(L to R: Dr. Meaghan Reitzel, Dr. Laura Mudde, Kelsey Seguin, and Dr. Sarah Raza).

On December 3, 2025, Kids Brain Health Network’s (KBHN) ADVANCE (Alliance for Disability Voices, Advocacy, and National Community Empowerment) Network Fellows participated in a virtual symposium panel at the Disability Without Poverty 2025 Research Symposium: Learning from Today to Make Tomorrow Better, hosted by Disability Without Poverty. 

The panel titled, “Navigating Disability Policy Across Canada: Current Status and Future Directions,” was moderated by Brittany Finlay, Senior Research Associate in the Disability Policy Research Program (DiPo) at the School of Public Policy, University of Calgary, co-lead of the ADVANCE Network. The panel featured ADVANCE fellows, Dr. Laura Mudde, Dr. Sarah Raza, Dr. Meaghan Reitzel, and Kelsey Seguin. 

During the panel discussion, the Fellows presented key findings from an ADVANCE Network event hosted in October. At that event, each of the Fellows shared a high-level overview of pan-Canadian data on disability-related policies and programs aligned with a specific region in Canada, which they had compiled in advance. Based on these discussions, the Fellows delineated four key areas of focus to guide the Network’s efforts to improve access to disability services and supports across Canada. They also facilitated breakout discussions with community partners and people with lived experience to identify opportunities and challenges associated with each focus area. 

Through analysis of their findings and engagement with participants during the breakout discussions, the Fellows presented the following focus areas and key outcomes during the panel. 

 

ADVANCE Fellow focus areas and future research:   

Dr. Laura Mudde – Access and Exclusion:  

The need to identify and make visible those excluded from current systems, and to connect these inequities to actionable solutions and measurable outcomes. Dr. Mudde also shared that participants emphasized the value of comparative, data-informed, and narrative approaches to inform policy and advocacy efforts. 

Dr. Mudde will analyze who accesses and who is excluded from accessing disability-related early intervention and developmental support. 

 

Dr. Sarah Raza – Program Types and Governmental Efficiency:  

The emphasis on improving coordination across ministries and levels of government and moving toward trust-based, inclusive eligibility systems will be critical to building a more accessible and equitable disability policy landscape in Canada. 

Dr. Raza will explore mapping ministerial responsibilities for delivering disability services and assessing efficiency across systems. 

 

Dr. Meaghan Reitzel – Eligibility and Design:  

The need to clarify how eligibility criteria and income support interact to either promote or limit inclusion. Participants identified opportunities for the ADVANCE Network to examine how definitions of disability could evolve to reflect lived experience, reduce inequities, and promote more equitable policy outcomes. 

Meaghan will develop a comparative analysis of how disability is defined across Canada’s income support programs. 

 

Kelsey Seguin – Access Trajectory:  

The need to identify and make visible those excluded from current systems, and to connect these inequities to actionable solutions and measurable outcomes. Participants emphasized the value of comparative, data-informed, and narrative approaches to inform policy and advocacy efforts. 

Kelsey will examine differences in wait times for children’s programs across provinces and territories. 

 

Participating in this virtual panel provided the Fellows with a valuable opportunity to share their research findings with a broader audience that included people with lived experience, service providers, academic, and community researchers. The next step is to compile the findings from each of the Fellows’ focus areas and share them in an upcoming provincial and territorial report.  

 

About the ADVANCE Network 

The ADVANCE Network Fellows are part of a newly established initiative jointly led by DiPo and KBHN: the ADVANCE Network. The ADVANCE Network supports early-career researchers who are working to improve disability policy through participatory research and community-led solutions. Although still in its early stages, the Network has brought together community partners from across Canada—including DWP—alongside researchers and people with lived experience.  

Through research and knowledge mobilization, the ADVANCE Network aims to improve the design, delivery, and equitable access to disability programs for children, youth, and young adults (ages 0–25) and their families. Together, the ADVANCE Network Fellows are laying the critical groundwork for driving meaningful change for youth with disabilities and their families across Canada.