New benefit limits would make it harder for some Alberta families to adopt, advocates say

Adoption advocates say a provincial cost-saving move to income test some support funding could deprive children of essential therapies and stop some families from adopting.

"It's actually going to cost the government more money because you're going to lose permanent homes," said Nicole Bull, a foster parent and president of the Calgary Region Foster and Kinship Association.

"I've heard people saying that they're not going to be able to apply for permanency of the children in their homes because they won't be able to cover those additional costs."

Families who adopt or assume permanent guardianship of children in Alberta are eligible for financial help called supports for permanency (SFP). Part of that funding is a "basic maintenance rate" that gives families between $25 and $38 a day, depending on the child's age, to help offset expenses.

Should the 2025 provincial budget pass as drafted, the department of children and family services will no longer pay the basic maintenance rate to families whose household income is above $180,000 a year. Those families stand to lose at least $9,000 in assistance per year for each adopted child.

Department officials say 4,600 Alberta families receive SFP funding.

At a news conference earlier this week, Children and Family Services Minister Searle Turton said the majority of families earn below the threshold and won't lose the funding. The province has not answered a question about how many families are affected.

The change is expected to save the province $3 million per year.

The new cap on benefits also comes alongside a bill that cancels a program announced in 2023 that would have provided dental, optical and other health benefits for adopted children. That change is also expected to save about $3 million per year. 

However, Turton also announced on Monday the rates of government support for foster, kinship and adoptive families will go up by two per cent to help with the increasing costs of living.

Qualifying for the basic maintenance rate hasn't been income tested for about 20 years, according to a government spokesperson. At the time, only adoptive families earning less than $60,000 a year qualified for basic maintenance.

In addition to her teen daughter, Bull is caring for five children aged three and under: two foster children, one adopted child and two children she and her husband hope to adopt.

She said the proposed new ceiling to qualify for benefits arrived without consultation with families or an analysis of the long-term impacts.

Bull said the cap will mean higher income families now fostering children would lose basic maintenance funding if they adopt the children, which could discourage them from becoming permanent guardians. That is counter to the province's goal of finding more permanent homes for children, she said.

"Every single child deserves a stable and loving home, and that permanency piece is so important to know that they belong," Bull said. "There is nothing more unsettling for a child to be in a home and not sure if that home is going to be their home next month or next year."

She said the province initially agreed to provide financial support for adopted children until they turn 18.

Parent says changes don't reflect kids' complex needs

Melissa McArthur, a Fort Saskatchewan parent who has permanent guardianship of two children, says income testing could affect whether her husband could work overtime or accept a bonus, worrying it could risk the family losing thousands of dollars in government support if they exceed the income cap.

McArthur isn't working because she says meeting the kids' complex needs and navigating bureaucracy to get the support her children deserve is a full-time job.

"These take a toll and burn us out," McArthur said. "It's taking away pieces of me, and time. Time that belonged to my children."

She says income testing financial support fails to recognize the complexity of these children's needs.

Foster children often have trauma, and need counselling beyond what the province covers, she said. Her son has behavioural challenges, and McArthur drives him daily to a school in Ardrossan with a specialized program. 

She said her son needs to keep busy with activities like swimming and indoor playgrounds to manage behavioural issues. 

McArthur also fears the government will lower the income testing threshold in the future to save more money, disqualifying more families from receiving benefits.

A department spokesperson said government has no plans to do this.

In response to questions on Monday about reintroducing income testing, Turton said all families still qualify for other aid, including funds for respite care, counselling, travel costs for First Nations children to engage in cultural activities, orthodontic treatments, and others.

Parents say they have to constantly prove they qualify for this funding, and it doesn't cover the true cost of services.

Turton said the government will keep communicating with affected families about their needs and see if any will be "onerously financially burdened" by the change.

"With the additional supports that we've given to fostering and kinship caregivers, other responses been pretty positive," he said.

NDP children and family services critic Diana Batten called the addition of income testing "cruel" to the people involved.

"This change to supports for permanency is really going to make it difficult for new families to even think about engaging in the process of adoption," she said.