Community belonging: A system-level approach for municipalities to address ableism and advance participation and belonging for children with disabilities and their families
Date
2025-07-15
Authors
Skinner, Morgan
Newbury, Janet
Gerlach, Alison
Kubota, Meriko
Berggren, Tabatha
Benckhuysen, Chianne
McWade, Frankie
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Vancouver Coastal Health, BC Healthy Communities, and University of Victoria
Abstract
In 2021, the Accessible BC Act[1] was passed as law, and came into force in 2022. In 2022, two of the project team members published a report called “I just want to see my child thrive”: Parents pushing for equity and inclusion in the child care system in BC.[2] One of the findings of that study was that children who were being excluded from childcare on the basis of their disabilities were often excluded from other opportunities in their home communities. A subsequent literature review which found that addressing systemic ableism requires community-based approaches was the catalyst for this project.