The Province of BC announced their budget for fiscal year April 1, 2019 to March 31, 2020 on Tuesday this week. There were a number of announcements that affect community living services and the people we support.
- Disability Benefits will be increasing on April 1, 2019 by $50 per month. There may be other changes announced when the Province announces their Poverty Reduction Plan in March 2019.
- Home Share providers will be getting an increase beginning April 1, 2019. From CLBC’s announcement, there is this preliminary information: This includes $8.8 million this year ($45 million over the next three years) to improve funding for home sharing providers. This is a vital service that supports more than 4,000 people to live in their communities. Letters will be going out to Home Sharing providers in March 2019 to explain the details and how the new funding will impact them. We will keep you informed about the next steps to get these increases rolled out to our home share providers.
Inclusion BC has provided a overview of the budget as well:
https://inclusionbc.org/bc-budget-2019-investments-addressing-poverty-are-welcome-but-more-is-needed/
Disability Alliance BC also published a press release on the budget:
http://disabilityalliancebc.org/dabc-media-release-bc-budget-2019/
Let us know if you have any questions or comments.