Short Term Community Homes

Short Term Community Homes are located within a community and are designed to serve children and youth who need to be removed from their family home for a short period of time until such time as it is safe for a child to be reunited with his or her family.
QBOW operates two Short Term Community Homes intended for children who are in care off reserve or in urban centres. They are funded by the Ministry of Social Services.
The first home to open in November 2017 was a four-bed home in Fort Qu’Appelle. It originally opened as an emergency receiving home, but with the strong support of the Ministry of Social Services in recognizing the need for culture to be embedded into the homes’ operations, the home was quickly changed to a Short Term Community Home. The Ministry provided funding for outreach, and Elder’s cultural program, and cultural ceremonies. This support was much appreciated by QBOW and resulted in a strong relationship with excellent communication.
A second four-bed Short Term Community Home was opened in Prince Albert in May 2019.

Our goal is the reunification of the family unit, and for the group home to be the final stop for a child or youth before they go home.
- At our group homes we inform and support families with reunification and repatriation to their member nations and provide and promote the children and families with cultural and traditional practices through cultural reinforcement programming.

In addition to caring for the day-to-day physical needs of children and youth, we provide a structured and therapeutic environment and provide support services according to the Ministry of Social Services Residential Services Manual.
The purpose of the Residential Services Manual is to:
- provide provincially recognized standards of care to ensure residential care and case management practice effectively responds to each child/youth’s individual developmental needs, supports healthy personal, cultural, and social well-being, and encourages family reunification wherever possible;
- ensure that residential care and services provided to children and youth of First Nation or Metis heritage fully respects Aboriginal family values and cultural beliefs;
- ensure that residential care services respect the rights of children/youth and their families.
The QBOW Community Homes also operate according to the SFNCIS’ Customary Standards of Care created by the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations (FSIN), and a working group consisting of Elders, First Nations child and family service agencies, group homes, and assessment and stabilization program representatives.
Community Home staff also follow the QBOW Short Term Community Homes Personnel Policy, an employee handbook that provides information on administration, ethics, and other information that is useful to employees.

These homes are staffed 24 hours a day by trained caregivers including a Manager, Outreach/Cultural Program Coordinator, Team Lead and a number of rotating permanent and casual Child Care Workers.
- Our staff participate in training on an on-going basis. Training is through SFNFCI, and the Ministry of Social Services. Annual Criminal Record Checks and Vulnerable Sector Checks are required for all staff and Board of Directors involved in the homes.
- Our outreach and cultural coordinators at the homes involve Elders, and our cultural and spiritual beliefs are embedded in all of our programs and services. We believe that a having a connection to the land, our languages, and our culture all work together to create a stronger, united family and community.