Saskatchewan. Dept. of Social Services. Community and Personal Services Division

Secondary Agency

Saskatchewan. Dept. of Social Services. Community and Personal Services Division

• Community and Personal Services Division

1979-1980

Established in 1979, the Community and Personal Services Division of the Department of Social Services provided services and programs to strengthen and support individual and family life in Saskatchewan. The division was organized into three branches: Core Services Branch; Home Care and Senior Citizens Branch; and Family and Community Services Branch.

The Core Services Branch was responsible for providing services to mentally challenged persons and for supporting the non-governmental organizations that offered complementary services. Community residential programs such as approved homes, group homes, training homes and semi-independent living settings offered care with an aim of clients functioning as independently as possible. The Community Resource Home and Outreach Program provided respite services to clients' families. The Valley View Centre in Moose Jaw and the North Park Centre in Prince Albert provided residential facilities for long-term care and programming. As well, the branch was responsible for the administration of activity centres and sheltered workshops throughout the province.

The Home Care and Senior Citizens Branch was organized into two sections: Senior Citizens and Home Care. The Senior Citizens Section was responsible for the planning and development of special-care homes, for the provision of subsidies to all residents of special-care homes, and for the licensing of low-income housing units for seniors. The section also established a Regulations Review Committee to review regulations pursuant to The Housing and Special-care Homes Act. The Home Care Section was responsible for the organization of district home care boards that provided home care service. Services delivered by the boards included nursing, homemaking, meals, home maintenance, and physical and occupational therapy. The section also coordinated with non-governmental agencies and senior care centres to provide services and to promote independence in seniors.

The Family and Community Services Branch was organized into three sections: Family and Youth Services Section; Day Care Section; and Community Services Section. The Family and Youth Services Section operated under the authority of The Family Services Act, The Unified Family Court Act, The Children of Unmarried Parents Act, and the federal Juvenile Delinquents Act. The section provided protection for children from families struggling to care for them in the form of counselling and foster care. Adoption services were provided through ward agreements and through the REACH (Resources for the Adoption of Children) program. Four child care facilities (Saskatchewan Boys' Centre, Roy Wilson Centre, Dales House, Kilburn Hall) along with several non-governmental agencies provided care for troubled youth. As well, the section provided juvenile offender services. The Day Care Section administered grants and monitored the standards of a variety of day care services throughout the province. The section encouraged involvement of parents in decision-making on the provision of services, and promoted public awareness about day care services. The Community Services Section administered grants and monitored the standards, financial operations and licenses of non-governmental social services organizations.

As a result of re-organization in 1980, child and youth services became the responsibility of the department's Regional Services Division, and seniors and home care services became the responsibility of the Continuing Care Division. All core services, day care and community services remained the responsibility of the Community and Personal Services Division.

The objectives of the Community and Personal Services Division of the Department of Social Services were to strengthen and support individual and family life, to protect the basic rights of children, to encourage the integration of disadvantaged persons into the mainstream community, and to develop and support community-based agencies which supplemented and complemented the department's services.

Saskatchewan. Dept. of Social Services (1972-2003)

Saskatchewan. Dept. of Social Services. Regional Services Division (1980-1983)

Saskatchewan. Dept. of Social Services. Family and Community Services Branch (1978-1979)

GA 130

Rules for Archival Description (RAD)

Finale

Authority record created on 2012-04-18. Approved 2014-03-28. Last modified on 2017-11-29.

AMICUS Authorities - no entry found.
Department of Social Services Annual Reports