Just as family centres support Canadian families, Families Canada supports its 500+ member organizations and front-line professionals to be their best. Families Canada ensures that family support centres organizations have the tools, training and resources they need to do excellent work in a cost-effective manner.
Where We’ve Been
We were founded in 1975 as the Canadian Association of Toy Libraries and Parent Resource Centres to provide national leadership to a diverse network of organizations who support families raising children.
In 1993 we evolved into the Canadian Association of Family Resource Programs and focused on providing in-person professional development opportunities and print resources to support the work of family support practitioners across Canada.
In 2014 we embarked on a period of renewal and transformation to modernize the organization. We made a series of foundational changes directly informed by our membership surveys and guided by business coaches, social marketing firms, a new CEO, and our Board of Directors. We came out the other side as Families Canada.
Our goal in this transition was to bring the organization into the 21st century by going digital and launching a new, interactive website that will empower family support centres and practitioners to help families raise children who can thrive.
We now focus on developing online professional development opportunities to better reach family support practitioners, facilitating online and in-person communities of practice, piloting and expanding evidence-based programming, brokering new partnerships, and developing new evidence-based print and digital resources to meet the needs of at-risk families and the practitioners who support them.
Our Vision: A Canada committed to building stronger families.
Our Mission: To champion the priorities, policies, and programs that build the strength of Canada’s families.
Our tag line: “The power to thrive ”
Where We’re Going
Today, Families Canada is the national association of family support centres. Our members are community-level organizations who provide hubs of free services, programs, and resources to primarily low-income and disadvantaged families in communities across Canada. Through our 500+ members, we impact the lives of approximately 500,000 families per year. For nearly 50 years, we have helped our members meet the evolving and complex needs of families by:
- Piloting, adapting, and scaling evidence-based programming
- Developing and disseminating evidence-informed resources
- Providing professional development opportunities
In our work, we partner with private, public, non-profit and academic organizations to turn knowledge into practice. A multisector approach is essential for addressing barriers and strengthening families.
Join Us on this Journey!
Your contributions support the creation of outstanding and meaningful resources to hundreds of thousands of families across Canada. Help us create a brighter future, today!