The first cohort of Kids Brain Health Network’s (KBHN) Alliance for Disability Voices, Advocacy, and National Community Empowerment (ADVANCE) Network Fellows have mapped how disability programs are unique across Canada, and we are pleased to share their findings in this report summary.

The ADVANCE Network is a joint initiative between KBHN and the Disability Policy Research Program at the University of Calgary. This initiative supports early-career researchers working to improve disability policy through co-designed research and community-led solutions.

“Eligibility criteria, wait times and the way services are coordinated across ministries all shape who can access disability supports – and who is left out,” said Dr. Jennifer Zwicker, co-lead of the ADVANCE Network. “Our first cohort of ADVANCE Fellows has examined these challenges across Canada. Co-designing this research with community partners, families and people with lived and living experience is essential to asking the right questions and developing policy solutions that reflect the needs of those who rely on these supports.”

The Fellows — Kelsey Seguin, Dr. Laura Mudde, Dr. Meaghan Reitzel, and Dr. Sarah Raza built on an existing disability policy report that inventoried programs across the country. Their pan-Canadian analyses go a step further, comparing and contrasting how disability policies differ from one region to the next.

Each Fellow focused on one of the four priority areas of the ADVANCE Network, working with ADVANCE Network partners, parent and family advisors, and academics to identify national trends, gaps, and opportunities for change.

Meet the Fellows and their research streams:

Dr. Laura Mudde

Access and Exclusion

Dr. Mudde analyzed who accesses, and who is excluded from, disability-related early intervention and developmental support. Her work points to the need to make visible those left out of current systems and to connect those inequities to actionable solutions and measurable outcomes.

Dr. Sarah Raza

Program Types and Governmental Efficiency

Dr. Raza mapped ministerial responsibilities for delivering disability services and assessed efficiency across systems. Her findings underscore that better coordination across ministries and levels of government and a move toward trust-based, inclusive eligibility will be critical to a more equitable disability policy landscape.

Dr. Meaghan Reitzel

Eligibility and Design

Dr. Reitzel developed a comparative analysis of how disability is defined across Canada’s income support programs. Her work highlights how eligibility criteria and income support interact to either promote or limit inclusion, and how evolving definitions of disability could better reflect lived experience.

Kelsey Seguin

Access Trajectory

Kelsey examined differences in wait times for children’s programs across provinces and territories, reinforcing the value of comparative, data-informed, and narrative approaches to inform policy and advocacy.

Through research and knowledge mobilization, the ADVANCE Network works to improve the design, delivery, and equitable access of disability programs for children, youth, and young adults (ages 0–25) and their families. Still in its early stages, the Network already brings together community partners from across Canada alongside researchers and people with lived and living experience. It is co-led by Dr. Jennifer Zwicker, Dr. Lucy Lach, Dr. Keiko Shikako, Dr. Michelle Phoenix, Dr. Grant Bruno, Genevieve Currie, Logan Wong, and Sharon McCarry.

Together, the ADVANCE Fellows are laying the groundwork for meaningful change for children and youth with disabilities, and their families across Canada.