BC Budget 2021

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Last week, Federation Executive Director Rick FitzZaland and Member Engagement and Policy Coordinator Pam Alcorn provided members with an overview and explanation of BC Budget 2021. While it did not contain everything we may have been hoping for, it was a very good recovery budget for our province and puts a lot of money in the pockets of the people and communities we serve—people who often have very little in their pockets.

It is also worth remembering that BC Budget 2021 arrived amid a series of public health emergencies: the ongoing opioid crisis, increasing mental health demands, escalating racism and hate crimes, and the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

While the budget clearly focuses on and invests in pandemic recovery, it also prioritizes health, mental health, substance use, and racism. And we are glad to note that some key portfolios among the people and communities to whom we provide services received significant and unprecedented increases.

  • $175-a-month increase to income and disability assistance which builds on two previous increases totalling $150 since 2017, for a total increase to assistance rates of $325 a month—the largest-ever permanent increase to income and disability assistance in BC.
  • $50 increase to the seniors’ supplement—the first increase since it was established in 1987.
  • $68 million over three years to deliver quality home care to help seniors with daily living by increasing the number of care aides and other community care providers.
  • $500 million to continue to expand mental health and substance use services to better connect people to the culturally safe and effective care they need—the largest investment in BC history.
  • $330 million over three years to provide a full spectrum of substance-use treatment and recovery services, including $152 million for opioid treatment.
  • 195 new substance use treatment and recovery beds in communities throughout the province to help more people get on a path to recovery.
  • $1 million in prevention grants to support overdose response and awareness efforts in rural, remote, and Indigenous communities.
  • $67 million in new funding for Community Living BC over three years to provide supports and services to over 24,000 adults with developmental disabilities and their families.
  • $111 million will be used to fund 3,750 new $10-a-day spaces through 75 additional ChildCareBC universal prototype sites over the next three years—more than doubling the number of $10-a-day child care spaces across the province.
  • $94 million to increase wages by $4 an hour for 11,000 early childhood educators across the province.
  • $290 million over three years to support reconciliation with Indigenous peoples, including money for skills training and child care as well as legislation, policy, and program engagement.

You can view a recording of the BC Budget 2021 member webinar and the Q&A session below. You can access the slides with additional highlights, figures, and investments here as well as on the Member’s page of The Federation website. (The webinar recording is also on the Member’s page.) A lot of good work is going to come out of these investments and The Federation team is well underway making sure the needs and priorities of your organizations, clients, and communities are considered and addressed.

If you have additional questions or comments about the provincial budget, the above information, or The Federation’s ongoing advocacy and engagement with the government, feel free to contact me or get in touch with The Federation office.

Sherry Sinclair
Director of Programs & Services

Updates to the Community Social Services Training Fund

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In February, The Federation opened applications for the Community Social Services Training Fund (CSSTF) and since then, dozens of organizations have signed up to get support for organizational training or individual education and certification for their employees. I am now excited to announce two important changes to the Community Social Services Training Fund for the 2021-22 fiscal year that will further increase your organization’s access to these important training funds and the number of employees that can benefit.

Apply for Both Funding Streams

As of April 2021, organizations can apply for both the Support for Organizational Training Grant and the Support for Certification/Education Individual Grant in the same fiscal year. You no longer need to choose between the two options—if there is a need, organizations can submit an application for both funding streams. Learn more about the two funding streams and how to apply here.

Certification for Multiple Individuals

Also as of April 2021, community social services organizations may now apply for Support for Certification/Education Individual Grant funding up to a total of $15,000 on behalf of as many as 10 employees ($1,500 per employee) so that multiple staff members can participate in various formal and/or continuing education.

This will enable organizations across the province to support even more individuals in achieving certification or course completion with accredited bodies or institutions. (Please note: The course, institution, and certification for each employee will need to be identified as part of the application.) Learn more and start an application!

Eligibility & Contact Info

This funding supports and enables broad and inclusive training and development efforts that can address a range of foundational knowledge and core skill needs. If you haven’t already done so, I encourage you to visit the Training Fund page to learn more about the two different grant streams that are available, the increased amounts, eligible certification programs, and training topics. Please note:

  • All training must take place before May 31, 2022.
  • Must be a community social services organization in order to be eligible.
  • Each recipient must be an employee of the applicant organization.
  • Grantees will be reimbursed the approved amount upon receipt of Proof Of Purchase.
  • If training is not completed, applicant organizations will be required to reimburse training funds in full.

For questions about the training fund or the application process, please contact Sheldon Martin, the Community Social Service Training Fund Coordinator, at sheldon@fcssbc.ca.

Thank You

This funding has been provided by The Province of British Columbia as part of an initiative to respond to the training and development needs of those who work with some of BC’s most vulnerable people. (You can learn more about these other initiatives here.)

This is the largest investment of dedicated training funding that our sector has seen in a very, very long time and we are very thankful for this opportunity and for the work of our sector partners at the Social Service Sector Roundtable in making this very important initiative possible.

As always, don’t hesitate to contact me with your questions, concerns, or ideas related to the Roundtable’s work, recruitment and retention, or the sector’s training and professional development needs.

Rick FitzZaland
Federation Executive Director

Award for Excellence Nominations

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Every spring, The Federation begins accepting nominations for its Award for Excellence. After the year that we have been through and the trying months that still lay ahead, I feel like this award has come at a time when it is very much needed. It gives us an opportunity to recognize and thank the people and organizations around us who have been going above and beyond to make sure that doors remain open, people are cared for, and services and supports are available when and where people need them.

The Federation’s Award for Excellence recognizes and honours these people and organizations—the ones who have remained creative and thoughtful and compassionate even while it has gotten harder and harder to do so. It encourages our members to hold each other up and support one another in their work. And to me, taking the time to honour the work of one person or one agency in this sector also honours the work of everyone in this sector. It gives us a moment to reflect on what makes for great social care colleagues and allows us to truly see the people working with us and the contributions they make.

I encourage all of you to reach out and tell someone how their work has inspired you, how they helped you, or how they taught you something valuable and nominate them for the Award for Excellence. Our sector is full of exceptional and caring people and this is a time to honour them. Yes, the people in our sector are often more humble than others, but I believe that there is space for appreciation and thankfulness within that humility.

Categories and Nominations

The Award for Excellence has two categories: Individual and Organization. Nominations for both categories are accepted each year and are carried over for up to three years. In odd-numbered years (e.g., 2021) the Award for Excellence will be awarded to an individual. In even-numbered years (e.g., 2022) it will be awarded to an organization. You can make a nomination for either category, but the 2021 Award for Excellence will be awarded to an individual at The Federation’s 2021 Annual General Meeting.

Take a moment to consider nominating a person, team, or organization. The application deadline is May 31st, 2021. The nomination form and more information (including past recipients) can be found on The Federation website.
Rick FitzZaland
Federation Executive Director