Family

Creating Respite Solutions for Nova Scotia Families of Children with Chronically High Needs 

2009
Our goal is to develop solution-focused strategies that promote a proactive system of care for children and adults with disabilities and respite for caregivers and families. To achieve this goal the partnership surveyed Nova Scotia families about their interest in respite. The response was overwhelming. Over two hundred families expressed interest in learning more about respite.

 

Creating Respite Solutions: Parent Priorities for Nova Scotia Families of Children and Adult Children with Chronically High Needs

In 2008 and 2009, the Nova Scotia Partnership on Respite, Family Health and Well-being conducted a series of six workshops designed for parents who are caring for a child or adult child with a disability. Through the workshops, the Partnership has educated parents and caregivers about respite, offered them the opportunity to connect and network with other parents, and identified how respite services and policies may be designed and enhanced to better support families.



Creating Respite Solutions: Policy Priorities for Nova Scotia Families of Children and Adult Children with Chronically High Needs

In 2008 and 2009, the Nova Scotia Partnership on Respite, Family Health and Well-being conducted a series of six workshops designed for parents who are caring for a child or adult child with a disability. Through the workshops, the Partnership has educated parents and caregivers about respite, offered them the opportunity to
connect and network with other parents, and identified how respite services and policies may be designed and enhanced to better support families.
 

A Respite Guide for Families with Chronically High Needs Children/Adult Children in Nova Scotia

The traditional definition of respite is a relatively short interval of rest or relief; a temporary break from continuous responsibility or activity. But families say they want to think about respite in a new way. ”Respite should be more than a break from life’s circumstances it should be a change of life’s circumstances.” (Paula Hutchinson et al., 2009). For parents, family members, and children/adult children with special needs, respite is vital and should be a regular part of the family schedule. Respite is a critically important part of healthy family development. It allows parents to take time to recharge their energy. It allows children, youth, and adults with disability to participate in activities and make new friends outside of their family circle.
 

 

MANUEL DU SOIGNANT

November, 2007

Une main tendue aux familles et aux amis qui fournissent des soins en Nouvelle-Écosse

Un manuel visant à aider les personnes de la Nouvelle-Écosse qui prennent soin de leur famille, de leurs amis, de leurs voisins et d'autres personnes dans leur communauté.

Vous pouvez vous procurer gratuitement le manuel, intitulé Manuel du soignant : Une main tendue aux familles et aux amis qui fournissent des soins en Nouvelle-Écosse, ainsi que sa version anglaise intitulée The Caregiver's Handbook, en composant le 1-888-658-1112.

Les partenaires du programme Healthy Balance Research Program ont élaboré le guide à l'aide des conseils de soignants à l'échelle de la province.

 

 The Caregiver's Handbook

September, 2007

A helping hand for families and friends giving care in Nova Scotia.

This resource aims to help Nova Scotians caring for family, friends, neighbours and others. Free print copies are also available by calling 1-888-658-1112.

Partners in the Healthy Balance Research Program developed the Caregiver's Handbook after a five-year study into the effect of paid and unpaid work on women's well-being. The guides are a first step in addressing information needs raised by caregivers from all walks of life and backgrounds from across the province.

 

 Comments on the Children and Family Services Act and The Adoption Information Act

October, 2006

Comments to the Minister's Advisory Committee for the Children and Family Services Act and the Adoption Information Act.

The comments respond to a request for input from the Department of Community Service's Advisory Committee on the Children and Family Services Act and the Adoption Information Act. The comments made are based on our contact and experience with women in communities throughout Nova Scotia. They are not presented as a detailed gender analysis of the impact of the current legislation, and the Council recommends that future amendments to the legislation and the corresponding regulations be analyzed from a gender and diversity perspective.

The Advisory Council on the Status of Women would be pleased to assist and review such initiatives in the future.

 

 Women, Work & Care Highlights Report

June, 2006

The Roundtable on Women's Economic Security sponsored a two-day forum in October titled Women, Work and Care: Policy at the Crossroads. Three events brought researchers, policy people, labour unions, government departments and women from all over the province together to talk about changes in women's lives and how out-of-date policy is letting women down.

Dr. Jane Jenson, a Trudeau Scholar, delivered a lecture and a keynote address during the forum. She talked about early childhood education and care, maternity/parental benefits, dependent care and family friendly workplaces.

 

 Women, Work and Care : Policy at the Crossroads. October 26-27, 2005 Forum Report

July 21, 2006

Women, Work and Care: Policy at the Crossroads was a forum dedicated to examining how current family policy affects women and their families in Nova Scotia. The focal points of many women's lives are work and care but the policy response to supporting them in these areas is either lagging behind their present circumstances or is absent altogether. The misalignment between lived experience and policy means that many women and their families miss out on a better quality of life.

 

 Family Matters: Women in Nova Scotia, part 2 of a statistical series

November, 2001