Grassroots Approach
What is the Network
The Manitoba Foster Family Network (the Network) is a nonprofit charitable organization focused on grassroots community development opportunities to enhance the lives of foster families. Through a province-wide network, foster parents receive training, guidance, and assistance. Often these services are provided by other foster parents in the local community.
Network Membership
All licensed foster parents in the province of Manitoba are automatically members of the Manitoba Foster Family Network.
The Mission of the Network
The Manitoba Foster Family Network encourages, promotes, and assists in the development of healthy foster homes to improve the quality of life for children in care.
How the Network Began
In 1993, Manitoba’s provincial Foster Family Association
(MFFA) was closed due to a loss in funding.
At that time, Manitoba was the only province
without a Foster Family Association and it was
clear that one was needed.
While the provincial association had not maintained viability, the
cities of Brandon and Winnipeg kept their local associations alive
without funding support. Foster families throughout the province
saw the value of these associations and began working together to
seek support for the re-establishment of a provincial association.
A group of hard working and committed foster parents came together and, with the support of facilitators, created a funding proposal to establish a province-wide Foster Family Network in Manitoba. The Minister of Family Services and Housing acknowledged the need for this type of organization and, in 2000, the first office of the Manitoba Foster Family Network (the Network) was opened on Provencher Avenue in Winnipeg.
Today, we are located on the 3rd Floor of 555 Broadway in Winnipeg and we require four times the office space as our original home on Provencher. As foster parent involvement in the Network grows, so do the services we provide. We are proud of the assistance we’ve been able to provide to the foster family community.
The Network’s Grassroots Approach
The Manitoba Foster Family Network ‘s (the Network) organizational structure clearly demonstrates how our supportive programming is derived from foster parent input.
Board members are responsible for engaging in the fostering community within their region. They are then responsible for bringing these voices forward at meetings of the regional board members and to meetings of the full board of directors.
By listening to these voices, trends are identified and the Network is tasked with creating supportive programming to address these needs. When the situation necessitates, trends are shared with collateral support programs, government, or child welfare Authorities in order to create a collective support mechanism to address the issue.
Once programming has been initiated, the Network continues to hear foster families to ensure
we are meeting the needs identified by foster families. This system affords the Network to
maintain a grassroots approach to foster family support.