Special-needs report damns gov't
24 HOURS
Feb 27
By SEAN HOLMAN

British Columbia's independent child protection watchdog has dropped another bombshell report - this one taking aim at government services for children with special needs.

The report says Community Living British Columbia has continued to deny children with IQs above 70 access to those services. This, despite an appeal court decision last year that said the agency didn't have the authority to use IQ test results as a screener. Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond's report also found a host of other problems in the system - which she described as "complex" and "fragmented" - including "problematic" wait times and a lack of support for families and caregivers. And, during a news conference, she suggested "it may very well be that there needs to be a full-blown external evaluation" of Community Living British Columbia, including its services for adults.

The government has accepted the findings of Turpel-Lafond's report. But, speaking in the legislature, Children and Family Development Minister Tom Christensen tried to put the best face he could on the situation - saying the Liberals have done more for children with autism than the New Democrats ever did….