DMFS

• DMFS Update
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
• Training
  • Presentations and Training
• Funding Central
• MFSP Participant Survey
• Research
• C/MFRCs In Focus
  • Submission Guidelines
• Resources for C/MFRCs
  • Children's Deployment Support Program
  • Key Reference Documents
  • Forms
  • MFRC Board Orientation and Training Kit
  • C/MFRC Contact List
  • MFSP Logos
  • Second Language Training
  • Policies and Standards
  • Publications
  • Research
  • Deployment Support Database
  • Family Violence Prevention and Awareness
• Useful Links

Families have their say in annual Participant Survey

Each year, the Military Family Services Program (MFSP) Participant Survey gives military families a chance to have their say about the services they receive at their local Canadian/Military Family Resource Centre (C/MFRC): which services work well, which could use a tweak or two, and which aren’t working well at all.

In 2010, the MFSP Participant Survey was conducted in January and February. The results have been tabulated, and local reports have been forwarded to each C/MFRC. These reports will give each C/MFRC a detailed breakdown of their results, indicating where their Centres are succeeding, and which services require attention.

In addition to the local reports, Director Military Family Services (DMFS) is providing a Summary Report to give a collective picture of how well families think the MFSP is meeting their needs. C/MFRCs will find it useful to compare their local results to the program-wide averages to get a better sense of how families have identified their Centre’s unique strengths and challenges.

In general, the Summary Report includes very positive responses from families about the services they receive. Since DMFS began administering the MFSP Participant Survey in 2006:

• increasingly, families have responded positively about the welcoming, respectful, and inviting atmosphere created by C/MFRCs;
• though there remains much work to do, families have reported increased satisfaction with their access to emergency respite and casual child care;
• families who participate more often in C/MFRC programs have reported that they are better able to manage family separation and reunion challenges;
• families have rated deployment and reunion services increasingly highly, despite the high operational tempo of the last four years.

Though the Summary Report indicates largely positive results, there are several areas for improvement noted by families. Making smooth employment transitions in new postings continues to be a challenge for military family members. Access to reliable and affordable emergency respite and casual child care remains another area of concern. Tangible improvements to these service areas are included in the suite of MFSP enhancements which DMFS will present to the senior leadership of the Canadian Forces (CF) for their endorsement and direction this autumn. 

The Summary Report also indicated that the returns received for the 2010 Participant Survey were improved from 2009. There were 2308 total respondents, for a 14% response rate compared to an 11% response rate in 2009. DMFS appreciates all C/MFRCs that made a concerted effort to increase their response rate, and would like to see response rates raise even further in the future.

The feedback received from the Participant Survey is vital to the success of the MFSP. Hearing directly from CF families keeps the program accountable to the communities we serve, and generates useful data that influences both the local and national direction the MFSP will take as it evolves.

To read the 2010 MFSP Participant Survey Summary Report, click here.