FAMILY SERVICES
Family Support Program
The Family Support Program’s goal is to empower and promote healing in our communities from a First Nations perspective for all people of native ancestry in unity.
As Family Support Workers, we are here to:
- Respect your confidentiality;
- Provide support;
- Liaise (maintain communication & cooperation) between you and MCFD or USMA social workers;
- Attend family case planning conferences, family group conferences or family court.
The Family Support Program is here to:
- Provide service to people of Aboriginal ancestry and their families;
- Support and advocate at meetings (e.g. MCFD, legal aid, family court);
- Assist families to develop, meet and maintain personal and family goals;
- Develop a safety plan;
- Provide parental education and support;
- Develop a support network;
- Assist families to identify and access community resources (e.g. food bank, housing, legal aid, counseling, health care, budgeting, nutrition);
- Referrals to other programs such as CAP-C, AIDP, counseling, Blade Runners, Head Start, Youth Group, Family Group Conference, Speech and Language, Occupational Therapy;
- Provide supervised visits.
Stopping the Violence
This program responds to the needs of adult women and their dependent children who have experienced, or are at risk of violence. Agencies support women to identify and access the services they need through supportive counselling and referral to community services. Agencies provide community education to raise awareness about the effect of violence against women and the services needed to address it. As needed, agencies provide local transportation, accompaniment and advocacy.
Services are available to ALL women (Aboriginal or non-Aboriginal) who reside in the Campbell River & Gold River area who have experienced abuse, sexual assault, violence in relationship or childhood abuse, or are threatened by risk of abuse, sexual assault or violence and who are in need of support. The program also provides support groups and offers education sessions as needed.
Stopping The Violence Outreach Program – click to read or download
Collaborative Planning
Our Collaborative Conference Planning Program is a consent-based process which hosts Family Group Conferences and Traditional Decision-Making meetings.
A Family Group Conference is a shared decision-making meeting for families, it is strength-based and future-focused.
Its purpose is to bring together family, professionals, and others who care about the child(ren) to talk and create a long-term plan that will support the child(ren) to remain safe and to grow to be healthy adults.
The Coordinator will work with the family to develop a list of people who are important in the child(ren)’s life, such as:
- Parents and their children
- Extended family members – i.e. – Aunts, uncles, grandparents
- Other people you consider part of your family – i.e. – neighbours and close friends
- Members of your community
- Spiritual leaders, elders, and other spiritual supports
- People who support your family – i.e. – Teachers, doctors, or counselors
The Coordinator will host a meeting that is child-centered in which information will be shared about the child(ren)’s strengths and what is going well for them.
The Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) social worker will briefly speak to the legal status of the child(ren) and they or another worker will explain Out of Care Options for the family.
Where applicable, Designated Band Representatives, Chiefs, and Indigenous Family Services Representatives will share their nations’ policies on child placement and what services and supports the nation has to offer at that time and throughout the child(ren)’s life.
The family will then meet privately to create concurrent plans to address permanency placement if needed along with how familial and cultural connections will be fostered throughout the child(ren)’s life.
The family will then propose their plan(s) to the group and the MCFD social worker to review.
During the course of the day, the Coordinator will keep the focus of the meeting on the future and child-centered and will document the conversation and plan for review.
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