Family centres are community resources that provide services to parents, children, and spouses.

Family centres exist to provide need-based aid to families affected by a range of events, including death

Death

Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....

, physical and mental illness

Mental illness

A mental disorder or mental illness is a psychological or behavioral pattern generally associated with subjective distress or disability that occurs in an individual, and which is not a part of normal development or culture. Such a disorder may consist of a combination of affective, behavioural,...

, divorce

Divorce

Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...

, unemployment

Unemployment

Unemployment , as defined by the International Labour Organization, occurs when people are without jobs and they have actively sought work within the past four weeks...

, and child abuse

Child abuse

Child abuse is the physical, sexual, emotional mistreatment, or neglect of a child. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Children And Families define child maltreatment as any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or...

 and child neglect

Neglect

Neglect is a passive form of abuse in which a perpetrator is responsible to provide care for a victim who is unable to care for himself or herself, but fails to provide adequate care....

. They have been created by different local government departments, or by different agencies, in order to fulfill three basic functions.

• Social Services
• Education
• Training

The Social Services initiative focuses on creating better relationships within the family, providing preventative services to children "in need" or "at risk," and providing companionship to seniors. The Education initiative focuses on improving the interaction between families and the local schools as well as providing remedial facilities to children. The Training initiative focuses on providing parenting

Parenting

Parenting is the process of promoting and supporting the physical, emotional, social, and intellectual development of a child from infancy to adulthood...

and job training classes.

Services

A family centre may offer any or all of these services.

Families:

• Family Counseling
• Family Support Groups
• Domestic Violence Intervention
• Child Abuse or Neglect Intervention

Parents:

• Parent Education Program
• Parent Support Groups
• Young Parents Education Program and Support Groups
• Marriage Counseling

Children:

• Child Support Groups
• Preschool Programs
• Afterschool Programs
• Homework Help and Tutoring
• Child and Adolescent Therapy

Senior Citizens:

• Friendly Connections Outreach Programs
• Telephone Groups and Classes
• Friendly Caller
• Friendly Visitor

Unemployed:

• Job Counseling
• Job Training Classes
• Childcare referrals
• Elder care referrals