Identity area
Type of entity
Authorized form of name
Saskatchewan. Dept. of Social Services. Regional Services Division
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
History
Established in 1980, the Regional Services Division of the Department of Social Services delivered services under the authority of The Saskatchewan Assistance Act and Regulations, The Family Services Act, The Unified Family Court Act and the federal Juvenile Delinquents Act. Services and programs were administered from eight regions with district offices located in major centres within the regions. Services provided by the division included income support, child protection, unmarried parents' services, adoption, foster care, young offenders' services, special youth resources and emergency social services.
Income support services determined the eligibility of recipients for financial assistance and administered the Saskatchewan Assistance Plan. The Child Protection Program was responsible for the investigation into all reports of child abuse or neglect. Subsequent measures included counselling, referral and supportive services or the removal of a child from the home. Unmarried parents' services provided information, referrals, counselling, and pre-natal and post-natal support services to unmarried parents. Additionally, services were provided to unmarried mothers seeking to place children for adoption. Adoption services were responsible for the recruitment, screening, preparation and selection of adoptive families for children in need of placement, as well as facilitating private and step-parent adoptions. In addition, the REACH (Resources for the Adoption of Children) program coordinated adoptions for children with special needs and circumstances. The Foster Home Program provided substitute family environments for children in need of temporary or permanent placement. Responsibility for children in foster care was shared between the department and the foster parents in the program. Young offenders' services administered cases of juvenile offenders in the justice system. Departmental, community and residential services included counselling, legal assistance, psychological and psychiatric assessments, predisposition investigations, probation services and detention services. The division operated four child care facilities (Saskatchewan Boys' Centre, Roy Wilson Centre, Dales House and Kilburn Hall), purchased residential care from three non-governmental organizations and funded various group homes and receiving homes throughout the province. Emergency social services provided food, clothing, lodging and personal services in the event of large-scale disasters.
As a result of re-organization in 1983, income support became the responsibility of the department's Income Security Division, while all other programs became the responsibility of the Family Support Division.