Alberta offers strike assistance of up to $300 per week for students with complex care needs

Parents can apply through an online parent portal starting Oct. 14.

The province announced on Friday that families with complex care needs will soon be eligible to receive as much as $300 in financial support per school week during the ongoing strike. CBC / Radio-Canada

Cameron MacCuish, CBC News Edmonton Oct 10, 2025

Families of children with complex care needs will get extra financial support during the ongoing teachers’ strike, the province announced Friday.

The Alberta government said it will provide as much as $300 per five-day school week for families with children who have Family Support for Children with Disabilities (FSCD) agreements and are enrolled in schools affected by the strike.

It said families of children with active FSCD agreements will be eligible for daily payments of $30 for children 12 and under and $60 for children 13 and older. The daily rate is based on school days.

The province said this funding is in addition to its previously announced parent payment program providing $30 per school day for all children aged 12 and under, totalling $60 per school day.

Parents can apply for the new funding through the online parent portal, which will be open on Oct. 14.

The province said funds for these financial supports are redirected from teacher salaries that will not be paid during the strike.

Keltie Marshall, co-founder of Hold My Hand Alberta, a group that advocates for children with disabilities and their families, said the funding is a relief but still won’t be enough compared to what’s needed.

“It definitely will not cover anywhere near what we are paying, but we’re not going to be ungrateful,” she said. “That’s not a position that we’re in.”

Gillian Holloway is a parent from Fort McMurray who works in the child-care sector. She also has two nine-year-old twins who both have active FSCD agreements.

She said $60 a day is a “step in the right direction,” but won’t come close to covering her twins’ daily child-care costs.

Holloway said that while she is fortunate to be able to work from home on some days to take care of her children, a full eight-hour day of child care for her twins costs $280 each.

“I don’t make $500 a day to pay for child care,” she said. “So then while $60 a day for my children will definitely be helpful, it doesn’t quite put a dent in the $280 for each of them.”

Cameron MacCuish Associate Producer

Cameron MacCuish is an associate producer for CBC Edmonton. You can reach him at cameron.maccuish@cbc.ca

With files from Lina Elsaadi

Source CBC News Edmonton