Today's families are faced with a multitude of challenges that place great demands on their resources. Strong family systems provide support for successfully meeting these demands and for encouraging the healthy emotional and physical growth of family members. We believe that strong families, which provide a support system to guide individuals through various life stages and life events, are the foundation for strong communities.
Building positive, healthy interactions between family members is an important key to family preservation. The Family Development Program is designed to focus on strengthening family and individual relationships, with the objective of building healthy families.
The Family Development Program is flexible and responsive, offering services within the family that address specific needs. Service delivery is based on an Integrated Case Management approach, which is centred on and driven by the young people and families we serve, and closely involves the significant others and professionals in their lives. Family Development Program staff help the family determine its own strengths and direction, and support the family in making practical and lasting change.
Services offered through the Family Development Program include:
- Individual and/or brief family therapy
- Parenting skills instruction
- Assistance and advocacy to help parents access community, support and personal services
- Family development support
- Individual and group work with children, youth and/or families
- Social skills groups for children
How the Family Development Program Can Help
The Family Development Program empowers families to achieve self-sufficiency through the provision of services that support the healthy development of children, youth, and adults. The program helps families identify strengths, address obstacles, and work to set and attain goals. Through the Family Development Program, support is provided to enable families to develop the skills and knowledge necessary to meet their own needs. Service times and venues are flexible to ensure we meet the needs of the individual families we serve.
Family Development Program staff are qualified professionals with experience in providing a wide range of family support services. We offer instruction in areas that impact the family and influence family preservation, including:
- Parenting skills
- Household maintenance and routines
- Problem-solving skills
- Discipline techniques
The Family Development Program aims to:
- Help children, youth and families increase their social and interpersonal skills
- Connect children, youth and families to peer and community supports and resources to reduce social isolation
- Help children, youth and families increase their practice of a safe and healthy lifestyle
- Help parents understand and value the needs of their children and develop the capacity to meet these needs
- Help parents gain the skills and knowledge needed to care for their children and safely maintain them in the family home
- Help children, youth and families increase their knowledge and understanding of personal strengths, abilities and needs
- Help youth gain the skills necessary to care for themselves independently in the community
Participation
The Family Development Program is open to families in Burnaby and New Westminster by referral only. Referrals to the program are accepted from Ministry of Children and Family Development teams in Burnaby and New Westminster.
Funding for this program is provided by the Ministry of Children and Family Development.