released: January 19, 2012)
- Queenswood Consulting Group: Review of Community Living BC: Efficacy and Progress to 2011 (Unreleased Report: November, 2011)
The truth:
Community Living crisis
communitylivingaction.org 