Two weeks after handing out their Family and Community Support Services (FCSS) grant funding, the City of Lloydminster is looking to update its FCSS policy.
The draft policy was presented at the Nov. 17 Governance and Priorities Committee meeting and outlines new definitions, changes and additions.
Read more: Lloydminster gives out FCSS funding
According to the city, FCSS is a funding partnership between municipalities or Métis settlements and the Province of Alberta to design and deliver early, preventative social programs that support the well-being of individuals, families, and communities.
Patrick Lancaster, the City of Lloydminster’s social programs and services manager, gave a rundown of how the program is funded.
“The way the program is modelled, it’s about an 80/20 funding split, where 80 per cent of the funds come from the province, 20 per cent come from the municipality or Metis settlement and then it’s invested in the community,” he said.
In some cases, the program is administered as a grant program where the funds are dispersed. In some communities, it’s entirely the FCSS program, whether that’s the municipality or an arm’s-length program runs programs using the funding.”
Lloydminster has a hybrid model for their program.
“In the case of Lloydminster, we’re a hybrid model where we run some programs directly using FCSS funds and then we set aside about $385,000 for a grant pool that goes out to community organizations,” said Lancaster.
While presenting to council, he offered what he called a fun bit of trivia on the FCSS program.
“Council received its first presentation on the FCSS program, April 1, so April Fools’, 1968 and signed on to the program, Sept. 3 of 1968,” Lancaster explained. “So, the program has been active for about 57 years in our community now and it’s been a great partnership with the Province of Alberta.”
Much like other policies council has recently updated, it’s been three years since the last FCSS policy review.
“In the last couple of months, we came to council with updates to the Safe and Health Communities grant and Saskatchewan Lotteries grant. We took both the changes in those grant policies and applied them here,” he said.
The City of Lloydminster recently handed out its 2026 FCSS grant funding at the Nov. 3 council meeting. The draft policy was accepted as information by council and is expected to return to council for approval in the future.
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