Alberta Network for Safe and Healthy Children
The Network continues to work on strategies to support service providers in their work with families. See below for more information. If you have any questions please contact the Provincial Coordinator, Susan Patenaude, at 780-966-7880 or susan.patenaude@albertahealthservices.ca
CURRENT PROJECTS
Alberta Father Involvement Initiative
This initiative, only the third of its kind in Canada, is funded by Encana through their relationship with the Stollery Foundation. The Network has contracted the Alberta Home Visitation Network Association as fiscal agent. Patrick Dillon is the Provincial Coordinator of the Initiative. Patrick is available at patrick.dillon@albertahealthservices.ca. Please check out www.abdads.ca for more information.
Developing Children…Developing Parents – Audio Resources For Immigrant and Refugee Parents
This project focussed on developing translated audio resources providing information about pregnancy and parenting up to 18 months. With the financial support provided by Children and Youth Services and the Foresters we have produced resources in: European French, Mandarin, Somali, Spanish, and Sudanese Arabic. We have also partially completed the resource for the Urdu speaking community.
The content is primarily selected from Growing Miracles, a handbook for parents distributed through Alberta Health Services in Calgary, and various other evidence-based resources with additional information provided by Human Services.
The resources are available on this website by podcast to download onto CDs, if desired. The length of the recordings vary with each language but average 3.5 hours of recorded time.
Listen to the audio!
Training On Children Exposed To Family Violence
This workshop has been developed for service providers to parents experiencing family violence to increase their awareness of the impact on the pregnant woman, the foetus, and the child from infancy through to adolescence. Topics include the impact of exposure to toxic stress and the role of Children and Youth Services. The length of the workshop varies from 3 hours to a full day and is available to communities across Alberta.
Positive Discipline – what is it and how to do it
This innovative and empowering approach to child discipline was developed by Joan Durrant Ph.D. (University of Manitoba) for Save the Children Sweden in 2007. It is relevant to parents of all children from infancy to adolescence. Positive discipline is: non-violent, solution-focused, respectful, and based on child development principles. Unlike so many other parenting programs it does not use a compliance-based approach using reward and punishment.
To date we have been able to deliver the training for facilitators in Edmonton, Lethbridge, Calgary, and Grande Prairie. We are grateful for funding support from RBC and ACICR. Please see the list of agencies offering Positive Discipline under either the Parents or Professionals headings.
Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS) Prevention Training
Workshops ranging from 1-3 hours are available for service providers interested in increasing their awareness of SBS prevention as well as educating clients about the challeges of coping with crying. Participants will receive an overview of the causes of SBS, risk factors, and prevention strategies. Materials (including: PowerPoints, videos, and an audio tape of a baby crying) for use with parents and caregivers will be provided at no charge.
List Serve
Service providers who wish to receive information electronically about issues related to children and families can have their names added to an email distribution list managed by the Provincial Coordinator, Susan Patenaude.