Southeast Alberta Child and Family Services Authority announces latest appointments to the Board of Directors

(Medicine Hat, Jan. 4, 2004) # The two newest directors appointed to the Board of the Southeast Alberta Child and Family Services Authority (CFSA) have strong connections to the organization and bring valuable experience in the fields of education and policing to help guide the Authority in its vital work with children, youth and families.

Jim Black of Medicine Hat is the principal as well as a teacher at Sunrise Junior-Senior High Alternate School in Brooks. He graduated from the Ontario Police Academy in 1965 and received a Bachelor of Education degree from the University of Calgary in 1974. He spent two years in policing and the past 30 years in education. One of the original members of the Southeast Alberta Child and Family Services Authority Board, Black is returning after a three year absence. He is currently a member of the Palliser Health Regional Board and has also served on a number of other boards, including the Brooks and District Fall Fair, the Brooks Recreation Board, and the Duchess Agricultural Society. He served for two years as a member of Special People Enjoying Children, coached minor baseball for 12 years in Brooks, and is currently a member of the Medicine Hat Football Referees Association.

#The Child and Family Services Authority does the best it can for children and families with the resources available,# says Black. #As a board we need to be aware of the community#s needs, then create a vision based on those needs and task the CEO and staff to realize that vision.#

Heather Rann of Medicine Hat is a special constable with the Medicine Hat City Police. She has lived and worked in the Southeast Alberta region her entire life. As a teenager she volunteered to assist adults with developmental disabilities at the Alfred Egan Home at Bow Island Hospital and later worked in personal care at the hospital for seven years. However, her lifelong ambition was to work in the law enforcement field so she returned to school, earned a Police Studies diploma from Grant MacEwan College and then joined the Medicine Hat City Police four years ago. Rann was a member of the steering committee that helped establish the Southeast Alberta Child and Family Services Authority and sat on the selection committee for the original Board. She has also been involved in Block Parents and is a member of the advisory committee of her children#s daycare.

#I deal with a lot of youth in remand who have reached the end of the line. They#ve fallen between the cracks and haven#t been accepted by society,# says Rann.  #A lot of people don#t see the need for social services in their community # they#re blind to it. My biggest role as a board member is to be an advocate for children and families and help draw some attention to social services in our region.#

Southeast Alberta Child and Family Services Authority is responsible for delivering a range of services to children, youth and families living in the region as well as ensuring provincial standards set by Alberta Children#s Services are met. These services include:
· family enhancement
· child care licensing and subsidy
· family violence prevention services
· support for families of children with disabilities
· child protection
· foster care
· adoption services, and
· working with communities in coordination with Family and Community Support Services (FCSS).

The Authority is led by a board whose members are chosen from the community and appointed by the Minister of Children#s Services. The community members serving on this board provide leadership to the Authority and work closely with communities in the region. The board#s policies and decisions are implemented by the authority#s chief executive officer, who also manages the daily operations of the CFSA.

For more information about the Southeast Alberta Child and Family Services Authority and its Board of Directors, please call (403) 529-3753 or visit our website at http://www.southeastalbertacfsa.gov.ab.ca/.