How will the Disability Benefit be paid, and can I keep my current therapists?

Right now there is one way the Disability Benefit is paid: the Invoicing Pathway. The Government of BC says it is currently the only available payment pathway.

How the Invoicing Pathway works, according to the province:

• Your family chooses and works with service providers directly.

• Providers invoice the ministry, and the ministry pays those invoices from your child's yearly funding, so you do not handle the money.

• The ministry may also reimburse you, or pay a supplier directly, for approved equipment, supplies, training or travel. Under the current policy these can use up to 20% of the yearly funding.

Because you choose the providers, you can keep therapists you already work with, as long as the service is an eligible disability-related support.

The province says it is planning a direct payment option and an option coordinated by an authorized agency, and will share details later. Earlier provincial material described three options, so if you read about those, check whether they are available yet.

Whatever the pathway, funding must go to supports that are needed because of your child's disability and that help their functioning and daily life. The province's Invoicing Pathway Operational Policy lists eligible and ineligible expenses, and the province says updates are coming, so check before committing to a new service.

This is from the Government of BC's published pages and policy, checked in October 2026, and details may change.

KidStart is asking families which supports they would protect first if their funding changes. Our anonymous five-minute survey lets you vote: it decides which of five options KidStart builds first for 2027: small group sessions, parent coaching, shorter therapy blocks, payment plans or help with the Disability Tax Credit.