Programs that provide a wide variety of social services that are designed to support the healthy development of families, improve family interaction skills and help fragile families to resolve their problems at a pre-crisis stage before they become unmanageable. Services may be centre-based or provided on an outreach basis to families who are initially reluctant to seek support and generally target the specific needs of a particular community. Included may be self-sufficiency programs which help families break the cycle of poverty by addressing the barriers to self-sufficiency; early child development and school success programs; programs which address the needs of teen parents; programs which target parents at risk for becoming abusive; programs for families with children who have special developmental needs and programs that focus on the maternal and child health care needs of first-time, expectant women whose babies are at high risk for low birth weight and infant mortality.

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Programs that provide regularly scheduled opportunities for parents to participate in a wide variety of recreational, arts and cultural activities with their youngsters. The experience provides a means for developing close family relationships at a stage in the child's life when quality time with their mother or father is essential for healthy development, and exposure to music, storytelling and similar pastimes can stir a child's imagination and spark their creativity. Other programs may focus on reading, games and early learning activities.

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