Strengthening Supports for Nova Scotia’s Children and Families

November 30, 2015

Nova Scotians will soon have access to new programs that support stronger families in the province.

Community Services Minister Joanne Bernard today, Nov. 30, announced $1.2 million in funding for Stronger Families NS, which offers early intervention and prevention programs.

“I’m proud to signal a new direction for child welfare in Nova Scotia,” said Ms. Bernard. “This is about working with families earlier, and drawing on their strengths to find solutions before more serious situations, or a crisis, can develop.

“We all want children to be safe and supported and parents to have the tools they need to raise healthy families. That’s the point of these programs and our efforts to strengthen the Children and Family Services Act.”

“We all have a part to play in reaching out to offer support and assistance to our families,” said JoAnna LaTulippe-Rochon, executive director of Cape Breton’s Family Place. “We’re aware that children, young people and families are often best served by connections in their own neighbourhoods and communities.”

Stronger Families NS will do this by enhancing prevention and early intervention programs in child welfare. The goal is to work more closely with community partners to meet the diverse needs of families in need of support.

Some of the programs being funded under Stronger Families NS are:
— expansion of the successful Parenting Journey program to 15 new communities across Nova Scotia
— new, culturally relevant programs will be added in Aboriginal, African-Nova Scotian and Acadian communities
–-Family Connections, a new program, will provide increased training for Parenting Journey staff so they can better support attachment relationships between parents and children
–Families Plus, an intensive family preservation pilot program in Cape Breton, will offer more practical and clinical support to strengthen families at increased risk. It will be developed by Family Services of Eastern Nova Scotia.

In Cape Breton the Native Council of Nova Scotia will offer a culturally specific Parenting Journey program and Cape Breton’s Family Place Resource Centre will receive additional funding to expand its Parenting Journey program. The names of other communities and organizations getting the programs will be announced soon.

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Media Contact: Heather Fairbairn
902-717-2151
Email: Heather.Fairbairn@novascotia.ca

NT5