Dear Friend,
Below are highlights of what you'll discover in the March 2023 edition of Inclusion BC’s E-Update:
- Inclusion BC at Work
- The Community-Led Collaboration Project Webpage
- Inclusion Canada Submission on Bill C-35: an Act respecting early learning and child care in Canada
- Self Advocates of Semiahmoo Letter on Air Travel Accessibility
- BC Office of the Human Rights Commissioner Report: From hate to hope: Inquiry into hate in the COVID-19 pandemic
- BC's Office of the Representative for Children and Youth Report: Key Components of Effective Service Delivery for Children and Youth with Support Needs and Their Families
- BC Non Profit Housing Association's Update on the New Rental Protection Fund
- Child Care Savings Update
- 26th Annual Poverty Report Card by First Call
- 20 Years of Early Development Instrument Data Now Available via Interactive Dashboard
- Blind Beginnings' Annual Gala
- Siblings Canada's 5th Anniversary and Resources
- Applications for the 2023 Centennial Flame Research Award for People with Disabilities
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Community-Led Collaboration Information Session
We co-hosted an information session for the Community-Led Collaboration Project with our provincial partners. It was a lively session with many questions and comments about creating a better network of services and supports for children and youth with support needs. We are encouraged by the reception of our approach to community engagement and the expressions of interest in working with more communities in BC.
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Support for Parents Panel
In February, Inclusion BC was part of the "Support for Parents Panel" at the First Nations Parents Conference by First Nations Parents Club. We appreciated the opportunity to connect with parents from community schools from across the province to talk about inclusive education and advocacy for equitable access.
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MentorAbility Gathering
The MentorAbility team from across Canada came together in Calgary for three days of learning and reflection. Together we shared stories of success and challenges as each of our provinces are unique in how they have delivered this project. This gathering was important to strengthen our relationships with the provinces and territories who we work with and to reflect on our work as we are optimistic about the continuation of MentorAbility.
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Website Safety and Security
To better protect your personal information, we’ve updated the security measures on our website donation page and payment processing gateway.
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The Community-Led Collaboration Project Webpage
We recently updated the webpage for the Community-Led Collaboration Project.
This project is an opportunity for communities in British Columbia (B.C.) to engage in meaningful and inclusive conversations about how to create a better network of services and supports for children and youth with support needs and their families.
Visit the webpage to learn more
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Inclusion Canada Submission on Bill C-35: an Act respecting early learning and child care in Canada
Inclusion BC worked with Inclusion Canada on a written submission submitted to the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities (HUMA) on recommendations for Bill C-35 to strengthen the inclusion of children with disabilities. The submission covers the importance of inclusive early learning and child care, its benefits, and the opportunities for Bill C-35 to advance inclusive child care in Canada with specific amendments to strengthen the bill.
Read the report here
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Self Advocates of Semiahmoo Letter
on Air Travel Accessibility
The Self Advocates of Semiahmoo (SAS) care about Accessible Air Travel in Canada. That's why SAS is preparing a letter to send to elected officials and the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) on why access and inclusion within planes, airports and airlines is important to many fellow Canadians.
Have you had a bad experience due to lack of accessibility on a plane? SAS is reaching out to include the experience of Canadians in their letter.
Send your story and include your name, age and location (City or Community).
Email sas@uniti4all.com with your answer by April 10th, 2023 and SAS will submit with our official letter.
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BC Office of the Human Rights Commissioner Report:
From hate to hope: Inquiry into hate
in the COVID-19 pandemic
"In August 2021, BC’s Human Rights Commissioner launched an Inquiry into the rise of hate in B.C. during the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2023, the Commissioner released her findings and recommendations. An inquiry is an official study. The Commissioner’s first Inquiry looked at the reported rise of hate during the pandemic. The Inquiry explores why hate increased during the pandemic, where hate comes from and what action we can take to stop hate now and in future times of crisis." The Commissioner issued twelve strong recommendations.
Read more here and download the report
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Report: Key Components of Effective Service Delivery for Children and Youth with Support Needs and their Families
"BC's Office of the Representative for Children and Youth posted to its website the report Key Components of Effective Service Delivery for Children and Youth with Support Needs and Their Families. The report, written by Dr. Pat Mirenda, offers analysis drawn down from a research review of service delivery systems for children and youth with support needs (CYSN). It identifies six key components of effective service delivery systems as well as a comparison to the CYSN framework that the Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) announced in 2021 before pausing implementation last November."
Read the report here
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BC Non Profit Housing Association's Update on the New Rental Protection Fund
"Together with Housing Central partners, BC Non Profit Housing Association has been working closely with the provincial government to get the Fund established and develop guidelines on how it will be disbursed. The Fund will provide grants that enable non-profits to purchase existing, occupied, purpose-built rental buildings and secure their affordability over time. These acquisitions will take place through a combination of Rental Protection Fund grant money and financing, with the amount of both dependant on the purchase price and existing rents in the building."
Read the update here
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Child Care Savings Update
"Budget 2023 confirms more than $2.6 billion in provincial funding over the three-year fiscal plan for ChildCareBC. This includes nearly $200 million over three years for the school-age fee reduction initiative starting in September 2023.
"Families with children will also see a 10 per cent increase to the monthly BC Family Benefit starting in July 2023. At the same time, single parents will receive as much as $500 annual top-up to help make ends meet. For a two-parent family with two children, this amounts to as much as an additional $250 per year to help buy food, pay bills, and enroll kids in extracurricular activities. For a single parent with one child, this amounts to an additional $650 per year or almost $12,000 in extra support over 18 years."
Read more here
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26th Annual Poverty Report Card
"On February 14, 2023, First Call Child and Youth Advocacy Society released the 26th annual BC Child Poverty Report Card finding that BC’s child poverty rate dropped significantly largely due to the enhanced income supports families with children received during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"In 2020, the year this report covers, 13.3% of BC children and youth (0-17), or 116,500 kids, were living in poor households, down from 18% in 2019."
Read the report here
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20 Years of Early Development Instrument Data Now Available via Interactive Dashboard
Human Early Learning Partnership announced the launch of the Early Development Instrument (EDI) Data Dashboard — an online, interactive tool available to the public that allows for the exploration of patterns and trends in EDI data from Wave 2 (data collected 2004-2007) through Wave 8 (2019-2022).
The EDI is a questionnaire completed by kindergarten teachers for the students in their classrooms each year, gathering information across five key areas, or “scales”, of development: Physical Health & Well-being, Social Competence, Emotional Maturity, Language & Cognitive Development, and Communication Skills & General Knowledge.
Read more and find the dashboard here
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Blind Beginnings' Annual Gala
Off the to Races
"Since 2010, Blind Beginnings Annual Gala Dinner and Auction has raised a total of over $389,000 to create and deliver programs, services and counselling and support for BC’s children and youth who are blind or partially sighted.
Join approximately 250 guests as we celebrate Blind Beginnings’ 12th Annual Gala & Auction with an evening filled with interactive fundraising games, entertainment, inspirational speeches, awards, a delicious dinner, dancing and more!"
Read more and get your tickets here
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Siblings Canada's 5th Anniversary and Resources
Siblings Canada supports people with disabilities and their siblings. They create resources and start national conversations for people supporting their siblings. Through their leadership over the last five years, Siblings Canada has made a sizeable impact in our communities.
Siblings Canada resources include:
- Virtual events
- Siblings guidebooks
- Online courses
- Peer Mentorship Program
Read more and explore resources here
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Applications for the 2023 Centennial Flame Research Award for People with Disabilities
"The House of Commons Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities (the Committee) is now accepting applications for the 2023 Centennial Flame Research Award.
"The award will be granted by the Committee to a Canadian with a disability, to conduct research and to prepare a report on the contributions of one or more persons with disabilities to the public life of Canada or the activities of Parliament.
"For 2023, the amount awarded will be $7,500."
Read more and apply here
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Our Work is Made Possible Thanks to You!
Thank you for reading our E-update! Consider donating to help us continue working towards a future that's inclusive.
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Updates & Alerts
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