These guidelines will be updated to reflect the revised Contributions to improve the safety and security of Indigenous women, children, families and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people. Until this is completed, please write to: aadnc.ppvf-fvpp.aandc@canada.ca if you have questions.
These guidelines provide information for the delivery of the Family Violence Prevention Program (FVPP). The guidelines set out the delivery requirements and, where relevant, standards for funding recipients who have entered into a funding agreement with the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (DIAND) which is also known as the Department of Indigenous Services Canada (DISC). Potential Funding Recipients (i.e., applicants) may also find these guidelines useful as an additional source of information.
This document will be in effect as of April 1, 2018 and replaces the Social Programs National Manual 2017-2018.
This document is to be read in conjunction with the signed funding agreement, and
Where DISC has entered into an agreement with a province or territory, the obligations set out in the agreements are to be read first and take precedence over the delivery requirements and standards of the FVPP as explained in this document.
The objective of the FVPP is to improve the safety and security of Indigenous women, children and families.
The program has two components that support this objective:
Shelter Operations: funding for the day-to-day operations of a network of shelters that provide services for women and children living on reserve in provinces and in Yukon.
Prevention Initiatives: funding for community-driven prevention projects such as public awareness campaigns, conferences, workshops, stress and anger management seminars, support groups, and community needs assessments on- and off-reserve.
To support program objectives, The FVPP also provides funding to the National Aboriginal Circle Against Family Violence to provide a national coordinating role by supporting shelters and their staff through training forums, gatherings, the development and distribution of resource materials, and collaboration with key partners.
Further information on program activities is provided in Section #6 – Activities.
The expected outcome of the program is:
Men, women and children are safe.
The expected outcome noted here applies to the Department's social programming generally. While this expected outcome is an overarching objective of the FVPP, program-specific expected outcome are currently in development. Any revisions will be incorporated as necessary into future updates to this document and Data Collection Instruments (DCIs), etc..
A funding recipient is an individual or entity that has met the eligibility criteria of the program and has signed a funding agreement with DISC to deliver an initiative (program, service or activity).
The following entities are eligible to receive FVPP funding:
| Eligible Funding Recipients | Core Shelter Operations | Prevention |
|---|---|---|
| Councils of First Nation Bands recognized by the Government of Canada | Eligible | Eligible |
| Tribal Councils | Eligible | Eligible |
| Provinces | Eligible | |
| Yukon Territory | Eligible | |
| First Nations authority, board, committee or other entity approved by Chief and Council | Eligible | Eligible |
| Incorporated sheltersFootnote 1 | Eligible | Eligible |
| First Nation Child and Family Services Family Violence Prevention Program Agencies or Societies | Eligible | Eligible |
| Indigenous communities and organizations (First Nations, Métis and Inuit) off-reserve | Eligible | |
| National Aboriginal Circle Against Family Violence (NACAFV) | Eligible |
Eligibility of landless Bands and non-reserve communities to receive Family Violence Prevention Program funding
The following is a list of land-less Bands and non-reserve communities that may be eligible to receive funding for Family Violence Prevention Program supports and services.
Program recipients (may also be referred to as clients) are persons or groups that receive the benefit of services and supports delivered through the FVPP. Program recipients are the target population to benefit from and are eligible to receive services from the program.
Members of the landless bands and non-reserve communities listed in Section 4 are eligible to receive services from the program.
For the purposes of providing services and support through the Family Violence Prevention Program, "ordinarily resident on reserve" means that an individual:
Students registered full-time in a post-secondary education or training program and who are in receipt of federal, band or Aboriginal organization education or training support funding continue to be considered ordinarily resident on reserve if:
Emergency supports may be provided in accordance with provincial and territorial guidelines. For the purposes of the Family Violence Prevention Program, First Nation residents in the Yukon are considered to be "ordinarily resident on reserve" and are therefore eligible to receive services from the program.
The program's activities are categorized according to components:
The FVPP provides funding for the day-to-day operations of a network of shelters that provide services for women and children who are ordinarily resident on reserve in provinces and in the Yukon.Footnote 3
In order for a Funding Recipient to continue to receive shelter operating funding from DISC, a shelter must be operating as a family violence shelter for women, children and families. These shelters should therefore not be operating as a temporary or long-term housing solution (e.g. for youth, elders, the homeless, community members).Funding for shelter operations is categorized according to primary and secondary core shelter operations. Primary core shelter operations outline the basic services and supports that shelters are required to provide. Secondary core shelter operations outline the additional services and supports that shelters may provide.
Primary shelter operations include the following:
Secondary shelter operations include the following:
The FVPP provides funding for community-driven prevention projects such as public awareness campaigns, conferences, workshops, stress and anger management seminars, support groups, and community needs assessments on and off-reserve.
The eligible prevention project activities are set out in the approved work plan/proposal as referenced in the funding recipient's signed funding agreement.
Prevention projects include the following activities:
Delivery methods of prevention projects include:
Prevention projects – whether on- or off- reserve - are proposal-based. On-reserve prevention activities are funded through DISC Regions while off-reserve activities are funded through DISC Headquarters.
Funding for prevention projects on- reserve is determined based on regionally-established proposal processes and guidelines and, therefore, may vary from Region to Region. Please contact your DISC Regional office for more information.
As proposals for on-reserve prevention projects are approved by DISC Regional Offices or another entity such as a First Nations authority, board, committee or other entity approved by Chief and Council., available funds may be transferred to the First Nation's (or other eligible Funding Recipient's) Funding Agreement.
Organizations located off-reserve that provide programs or services to First Nations, Inuit or Métis that are interested in applying for FVPP funding for prevention projects can answer the program's annual call for proposals. Information about the annual call can be found on the program's website. The call for proposals for the following fiscal year usually comes out in late Winter with an application deadline coming about six to ten weeks later.
Generally, prevention projects – whether on- or off reserve - that are designed to leverage partnerships and/or additional funding are preferred because they can have a greater impact or demonstrate greater effectiveness in the community or in multiple communities.
Please note that some prevention activities may also be funded by another federal government department (for example, Health Canada or Public Safety Canada). A Funding Recipient may apply for and receive funds from multiple partners in order to increase its total project budget. Funding recipients must ensure and demonstrate that funds from multiple partners are supporting different activities under the same project.
For example, a Funding Recipient may submit to DISC a Family Violence Prevention Program proposal for a prevention project on healthy parenting with a request for $15,000 to cover the costs of developing outreach and educational materials and submit to Health Canada a proposal with a request for $10,000 for the same project, but to cover different costs such as capacity building. In this case, both departments are providing funding under the same project, but covering different activities.
Funding Recipients and Potential Funding Recipients (i.e., applicants) are encouraged to review the sections below on eligible expenditures and ineligible expenditures
| Eligible Expenditures | Core Shelter Operations | PreventionFootnote 5 | National Aboriginal Circle Against Family Violence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Staff salaries and benefits | Eligible | Eligible | Eligible |
Professional development, including:
|
Eligible | Eligible | Eligible |
| Board and committee operations (where applicable) | Eligible | Eligible | Eligible |
Direct Client costs, for example:
|
Eligible | ||
Operations, minor maintenance, upgrading and repairs of facilities,Footnote 6 including:
|
Eligible | ||
Overhead administration costs not exceeding 15% of the total contributionFootnote 7, including:
|
Eligible | Eligible | Eligible |
| Crisis Line | Eligible | ||
| Staff transportation and travel (using established rates) | Eligible | Eligible | Eligible |
| Client transportation (e.g., taxis, use of First Nation owned/leased vehicles) | Eligible | ||
| Costs for prevention activities, training forums, workshops, outreach (including instructional and information materials, facilitator per diem) | Eligible | Eligible | Eligible |
| Professional and Paraprofessional services | Eligible | Eligible | Eligible |
| Legal services fees and costs | Eligible | Eligible | Eligible |
| Insurance | Eligible | Eligible | |
| Audits, monitoring, evaluation and policy development | Eligible | Eligible |
The following items are not eligible expenditures:
The Family Violence Prevention Program does not fund the construction, renovation or major repair of family violence prevention shelters. Funding Recipients should apply to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) for funding for major renovation projects through the Shelter Enhancement Program.
CMHC provides capital for the construction, renovation and major repairs of women's shelters through its Shelter Enhancement Program (SEP). For more information, please visit CMHC's website or call CMHC at: 1-800-668-2642.
Expenditures incurred after the project completion date, as set out in the approved project proposal, are ineligible for funding from the FVPP.
Therefore, all prevention project expenditures must be incurred by the project completion date, as set out in the approved project proposal. For example, salaries can only be paid for the duration of the project and cannot support permanent positions.
Ongoing costs, such as long-term treatment or counselling services, must be incurred by the project completion date. However, a Funding Recipient can refer Clients to other services. Funding Recipients with long-term service considerations can apply for multi-year funding.
The maximum amount of funding to be provided to a funding recipient in a fiscal year is set out in the funding agreement signed by the funding recipient.
A Funding Recipient is required to declare any and all sources of funding related to the Family Violence Prevention Program, including funding that is expected to be received or that is received, including all funding from the Government of Canada and from provincial, territorial, and municipal governments. Annual financial reporting must show all sources of funding received.
Provision for repayment will be made when DISC's contribution is in excess of $100,000 and when funding from all sources exceeds eligible expenditures. Funding Recipients must provide DISC with information showing the amount to be repaid and the basis for calculating that amount. The reimbursement should be proportionate to DISC's contribution, expressed as a percentage of the total funding obtained by the Funding Recipient from all government sources for that program.
To complement FVPP's shelter operating funds, a shelter can become a registered charity and benefit from charitable donations. Any charitable donations received by the registered shelter are not included in its stacking limits. For more information, refer to "Applying for Registration" on the Canada Revenue Agency website.
For information on managing unexpended/redirected funding please consult Departmental personnel for more information. Contact information is found in section 15 in this document.
The reporting requirements (program and financial reports) and their respective due dates are listed in the recipient's funding agreement, and details on these requirements are available in the Reporting Guide.
All funding recipient reporting requirements are subject to monitoring and oversight activities to determine the accuracy of the information provided to DISC.
To support monitoring and oversight activities funding recipients are required to collect and keep information regarding the expenses and management of a shelter and/or conducting prevention activities.Footnote 8
Examples of required documents include the following:
DISC's collection and use of personal information and other records for the purposes of program monitoring activities will be limited to what is necessary to ensure program delivery requirements are met.
DISC is responsible for all information and records in its possession. The confidentiality of the information will be managed by DISC in accordance with the Privacy Act and other related policies on privacy.
Funding recipients are responsible for the protection of personal information per the privacy legislation, regulations and/or policies that govern them up to the point that it is transferred to DISC.
Funding recipients shall develop and implement bylaws, policies and procedures to protect personal information, collected in the course of complying with the program delivery requirements, from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure.
DISC is committed to providing assistance to recipients in order for them to effectively carry out obligations set out in this document and funding agreements.
DISC has a responsibility to:
Funding recipients must deliver the programs in accordance with the provisions of their funding agreement and the program delivery requirements outlined in this document while also ensuring that the necessary management controls are in place to manage funding and monitor activities. Funding recipients are required to exercise due diligence when approving expenditures and must ensure that such expenditures are in accordance with the eligible expenditures set out in this document. Funding recipients must ensure that program administrators are properly trained and possess the skills and knowledge to deliver the programs.
Funding recipients must provide access to services in both English and French where there is significant demand and Part IV of the Official Languages Act is applicable.
The Regional Offices' coordinates can be found on the Regional Offices page.
You can also write to: PPVF-FVPP@canada.ca or PPVF-FVPP@aandc-aadnc.gc.ca.