Budget 2026: submission to the Province of British Columbia

Who we are

The Federation of Community Social Services of BC represents over 160 community social service agencies serving more than 250 communities across B.C., including those on recognized First Nations territories. Our members provide critical services in child protection, family support, mental health, services for children and youth with disabilities, newcomer support, food security, and more.

We strengthen and support our members through advocacy, professional development and collaborative leadership. We are also a strong voice for the community social services sector as a whole.

The sector employs over 53,000 workers, more than 75 per cent of whom are women, and is the backbone of care for hundreds of thousands of people living in British Columbia. Federation members report more than $1.3 billion in non-charitable revenue annually, a testament to their unwavering commitment to the cause.

The community social services sector serves individuals and families who are often marginalized: low-income households, people with disabilities, children in care, seniors, and those facing mental health and addiction challenges. These individuals are frequently blamed for their circumstances when, in reality, they are navigating the compounded effects of chronic underfunding and systemic inequities.

We need to address this injustice, strengthen our social care systems, and invest in the foundational building blocks of a healthy society.

This will not be possible without a commitment to meaningful collaboration between and across government and community-based organizations to co-develop policies, improve service delivery and achieve better outcomes for children, youth, families and communities.

Systemic underfunding and workforce strain

At a recent Federation session meeting with over 50 member organizations, three interrelated and urgent priorities emerged, each deeply connected to recruitment, retention and staff well-being:

Administrative funding formulas are outdated and do not accurately reflect the true cost of doing business in 2025. They also exclude critical costs such as cybersecurity, technology, inflation and rising insurance premiums.

Wage benchmarks have not kept pace with inflation or comparable sectors, creating a growing compensation gap that undermines workforce stability and includes the gap between union and non-union workers.

Mental health supports for staff are almost entirely unfunded, despite widespread burnout and trauma exposure, especially in high-stress frontline roles.

These gaps compound one another. Workers are underpaid and expected to provide services in increasingly complex environments with inadequate staffing, supervision or infrastructure. At the same time, many organizations must fundraise just to cover operational necessities, such as inflation, technology, insurance and administrative support. Staff are left without access to the mental health resources required to sustain them in challenging roles. These are just some of the challenges contributing to the sector’s destabilization.

Our budget recommendations are tied directly to these priorities:

Update administrative funding formulas and contracts to reflect the current realities of supporting children and families in their communities, including cybersecurity, insurance, IT, technology and inflation.

Increase wage benchmarks and index contracts to the Consumer Price Index to address competitive gaps and wage inequities among union and non-union employees, as well as those with Indigenous Service Programs.

Fund mental health supports and universal practice-based supervision, such as clinical supervision, to protect staff and reduce burnout.

A workforce in crisis

The 2024 Employee Turnover Report by the Community Social Services Employer’s Association underscores this crisis:

Sector-wide turnover in 2023 was 25 per cent. One in four workers left their job!

Over 88 per cent of those who left had fewer than five years of service.

Nearly 60 per cent of exits were voluntary, and only 13.6 per cent of workers remained in the sector.

Turnover in Northern B.C. and Indigenous Services ranged from 30 per cent to 44 per cent.

The workforce is predominantly made up of women (75 per cent), immigrants (31 per cent), and Indigenous or racialized individuals (40 per cent). When these workers are unsupported and undervalued, the system suffers, and so do the people who rely on it.

Additional data from the Social Services Labour Market Research Project shows:

Nearly 50 per cent of organizations struggle to retain their staff.

Almost 60 per cent face difficulty attracting qualified candidates.

More than 50 per cent of frontline workers earn so little that they qualify for subsidized housing in cities such as Kelowna, Kamloops and Victoria.

The Representative for Children and Youth further confirm the impacts:

Staff report inadequate supervision, overwhelming caseloads and emotional exhaustion.

These conditions contribute directly to poor youth outcomes and institutional instability.

Indigenous-serving agencies are disproportionately affected by workforce instability. CSSEA data indicate that turnover rates in Indigenous Services programs, particularly on Vancouver Island, are as high as 44 per cent. Statistics Canada confirms that Indigenous staff are more likely to hold jobs for under 12 months (24.3 per cent vs. 19.1 per cent) and far less likely to remain long-term (only 24.6 per cent stay 10+ years). This instability undermines culturally safe relationships and weakens the ability to provide effective, consistent care.

Underfunding creates harm, not just shortages

The province’s commitment to a child and youth well-being strategy, as outlined in the Don’t Look Away report and endorsed in all 25 recommendations, signals a critical moment for government to act across ministries. However, realizing this vision will be impossible in the current climate of systemic underfunding. Effective cross-government collaboration, prevention and culturally safe care cannot be achieved without adequate investment in the community organizations delivering these services.

RCY’s 2024 reports revealed:

Of the 6,905 serious injuries or deaths reported among children and youth, 52 per cent occurred in staffed residential care.

A 150 per cent increase in injuries among 6–12-year-olds in group homes since 2020.

Youths describe a lack of structure, support, and meaningful connection in care settings.

This is what happens when frontline workers are asked to shoulder entire systems without adequate resources, fair compensation or access to mental health support. Investing in workforce wellness is not optional; it is critical to delivering safe and effective services.

Addressing the administrative funding gap

Federation members report that most contracts still rely on outdated cost assumptions. Inflation, rising technology needs and increased insurance premiums have far outpaced these models. For example, one youth residential program received no increases in contract funding for utilities, clothing or technology since 2015. Another member shared that fuel and mileage rates are based on a 2013 funding model. A litre of unleaded gas in Victoria in January 2013 cost on average $1.15. In January 2025, one litre in Victoria cost, on average, $1.75. That is a $.60-cent difference.

A 2022 internal Federation survey found that 40 per cent of agencies were actively fundraising to cover basic administrative costs — such as technology upgrades, professional supervision or insurance — highlighting a chronic underfunding of infrastructure supports.

Investing upstream saves money

B.C.’s community social services sector is facing rising demand, rising costs and stagnant funding. Without sustainable investment, our prevention infrastructure will fail, and that failure will result in dramatically higher downstream costs in policing, emergency care and institutional systems.

Prevention is not a cost; it is an investment. Studies show that every $1 spent on upstream supports saves $2–$10 in future public spending:

Early childhood intervention: every $1 invested can yield $4–$9 in long-term savings (Heckman Equation).

Mental health promotion: each $1 invested can save $2–$7 in hospitalization, justice and emergency costs (Mental Health Commission of Canada).

Housing First programs: every $1 invested in Housing First approaches can save $2.17 to $3.42 in public system costs, particularly in health care, justice and shelter services (At Home/Chez Soi Study).

Youth justice diversion: evidence-based family and youth interventions (e.g., functional family therapy) yield returns of $8–$10 per $1 spent by avoiding incarceration, emergency response and child welfare involvement (Washington State Institute for Public Policy).