Family Support Navigators

Family Support Navigators are useful to families and schools in the following ways:

• Parenting support – FSNs can help parents and caregivers polish, develop and create new approaches to discipline and parenting
• Further understanding of development and expected behaviour and challenges with each age and stage
• Right relationship – helping parents and caregivers take the lead in their child/youth’s life
• FSNs are trained in positive discipline; attachment theory and trauma-informed practice
• We have extensive training and education in complex neurodevelopmental conditions (including FASD; ADHD; Sensory/language processing problems/disorders and attachment disorders).
• FSNs can provide explanations for complex behaviour and develop plans for addressing it
• Can help parents better understand their child/youth’s assessments and diagnosis
• FSNs are well informed and connected to community resources – we can help families get where they need to be for support
• FSNs help bridge connection between home and school – becoming a great resource to staff for developing and facilitating plans that fit well with family culture and capacity

Who are Family Support Navigators?

• FSNs are social workers. Social work training and education generally includes: case management; working with marginalized populations; anti-racism and anti-oppression theory and approach; Indigenous studies; therapeutic approach; trauma informed practice; child welfare; systems theory and approach and critical analysis.

What else do Family Support Navigators do?

• We facilitate positive discipline training (with Neufeld approach woven in) and use it to build capacity for challenging behaviour and wounded kids in schools
• When needed we can facilitate parent support groups and develop networks for mutual support

How do we access our Family Support Navigators?

Family Support Navigators are accessed through a school’s School-Based-Team.

Our Family Support Navigators are here to help explain behaviour, provide support, connect families to community resources and bridge home and school.