INNISFAIL — Town council has signed off on a staff recommendation to release $20,000 of surplus Family and Community Support Services (FCSS) funding, with most going to “critical” programming for the Chinook’s Edge School Division.
During council’s regular meeting on July 13, Karen Bradbury, the town’s community and social development coordinator, said the FCSS Advisory Board met on June 24 to discuss recommendations for FCSS surplus grant funding distribution of $20,000 that is available for the remainder of 2020.
Council was reminded that due to recent provincial funding cuts, FCSS has seen a decrease of a little more than $43,000 in its overall 2020 budget for local programming. This left the FCSS Advisory Board with a maximum of $128,809 to use for external programs and/or FCSS initiatives.
Earlier this year, council approved distributions for 2020 totalling $99,100, which left $29,709 for future programs or services in 2020.
At a FCSS board meeting last May, $9,709 was approved for FCSS website updates during COVID-19. This left $20,000 remaining, which was dealt with on June 24.
Council then approved a recommendation to give $14,144 to Chinook’s Edge and $5,856 to Wolf Creek Primary Care.
Mayor Jim Romane wanted to know more about Chinook’s Edge’s successful grant, and how the funding would benefit the school board and its students and families.
Bradbury said she applied earlier this year for additional funding for Chinook’s Edge to support its Family School Wellness Program, but was not successful and neither was Chinooks’ Edge.
“They took a major, major hit as it had a big impact on their programming,” said Bradbury. “They requested this little bit of extra assistance for this year. It’s not new programming, but they are having to restructure in the way they are doing programming.”
Bradbury added it has been funded for several years, as it’s a “critical” program for the board. She said the town has a “very good” working relationship with the entire school wellness team.
“It’s very beneficial to the students and the families. It’s really relied on heavily,” she said.
Bradbury told council the Red Deer Catholic Regional School system has a similar program called Family Enhancement Counsellors, which supports the social, emotional and mental wellness of students and families within their homes, schools and communities through early intervention and prevention.
