DMFS

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About Director Military Family Services

Keeping a busy work schedule from disrupting family life is a challenge faced by most Canadians. For members of the Canadian Forces (CF), balancing the unique demands of their military careers – including frequent moves and long, often stressful deployments – with the needs of their families can be especially difficult. That’s where we come in.

The Military Family Services Program (MFSP) promotes and facilitates community-based services which strengthen CF families and communities. The Program is designed to help families manage the unique stresses of the CF lifestyle through personal, family and community development.

At Director Military Family Services (DMFS), we manage and fund the MFSP on behalf of the CF and the Department of National Defence. It is our job to develop policies, provide resources, give professional guidance, and provide performance measurement tools to promote and sustain the excellence, relevance and accountability of the Program.

The MFSP is delivered locally by 32 Canadian/Military Family Resource Centres (C/MFRCs) located across Canada, five throughout the United States, and six overseas. These Centres also provide outreach and virtual services to ensure that the Program is available and accountable to all CF families across the country and around the world. 

At DMFS, our staff are divided into three sections. The Policy and Program Development team takes the lead on developing new initiatives and family strategy. This group develops, updates and revises MFSP policies and programs to ensure that they meet the emerging needs of CF families. Policy and Program Development staff also develop the evaluation framework for the MFSP to keep the Program responsive and accountable to the families we serve, as well as to the Department of National Defence.

Once policies and programs are developed, the Military Family Services team comes into play. This team is divided into two subsections: Field Operations, who provide training and support to C/MFRCs; and National Programs and Services, who maintain ongoing programs, and also provide direct, national services support to military families. Among these direct services are the Family Information Line, a 1-800 line which provides supportive counselling and useful information to the families of deployed personnel, and www.familyforce.ca, an online portal connecting military families with their local C/MFRC and other available services. 

Finally, DMFS also has a Corporate Services section which is dedicated to keeping the whole organization running. This team focuses their work on business planning and financial management, communications and promotion, as well as administrative support to DMFS staff.

Looking for more information about who's who? Click here to view our organization charts.