• Home renovations such as lifts, elevators, ramps, flooring, hallway/door widening, or adding an additional room for developmentally disabled individuals who wish to remain at home and families of children and youth with special needs
• Modifying family vehicles to improve transportation for developmentally disabled individuals and children and youth with special needs

• Establish guiding principles and a process for the evaluation of applications and allocation of funds
• Review and evaluate the grant requests to ensure they comply with the terms of reference for the funds
• Approve financial grants to applicants

Families throughout B.C. who have a child or adult relative with a developmental disability may apply.  Individuals with the disability must reside in their family home, or family-supported home.

Agencies, caregivers and foster parents are not eligible to apply to the Family Independence Fund as the intent is to provide support for families caring for family members in family homes. Although foster parents provide a “family” environment, the government is ultimately responsible for children in care.

The Fund will assist families with grants for expenses needed to accommodate the individual with a disability and enable them to keep their relative at home.

Examples of eligible expenses:

Grants from the Family Independence Fund are not intended to cover the full cost of the project or purchase. The Family Independence Fund should represent a contribution to the project and families are expected to secure additional funding for the total cost.

For renovations and/or vehicle expenses the grant amounts are normally:

• Renovations – not more than $50,000
• Wheelchair-accessible vehicle expenses – not more than $25,000

Recognizing that project costs vary, all applications which appear to be eligible will be considered.

Normally, a family’s application should include requests for any eligible items funded by FIF (i.e. renovation and vehicle). However, we recognize this is not always possible due to delays in quotes or permits. In these situations, families may apply to FIF in two stages (i.e. one time for a vehicle and one-time for home renovation).

The Family Independence Fund has a two-stage application process.

• First stage: Letter of Inquiry (LOI), consists of a very simple, informal two-page proposal to determine if the request meets the general guidelines.  This step saves families the effort of completing the full grant request for ineligible projects.
  
• The LOI form can be found here. Staff will review your Letter of Inquiry and if your request is not eligible for funding, you will be notified by letter indicating the reasons for decline.
  
• Second stage: Full application. Once your Letter of Inquiry is reviewed (2-3 week turnaround) and it is determined that it fits within the FIF guidelines you will be e-mailed (or hardcopy if preferred) a letter and an application form with additional instructions and important information that you will need for completion.
  
• The Advisory Committee (comprised of experts in the areas of disabilities) will review applications on a monthly basis and the Program staff will advise you of the Committee’s decision.

Who makes the decision about the grant?

An Advisory Committee, which is comprised of dedicated volunteers who have extensive experience (personal and professional) in the area of supporting individuals with disabilities, reviews all applications to the Family Independence Fund. These individuals come from regions throughout the province of BC. Their career experience includes work with community organizations, rehabilitation facilities, social services, research and development focused on accessibility supports and support for ethnic groups.

The Family Independence Fund will be paid out in grants over a three-year period beginning in January 2007. Currently there are funds allocated to each of the provincial health regions for each of the three years. This allocation of funds will ensure that families throughout BC will have the opportunity to access grants in a fair and equitable manner.