As the Semaine québécoise des personnes handicapées gets underway, Soulanges MNA Marilyne Picard announces the deployment of various measures to better support people with disabilities and their families. This announcement was made along with the Minister responsible for Social Services, Lionel Carmant, and the Minister for the Family, Suzanne Roy.

As announced in Finance Minister Éric Girard's recent budget, the government is adding $4.4 million over five years to improve financial support for parents of disabled children. Effective July 1, 2024, changes will be made to the Family Allowance supplements for disabled children.

These changes are designed to better respond to the realities of these families. Families of severely disabled children under 2 years of age will now have access to the supplement for disabled children requiring exceptional care (SEHNSE). They could benefit from nearly $14,000 more annually per eligible child, depending on their condition. This amount is non-taxable and will be indexed annually.

Updates and simplifications will also enable more families to access the Supplement for Disabled Children (SEH). In addition, SEH eligibility criteria will be reviewed to make them easier for parents to understand.

"Improving support for parents of disabled children has been a priority for me for several years. Being in this situation myself, I understand what these parents are going through. It's a commitment that requires courage, dedication and a lot of energy. Every gesture we make to lighten their daily lives is a breath of fresh air, and they'll be very grateful," says Marilyne Picard.

Streamlining and greater flexibility

To simplify the process for families and cut red tape, changes have also been made to the Family Support Program (FSP) for people with disabilities, to better meet their needs.

The main changes include

- Families will now be able to use the sums available to them as they see fit, for the category of services they wish (respite, babysitting, domestic chores, troubleshooting, etc.) up to the amount they wish. This is a major change, as there used to be a threshold for the amount spent on respite and babysitting;

- Benefits will now be paid four times a year, rather than once a year. This change is accompanied by a reduction in the reporting burden for families, which had been an irritant for many.

In addition, the government recently announced a simplified process for families of severely disabled children to apply for home care and support services.

With the authorization of families, Retraite Québec will now be able to transfer the files of disabled children to institutions in the health and social services network. In this way, information will flow more easily. Less paperwork, more efficiency and, above all, more support for these families. This relief targets children admitted to SEHNSE.

"Families asked us to remove certain irritants and make certain processes less cumbersome and more flexible; that's what we've done today. I'm proud of the efforts made in recent years to make Quebec society ever more inclusive, and also to simplify the daily lives of families caring for a loved one living with a disability," adds Lionel Carmant, Minister responsible for Social Services.

"Families with disabled children have a very different reality. It's important for us to give them as many resources and tools as possible to simplify their lives and ensure that their child can develop in the best possible conditions. Today's announcement cuts through the red tape and adds significant financial support for children eligible for SEH and SEHNSE. With an additional $14,000 per year for families, we're making a real difference in their lives," concludes Suzanne Roy, Minister for Families.