Issues and Policy Although raising a child with a disability can be rewarding, caregivers, including parents, and their overall family unit face diverse issues. In particular, there tends to be a misalignment between these individuals’ needs and the supports available to them. A policy that attempts to relieve some of the financial burden of caring for children with disabilities is Canada’s Child Disability Benefit (CDB). The official data is outdated, but there were just over 200,000 children with an identified disability in Canada as of 2006 (“Disability in”, 2006) and this number has likely grown. This issue has an international scope, with almost 240 million children in the world with some type of disability, according to 2023 data (“Children …show more content…
Another direct stakeholder is those who live with the child and are primarily responsible for their care, including parents, grandparents, and foster parents (“What is”, 2024). Also, a group that is indirectly affected by this policy is the other members of these families, given that caring for children with disabilities can disrupt relationships among caregivers, their spouse/partner, and the children’s siblings. For people with unpredictable disabilities, individuals can experience caregiver burden when their situation overwhelms their resources and they are not able to effectively meet their own needs and those of the rest of the family (Resch et al., 2010). Furthermore, the policy involves the medical practitioners who are required to fill out Form T2201 to confirm the child has a prolonged and severe disability (“What is”, 2024). They play a significant role in determining whether these families will qualify to receive the financial benefit. Institutions that families of children with disabilities interact with, such as the education and service system, have a stake in the CDB as well since they can influence the process of seeking resources. Finally, the Canadian government and taxpayers are involved in determining whether this policy is adequately …show more content…
Considering that it would cost the country $24 to $31 billion every year if informal caregivers were paid for their labour (Bernier, 2014), introducing a caregiver benefit or increasing the amounts paid for the Child Disability Benefit is a justified solution. Caring for children with disabilities can be physically demanding and time-consuming, while negatively impacting employment as well as family and social relationships. Consequently, family caregivers are at heightened risk of depression and health issues, which is compounded by the fact that they are less likely to engage in preventive health practices (Resch et al., 2010). Given that caregivers’ quality of life is significantly dependent on their ability to access support, increased financial aid can be used towards services like respite care, which may not only better meet the needs of the children with disabilities, but also those of other family members. Similarly, the parents of these children are more likely to experience marital discord. With improved benefits, they will have more flexibility to spend on resources such as counselling, so the entire family unit is not adversely affected. For example, New Brunswick offers over $100 a month to those who care for individuals with disabilities, with only a few
The quality of child care in the United States leaves room for improvement. According to (Deborah, L., Vandell, & Barbara, W.), suggest that when low-income families received child care, mothers are more likely to keep doctor’s appointments and decrease their stress level. The cost of child care is having a huge impact on the careers of working parents and people with disabilities. According to the case study of Katy Adams is one that conveys the message of different facets of stress and, how it impacts a person’s health and well been. Stress plays a vital role in a person’s overall health. One of the non-medical problems of Katy’s Adams case study is related to denial of child care services because she was hospitalized and was unable to
Strong-Boag, V. (2010). Forgotten people of all the forgotten: children with disabilities in English Canada from the nineteenth century to the new millennium. In Gleason, M., Myers, T., Paris, L. & Strong-Boag, V. Lost Kids: Vulnerable children and youth in twentieth-century Canada and the United States (pp 33-50). Vancouver, BC: UBC Press
Parents who are supported in their caregiving role are better able to nurture their children, who have a better chance to grow up to be productive, contributing members of society. Research has demonstrated that programs such as parenting education, support groups, and home visiting are effective and produce positive, significant results for parents and their children. (p. 75)
Over time, the debate of childcare issue within the Canadian public policy context has been raging. Rise in the media attention of the social issue of childcare policy in Canada concentrates on the relationship and coordination among the federal, provincial, and territorial governments in addressing the social issue (Finkel, 20013). According to Lewis Steven of The Star Canada News Agency, childcare is one of the priorities the Canadian Federal Government need to consider when designing its social policies. According to Lewis (2013), the Canadian Federal Government needs to consider the safety net income as an important factor contributing to affordable childcare services in the country. In Canada, parents or members of extended family have the responsibility of providing childcare services without the consideration of family net income. However, outside the family, there are many childcare providers operating as private individuals or agencies. Such childcare providers operate as private businesses.
As a parent, learning that your child has developmental disabilities can be a life-altering moment in time and can cause a devastating chain reaction of events. These events have the potential to change family priorities and structure, hurt relationships, deplete financial savings and stability, and emotionally drain everyone intimately involved with you and your child. How do you find human services programs, agencies, or advocates, whose primary job is to help you provide everything your child needs? It certainly can be an overwhelming barrier, but it's the first step in giving you, your child, and your family a plan of action, goals, success, good mental health, and bringing everyone back together. What are Developmental Disabilities?
Family caregivers are sometimes referred to as “secondary patients,” who deserve and require sanctuary and direction (Reinhard, Given, Petlick, & Bemis, 2008). Margaret’s husband Edward and daughter Sally, Despite giving primary care to the age care facility are very much part caregivers themselves and perform an indispensable role in Margaret’s health. Despite this, research on interventions to increase support for family caregivers have lagged far behind those provided for patients (Reinhard et al., 2008). The fami...
Living with a child with special needs can have profound effects on the entire family including the extended family members, siblings, parents, and the child with the special needs. It can affect all aspects of family functioning, since they have to be on the watch for the child. On the positive side, living with a child with special needs can expand horizons, develop family cohesion, increase the family members’ awareness of their inner strength, and promote connections to community groups. On the negative side, this child will need time, physical and emotional demands and financial cost in order to make the child’s life comfortable. However, the impacts will depend on the child’s condition, and its severity, as well as the emotional, physical, and the financial resources available to take care of the child.
The Children and Families Act (2014) outlines requirements to promote the welfare of children and young people who have educational needs and disabilities and children in the care of the local authority.
Written by the playwright Arthur Miller, ‘The Crucible’, circulates around the idea of mass hysteria, the interpretation of Christianity and the power of vengeance. Set in Salem, Massachusetts during 1962 the play magnifies and explores how humans behave in times of uncertainty and fear. The Salem witch hunt highlights ‘one of the strangest and most awful chapters in human history’. Miller uses The Crucible as a form of storytelling to show that the grip of hysteria causes significant damage on any community and or group, such as the impact of McCarthyism in the 1950s. Through the characterization of Abigail Williams, John Proctor and Reverend Hale, the audience is able to see how people respond to crisis with renewed clarity about the themes
...e they have provided. Some states struggle to meet the needs of growing population of children with disability due to lack of funding. Professionals in this field must also enhance their education by continuing their education and continuously conduct research studies. The program effectiveness should always be tested and data collected from parents and caregivers needs to be carefully examined. By doing this, we can make sure children with disability are getting the proper tools for better development.
Working with professionals can seem overwhelming to most families because they have to collaborate and brainstorm with multiple people to gain an understanding of the situation that they are facing. Professionals can learn from parents and vice versa; feelings are real and emotions are real so they should be respected and accepted when dealing with a stressful situation such as disabilities. This affects the field of child and family studies because sometimes it is easy to become judgmental of families without taking into context the level of stress that families are facing. This information will be
Caregivers play an important role in society by giving support and assistance to people who are unable to take care of themselves because of their health, disability, or old age. However, their job is often hard while also being underpaid and undervalued, causing them to struggle paying bills. Underpayment has also caused some protest around the U.S. Most caregivers also experience high levels of stress and sometimes even health problems due to all the stress. This essay explains why caregivers are underpaid and some of the issues this has caused. Gould et al.
November 13, 2013. “Increasing Options and Improving Provision for Children with Special Educational Needs. (SEN).” Gov. UK. Copyright 2018 Crown.
A child with a disability is having someone that has been diagnosed whether at birth, from an illness, or an accident that can leave a person with a disability. Sometime a person may not be diagnosed until years later. This disability which will not allow a person to function on a regular day to day basis. Therefore, someone has to take on that responsibility to assist that child to make sure they are taken care of. A child can be born with multiple disabilities and this is only to name a few: Down’s Syndrome, Autism, Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder(ADHD), Mental Retardation. Each disability can be different. Some can be more severe than others. they can come from different cultures and financial status. Even as a person grows older a disability can occur.
In society today, there are many children and parents who face the diagnosis of having a developmental disability that would qualify them for special education and needs. This time can come with many questions for the parents when they realize the specialized care and education their child will need. Most often, questions arise about their schooling and how they will be included with other children, as well as what services are available to their child. How their disability impacts their life is a very valid concern because their education will be impacted. When a disability is discovered, it effects trickle down from the child to the parents, to the teachers and finally the medical and educational specialists.