About Us

Located in East Central Alberta, Camrose and District Support Services (CDSS) is a partnership between the Province of Alberta, the City of Camrose, Camrose County, and the Villages of Bawlf, Bittern Lake, Edberg, Ferintosh, Hay Lakes, New Norway and Rosalind. CDSS provides preventive social programs and services that help people improve their quality of life and enhance their capacity to deal with crisis situations should they arise.  Download the CDSS 2010 Annual Report.

CDSS is one of several hundred FCSS (Family and Community Support Services) programs.  FCSS as a whole operates within Alberta Children’s Services via the provincial FCSS Act and Regulations. Individual programs are locally run at the municipal level.  Funding is shared, with the province contributing 80% and municipalities contributing 20% of total FCSS revenue. 

The CDSS Mission Statement reads: "CDSS is a partnership between the province and nine participating municipalities committed to supporting local preventive social initiatives to enhance the well-being of individuals, families and the community."

Camrose County has been the hosting authority for CDSS for decades.  Beyond that, CDSS is self-directed, governed by a Board of Directors comprised of two City Council representatives, two County Council representatives and one board member serving the seven villages. Board members for 2011 - 2012 include:  John Howard (Board Chair, representing City of Camrose), Doug Lyseng (Board Vice Chair representing Camrose County), Dennis Wishnowski (repesenting the seven CDSS Villages) Max Lindstrand (City), and Vern Peterson (Camrose County).

Each fall, the CDSS Board of Directors sets the budget for the following year, based on funding requests from local programs (see Funding Information). CDSS runs some of its own services (known as "internal programs") and also funds several independent organizations (known as "external programs"). 

Internal Programs and Services

Camrose and District Pre-School operates between September and June.  Classes for
4-year olds run twice a week for two and a hours.  Classes for 3-year olds run once a week for one and a half hours.  Classes are taught by two teachers with many years of
pre-school experience.  Parental involvement includes assisting in the classroom, chaperoning field trips, or joining the pre-school board and/or a committee.

Directory of Clubs and Organizations:  CDSS now maintains the Directory of Clubs and Organizations, which was formerly maintained by the Camrose Volunteer Centre.  The Volunteer Centre ended operations at the end of June, 2011.

Family Resource Centre:  A Parent Link Centre extends beyond CDSS to serve outreach communities like Tofield, Hardistry, Strome and Killam.  Services include an indoor playground; short-term counselling; facilitated playgroups; Triple P Parenting; a toy lending library; a parent resource library; and annual events like the Bike and Trike Sale, Family Day and the Hallowe’en Monster Mash.

Family Violence Action Society:  Camrose and District coordinates the Camrose Family Violence Response Council and runs individual and group counselling programs for men, women, children and youth experiencing family violence, bullying, and/or excessive anger and rage. 

Help Book is a valuable resource catalogue that lists about 175 human services agencies/professionals serving Camrose and District, along with many rural-based recreation clubs and groups.  The Help Book is updated annually and printed for widespread distribution within the CDSS area; it is also available on the CDSS website.

Home Support Services enhances independent living via Meals on Wheels, the MOW Frozen Dinner outreach program, and the Homemaker program.  Services are provided at minimum cost, with some subsidization available.  Clients are often elderly, but may also include people with disabilities, patients recovering from hospitalization, or others in need of this type of service. 

Information and Referral support is one of the most satisfying aspects of working with CDSS.   Each year, CDSS receives hundreds of calls and visits from people seeking help.  Staff spend extra time “debriefing” the call to help people clarify their needs before referring them to an appropriate service. 

OSCAR (Out of School Care) serves the after-school child-care needs of families at a reasonable cost with subsidization available if necessary. Participating schools include Jack Stuart, Chester Ronning, Sifton, Sparling and St. Patrick School. (St. Pat’s students are walked to the Sparling site.)

Rural Community Programs include outreach, and community liaison/development for the Villages and Camrose County, along with the annual Summer in the Park program for children.  The RCP Director frequently works with specific groups on special community development projects.

External Programs

Camrose Boys and Girls Club operates an after-school program for children aged 6 to 12, which involves both structured and unstructured activities, as well as a summer program which runs daily Monday to Friday for six weeks in July and August.  The BGC youth leadership program encourages teen volunteerism and community engagement.

Hay Lakes Play School runs one morning class for children aged 3 and 4 twice a week under the guidance of an experienced part-time teacher, supported by alternating volunteer parents.

Service Options for Seniors is a resource centre that focuses on helping seniors and others access pensions, grants, benefit programs, health care, housing and other needed services, as available from all levels of government, as well as non-government agencies.

The Open Door is devoted to fostering the healthy development of youth, primarily through outreach and counselling programs for youth at risk (and their families). Services also include shelter support and Positive Personal Futures (PPF), which at helps youth aged 15 - 30 develop employability and general life skills.

Hosted Programs

Camrose and Area ECD Coalition promotes understanding of Early Child Development, including awareness and development of community assets, in conjunction with a provincial assessment tool to determine Kindergarten readiness in five areas: physcial health and wellbeing; social competence; emotional maturity; language and cognitive development; communication skills and general knowledge.

Prairie Central Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) Network provides a coordinated response to FASD within a large portion of East Central Alberta, with specific focus on assessment and diagnosis, targeted prevention, and supports to individuals, families, and caregivers affected by FASD.

Roots of Empathy is a school-based program for very young children hosted by the Camrose Family Resource Centre/Parent Link Centre and active in seven Camrose and area schools. (A project of Family Resource Centre.)

Taking Action on Bullying provides school-based bullying prevention and early intervention services.  Specifically located in Charlie Killiam School until June 2012, the project is administered by the Camrose Family Resource Centre/Parent Link Centre.  Also assists with other FRC/PLC activities.

Community Liaison and Collaboration (Local, Regional and Provincial)

Emergency Management Planning is a municipal responsibility undertaken locally by the City of Camrose and Camrose County.  In the event of an emergency, CDSS would help run a Registration/Reception Centre, including immediate disaster social service supports.

FCSS Association of Alberta (FCSSAA), including FCSS provincial and regional Directors Networks, provides networking, professional development, advocacy and other collaborative support to FCSS programs throughout Alberta. 

Inter-City Forum on Social Policy (ICFSP) is a vehicle for advocacy, networking and information-sharing, addressing social policy, program and service issues of concern to urban municipalities. 

Interagency and Interagency Newsletters are coordinated by CDSS, which provides secretariat support to these essential community development and information-sharing resources.

Seniors Coalition is an Interagency subcommittee coordinated by CDSS.  Members work together to share information and advocate on behalf of seniors regarding issues or trends. 

Social Planning Advisory Committee (SPAC) is a standing committee of Camrose City Council. The CDSS Executive Director currently serves as chair, and the CDSS Administrative Assistant provides secretarial support.  SPAC is mandated to share social needs information with the City on an ongoing basis, and to work with other groups and individuals to address local social needs.   In 2009, SPAC oversaw the development of the City's Social Development Strategy (2009 - 2014) and continues to work with the City and local organizations to address the strategic initiatives contained in the report. 

CDSS Staff