Family & Community Support Services

What is Family and Community Support Services (FCSS)?

Family and Community Support Services (FCSS) is a unique 80/20 funding partnership between the province, and municipalities or Metis settlements. Provincially, the FCSS Program receives its mandate from the Family and Community Support Services Act and Regulation. The Regulation sets out the service requirements or broad parameters, that a municipality or settlement must meet to be eligible for funding. At the local level, a municipality or Metis settlement council chooses whether to establish a Program, and enters into an agreement with the province to jointly fund the Program. Under FCSS, communities design and deliver social programs that are preventive in nature to promote and enhance well-being among individuals, families, and communities. The programs depend on community resources, often involving volunteers in management and delivery.

Types of services eligible for funding:

• Services that promote the social development of children and their families;
• Services that enrich and strengthen family life by developing skills so people can function more effectively within their own environment;
• Services that enhance the quality of life of the retired and semi-retired;
• Services to promote, encourage and support volunteer work in the community;
• Services to assist communities to identify their social needs and develop responses to meet those needs;
• Services to inform the public of available services.

Types of services that may not be eligible for funding:

Services provided under a program must not:

• provide primarily for the recreational needs or leisure time pursuits of individuals;
• offer direct assistance, including money, food, clothing or shelter, to sustain an individual or family;
• be primarily rehabilitative in nature; nor duplicate services that are ordinarily provided by a government or government agency.