Trisha Rawlake, Lloydminster Public School Division superintendent of education, Sherri Husch Foote, executive director of Midwest Family Connections and Lloydminster MLA Colleen Young spoke at the grand opening of the Lloydminster Early Years Family Resource Centre on Friday. Supplied Photo
Adults and kids celebrated the official opening of the Lloydminster Early Years Family Resource Centre (FRC) in the Prairie North Plaza.
The grand opening on Friday included remarks from local dignitaries, drop-in playtime in the indoor playground, and refreshments.
The FRC is now fully operational as a bi-provincially funded Family Resource Centre offering seamless service to Lloydminster families in the early years.
The centre focuses on programs and services for parents and caregivers of children from birth to five years.
The FRC is supported by pre-existing funding from Alberta Children’s Services and a new investment from the Saskatchewan Ministry of Education.
The education ministry’s investment comes from Canada-Saskatchewan Early Learning and Child Care Agreement.
The Saskatchewan investment flows through the Lloydminster Public School Division (LPSD), which serves as the accountable Partner, to Midwest Family Connections, the service delivery partner and ultimately to the FRC.
“We value our advisory committee of community stakeholders who help to establish and support the programming and partnership priorities,” said LPSD superintendent Trisha Rawlake.
“Together we can better serve the children and families of Lloydminster.”
The financial investments received from Saskatchewan to date include a grant of $215,000 to support the initial planning and development work.
This included updates to the centre such as new flooring, paint, furniture and play structures; hiring and training of additional staff.
The grant includes $30,000 for an outdoor play space to be built in collaboration with the City of Lloydminster expected to open this fall.
A further investment of $75,000 is on its way to support program design to ensure offerings through the Centre are based on the latest research and knowledge about what matters most for families and children in the early years.
Alberta’s pre-existing investment is part of the Alberta Family Resource Network model established in 2020.
The network supports a family’s resilience, strength and health by providing prevention and early intervention support for parents and caregivers and their children from birth to 18.
