WHEREAS the provincial Family and Community Support Services (FCSS) funding formula approved in 1997 by the Minister of Family and Social Services as recommended by the FCSS Re-Design Steering Committee [made up of representatives of Alberta Family and Social Services, FCSS Association of Alberta, AAMDC, AUMA, Inter-City Forum on Social Policy (ICFSP), and the Metis Settlement General Council (MSGC)], has yet to be funded to the level determined as necessary by that review; AND WHEREAS the funding allocation model was reviewed in 2000 as per the original recommendation of the FCSS Re-Design Steering Committee; AND WHEREAS in fiscal year 2001/2002, FCSS programs are being delivered in 281 municipalities (rural and urban) and Metis Settlements, involving 188 local FCSS organizations reaching 98% of the provincial population; AND WHEREAS in fiscal year 2001/2002, 95% of FCSS programs have not received provincial funding increases since the cutbacks of the early 1990s;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties urge the Government of Alberta to increase provincial funding support to FCSS in the amount of $15.5 million in addition to the 2001/2002 Children’s Services Ministry Business Plan; AND FURTHER BE IT RESOLVED that the indexed increases to the government program pool of funds for FCSS be at least equal in amount to increases in provincial population and inflation.

In 1997, the FCSS Re-Design Steering Committee and a Design Team made up of representatives of Alberta Family and Social Services, FCSS Association of Alberta, AAMDC, AUMA, Inter-City Forum on Social Policy (ICFSP), and the Metis Settlement General Council (MSGC), developed the funding formula along with recommendations as to levels of funding required to make the formula work. While the Province has provided modest increases to FCSS funding in the intervening years, it has not provided the funding level envisioned at that time as necessary to meet the needs identified in the study. Three years after the 1997 work, the FCSS Program Advisory Team (PAT) reviewed the funding formula as had been recommended at the time of acceptance of the original study. The result of this work is a report of the PAT entitled “Finding The Balance, dated November 2000. This resolution is presented in support of that report.

Resolution 5-00F, endorsed by delegates to the Fall 2000 convention, calls for the province to increase budget allocation for the FCSS program, to meet the targets identified by the FCSS Redesign Steering Committee.