Sylvan Lake mom leads push over years-long FSCD wait times in Alberta
Parent advocacy group Kids Can't Wait Alberta says families are waiting three years or longer for disability support services, despite increased government funding.
Why it matters
Thousands of Alberta families with children with disabilities say long waits for support services are affecting critical early development periods.
Kids Can't Wait Alberta, a parent-led advocacy group that includes Sylvan Lake mayor Megan Hanson, is calling on the provincial government to reduce wait times for the Family Support for Children with Disabilities (FSCD) program, ensure resources keep pace with demand, and restore transparency around wait expectations.
Hanson says her younger son, who has autism, waited two-and-a-half years to be accepted into FSCD, compared to a wait of no more than four months when her older child went through the program years earlier. She says at least 100 families in Sylvan Lake alone have contacted her about being on the waitlist, and that missing the early-development window while waiting for approval defeats the program's purpose.
The Ministry of Assisted Living and Social Services says Budget 2026 provides $271 million for FSCD, an increase of more than $74 million since 2019, contributing to a 25 per cent rise in program caseload since 2019. The ministry did not specify current wait times, though Kids Can't Wait lists them as three years or longer on its website.
Press secretary Jonah Pickle said Alberta's growing population and increasing complexity of client needs are driving demand, and that the ministry is reviewing the program with input from families and experts in disability services, health care and education. The program currently supports about 19,000 children in Alberta.
Compiled by the Alberta Daily Desk — an AI-written summary of reporting from the credited sources below, produced and reviewed under our editorial policy.