What this Guide Can Offer
Visioning and organizing good support are best done in conversation with other families who can share their knowledge, provide support and help open up possibilities. Negotiating an adequate FMS agreement with PDD can require advice and advocacy. We can provide information about how FMS works and capture some of the knowledge and wisdom other families have gained about how FMS has made a positive difference in their lives. But this guide can't substitute for personal connections. There are ways to connect with other families through Inclusion Alberta. Please reach out!
Inclusion Alberta has demonstrated the benefits of a place families can come for advice, person-to-person support, learning, consultation, and advocacy by providing the Darrell Cook Family Managed Supports Resource Centre which is funded by PDD to support families who live in Calgary and area.
The Resource Centre:
- Supports visioning and planning.
- Assists families in preparing, negotiating and if necessary appealing FMS agreements.
- Helps families get started with recruiting staff.
- Offers space for families to interview potential staff.
- Supports families to create thoughtful job descriptions, job ads and recruit qualified staff.
- Provides regular workshops on vital topics: visioning and planning, positive approaches to behaviour, creating and facilitating relationships and exploring meaningful employment. The FMS Series workshops are open to interested people from outside Calgary and area.
- Maintains a resource library.
Inclusion Alberta continues to advocate for government funding to develop more FMS Resource Centres to benefit families in the rest of Alberta. If you want to get involved in the effort to make this resource available across the province, contact us today.
Inclusion Alberta can provide some individual assistance with FMS issues to families outside the Calgary region, but these requests will be addressed along with the concerns of many other families and help might be delayed or limited. To ask for help, call toll free 1-800-252-7556 or contact mail@inclusionalberta.org.
To the best of our knowledge, information and links are current as of July 2024. Check the PDD website which changes occasionally to be sure you are up to date.