Early Years Family Life Coaching

Referrals into this program come directly from the AVIRT (Alberta Vulnerable Infant Response Team) program at Children’s Services. AVIRT is a multidisciplinary the include nurses, child intervention assessors and police to ensure the safety of very vulnerable infants. Families referred into this program are often parenting while also trying to address concerns such as mental health, substance misuse, family violence and homelessness.

Home Visitors typically meet once or twice weekly with each family to build parenting capacity, typically using the Nurturing Parenting Curriculum. Family Life Coaches complete the Ages and Stages Questionnaire which is a screener that helps to identify areas of concern related to child development. When concerns are identified the Family Life Coach will provide parents with activities that will address the delays and if needed connect families to professionals that can provide further intervention. All families who participate the Early Years Family Life Coaching program are provided with connections to community programs based on their unique needs. These community programs can then provide ongoing support once a family graduates.