ST. PAUL – St. Paul Regional Family and Community Support Services (FCSS) presented its quarterly report during a delegation at the April 25 County of St. Paul Public Works meeting, including the progress of the organization's regionalization and program expansions.
The FCSS regionalization that began between the County, Town of Elk Point, and the Town of St. Paul in March of 2022 was completed at the beginning of this year.
Lynn Smid, the FCSS director, reported the organization’s grant from the province will remain unchanged. FCSS will receive around $400,000 within three years from 2023-25. While there are no changes, the grant funding has been consolidated into one grant that will be shared by the three municipalities.
Smid also informed council that a receptionist was hired for the St. Paul office to address the increase in workload, adding that the Lakeland Family Resource Network (LFRN) staff has also been expanded to support the expansion of children and youth programming.
Family Resource Networks (FRN), launched in April of 2020. It provides assistance to children and adolescents from birth up to 18 years old, along with resources for parents and caregivers in Alberta. The local FRN works closely with the Regional FCSS department.
Smid mentioned that FCSS is currently interviewing candidates for the summer coordinator and events coordinator positions. She hopes to have two people hired to start in May and to have high school students hired at the end of June.
FCSS also received an extension for their Aging in Place grant through the federal New Horizons for Seniors program. The grant provides up to $600 in financial assistance for seniors to be used for housing, yard maintenance, snow removal, or utilities, explained Smid.
Other programming and events organized by the regional FCSS can be found on their website, stpaulfcss.ca
Under the website’s “About” section can be found the organization’s monthly newsletter “Interagency Connection,” noted Smid. “It’ll surprise you how many things are actually taking place [such as] events [and] programs for a variety of ages.”
