The Service Provider Portal (not viewable by parents) is used by Service Providers to submit invoices for reimbursement. This has allowed payments to occur in a more timely fashion.
The “My Family Services” website allows families to monitor their funding, submit documents to the AFU and assign their autism funds to service providers. As a parent there are some things that you need to know.
The Good
Service providers have the right to be paid on time and the Service Provider Portal goes a long way to making that happen. Instead of submitting a paper invoice, they complete the online form and are paid almost immediately. It also allows the service provider to see when a Request to Pay (RTP) or a Request to Amend (RTA) has been processed, and the system keeps a running total of how much funding is left.
The Bad
A paper invoice for the family is not required. The service portal will not accept an excel invoice which most Behaviour Consultants (BC) have used for their invoicing in the past. It may be tempting for a minority of service providers to not provide a separate invoice for their clients, leaving them out of the loop.
The Ugly
In my experience most service providers are completely honest and ethical however as with any group of people there are always a few disreputable characters. This new system allows fraud to occur at a much faster pace with the families unaware of what is happening until it is too late. Sadly, MCFD has not been monitoring the RASP list and sanctioning individuals as needed.
What Can You Do?
As a parent, you must monitor “My Family Services” to be aware of all billing as well as funds remaining. It is imperative that you monitor this and contact the AFU the minute you realize that fraudulent billing is taking place. You also need to be aware that the service provider may cancel or amend their invoice after the fact.
The moment you suspect fraudulent billing is taking place, you must contact the AFU and amend the RTP form to stop further charges. The feedback that I have been getting is that once the money is gone, you are not getting it back.
Autism Funding in BC 