Do you have a child who lives with a disability and needs help developing skills that would improve their daily living?
Family support workers have training and education to help people with exceptional needs. Their services are goal-driven and focus on skill-building, which may include:
- developing skills in areas such as communication or dealing with behavioural issues,
- support for social inclusion activities such as Boy Scouts, Brownies or other social activities,
- support for therapeutic-based recreation activities such as swimming or therapeutic horseback riding,
- role modelling, and
- relief care for the family.
Community agencies often employ family support workers but sometimes they are self-employed.
Based on your personal circumstance, you can access the services of a family support worker in three different ways:
- Privately (without involvement from the Department of Social Development) by approaching a community agency or self-employed family support worker and paying for the services yourself.
- Contact Social Development and apply to the Family Supports for Children with Disabilities (FSCD) Program. See below for information on the process and to find out whether you may qualify for financial assistance to pay for the services of a family support worker.
- In certain situations, family support workers help children who are involved with the Department of Social Development through Child Protection or for those who are in the Child Care Program. In these situations, a family or child wouldn’t request a family support worker; a social worker with the Department would arrange the service as part of the overall case plan for the child.
To access the services of a family support worker privately, you can reach out to a community agency employing family support workers.
If you have a child living with a disability and need help accessing services for skill-building and social inclusion opportunities for them, you may qualify for financial assistance from the Department of Social Development to help pay for a family support worker. You must apply to the Family Supports for Children with Disabilities (FSCD) Program to access this assistance.
You may qualify for the FSCD Program if your child:
- lives in New Brunswick and has a Medicare card,
- is younger than 19 years of age,
- has a disability (including developmental, cognitive, social, communication, behavioural and/or physical) that significantly limits their ability to participate in activities of daily living, and
- has a written letter of support/assessment from a professional that indicates the nature and impact of their disability.
As a parent or guardian, you must:
- live in New Brunswick,
- cover all costs typically associated with caring for a child (child care, shelter, clothing, recreation, school supplies, etc.),
- participate in the application process to determine your child’s eligibility for the program and provide required documentation,
- agree to have an FSCD social worker involved with the family,
- financially contribute to the Family Support Plan services when applicable,
- agree to a full accounting of funding provided to the family under FSCD as required, and
- participate in planning and coordination of FSCD supports and services.
You can access the FSCD Program in two ways: call the Department of Social Development at 1-833-733-7835 and make a self-referral for your family. Or ask a professional working with your child to call the department on your behalf to make a third-party referral.
A FSCD Program social worker will follow up with you by telephone. They will ask more in-depth questions about your child, their disability, its impact and their current unmet needs. They will also schedule a home visit.
A social worker will come to your home to meet with your family. During this visit, you will need to provide a letter of support/assessment from a professional that explains your child’s disability and its impact on their daily life. The social worker will ask questions to complete the Determination of Needs Assessment, which will help determine their eligibility for FSCD. The social worker will provide a form called the Statement of Family Income for you to complete and will also confirm your family’s income.
The social worker may ask permission to contact other professionals involved in your child’s life, which may include their school, physician or physiotherapist, to help complete the Determination of Needs Assessment. Once the assessment has been completed, the social worker will reach out to let you know whether your child is eligible for the FSCD program.
If your child is eligible, the social worker will make an appointment with you to create a Family Support Plan, which outlines the unmet needs of your child and the services that will meet those unmet needs. You qualify for funding for the services of a family support worker if your Family Support Plan includes it.
A social worker will continue to support and work with your family. The social worker will complete annual reviews to obtain updates on your child’s progress and needs, adjusting the Family Support Plan accordingly.
If you are hiring a family support worker privately and don’t require financial assistance from the Government of New Brunswick, you can contact a community agency to help you.
To apply for financial assistance to access a family support worker through the Department of Social Development’s FSCD Program, you need:
names and birth dates of everyone living in your household,
address and phone number,
Medicare number for the child, and
information about the disability and its impact on your child.
Human Services Careers
If you love helping people, a career in human services may be right for you. A new voluntary occupational certification has been created for human service counsellors and personal support workers - visit GetCertifiedNB.ca to learn more.
The demand is high for social workers, resident attendants, personal support workers, human service counsellors and more. Visit our careers page to learn how you can support New Brunswicker's of all ages live better, healthier lives.