WESTLOCK - One of Westlock’s most valuable resources for parents and their children will soon take on a much different look as the province changes how Parent Link Centres across Alberta are funded and how they deliver their services.
In November the provincial government announced Parent Link Centres would be replaced with Family Resource Networks at the end of March 2020 in an effort to create a more standardized system and potentially save $12-million a year.
While the current programming caters to parents of kids up to six years old, the new FRNs will provide resources for parents and kids up to the age of 18.
“We’re still learning as it’s coming out,” said Westlock’s Parent Link Centre co-ordinator Erin Chapotelle. “At this point we’re actively pursuing new funding and are expecting there will be some changes to service delivery, although, as of right now, we don’t have enough information to know what that is going to look like.”
The 59 centres across the province have been a huge asset to parents and children, offering early childhood development programs that include learning through play and early literacy experiences as well as parent education programs and family support services.
The interaction between the parent and the child is fundamental, said Chapotelle.
Parent Link also helps as a socialization tool, not only for the kids, but also for parents who may be new to the community and aren’t familiar with the people or services available in the community.
“A part of our program is of course the socialization piece, because at times families don’t have other connections in the community if they’re new, so it’s a really nice opportunity to be able to get out and meet some new people and make those connections, building natural supports,” said Chapotelle.
You can often find the Parent Link playgroup at St. Mary School or the Rotary Spirit Centre. There are also pop-up parties at local parks throughout the summer and any number of other child-parent activities throughout the year.
“There will be some rebranding, but we will be looking at similar services,” said Chapotelle.
As far as feedback from the public, Chapotelle said she has been hearing some concern about the upcoming changes.
“We’ve been hearing some good things about the services we’ve been providing, but there is some worry, of course, and we don’t have a lot of answers because we haven’t been given a lot of answers. The community has been really supportive and we’re just so thankful that everyone in the last week or so has taken some time to tell us about the things they really appreciated and why,” she said.
Parent Link Centres will continue to provide services until the changeover in March.
“The plan is to keep the community updated as we learn more,” said Chapotelle.
