211 Saskatchewan and Kinship Care Support Resources for Relative Caregivers

When you are suddenly raising a grandchild or a niece, the financial paperwork is only half the battle. The emotional weight — grief over your adult child's crisis, exhaustion from parenting a second time around, isolation from friends who do not understand your situation — needs its own kind of support. Saskatchewan has several organizations and helplines that connect relative caregivers with peer groups, practical referrals, and advocacy, but they are scattered across different agencies and websites.

What 211 Saskatchewan Does

211 is a free, confidential information and referral service available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can reach it by calling or texting 211 from any phone in Saskatchewan, or by searching the online directory at sk.211.ca.

When you call 211, a trained information specialist asks about your situation and connects you with local community services: food banks, emergency clothing, respite care, mental health counselling, housing support, parenting programs, and more. The service covers the entire province, including rural and northern communities.

For kinship caregivers specifically, 211 can help you find:

• Emergency supplies — food hampers, children's clothing banks, and furniture programs when a child arrives with nothing
• Respite care — short-term childcare so you can attend medical appointments or simply rest
• Mental health services — counselling for both you and the child, including grief and trauma support
• Legal information referrals — connections to PLEA, Legal Aid Saskatchewan, and Pro Bono Law Saskatchewan for family law questions

211 does not provide financial assistance or fill out government forms. Think of it as a starting point — the service that tells you where to go next when you do not know which office handles what.

Evermore Centre

The Evermore Centre (formerly known as the Adoption Support Centre of Saskatchewan) is a Saskatchewan non-profit that offers specialized support groups for kinship, foster, and adoptive families. Their programs include:

• Peer support groups — regular meetings where kinship caregivers share experiences, practical tips, and emotional support with others in similar situations
• Educational workshops — sessions on navigating government systems, understanding child behaviour after trauma, and managing caregiver stress
• One-on-one support — individual conversations with trained staff who understand the specific pressures of relative caregiving

Evermore's value for kinship caregivers is that their staff understand the difference between foster care and kinship care. A grandparent raising a grandchild under a PSI order faces different rules, different funding, and different emotional dynamics than a licensed foster parent — and Evermore's programming reflects that distinction.

CANGRANDS National Kinship Support Network

CANGRANDS is a national grassroots organization run by and for grandparents raising grandchildren across Canada. Founded by a grandmother who experienced the system firsthand, CANGRANDS provides:

• A national peer network — connecting Saskatchewan caregivers with grandparents across every province who share the same struggles
• Legal information sharing — practical tips from other relatives who have navigated CRA competing-claim reviews, Ministry of Social Services processes, and court filings
• Advocacy — CANGRANDS has lobbied federal and provincial governments for better financial recognition of kinship caregivers

CANGRANDS operates primarily through online forums and email lists, which makes it accessible even if you live in a rural Saskatchewan community far from in-person support groups.

Saskatchewan Foster Families Association (SFFA)

Although the SFFA's name says "foster families," their services extend to extended family caregivers who hold PSI orders. The SFFA publishes the monthly maintenance payment schedule for family care providers, including PSI caregivers. They also offer:

• Payment schedule information for extended family caregivers
• The Traditions of Caring program — an educational module designed specifically for extended family caregivers, covering child development, trauma-informed care, and navigating the ministry system
• Information about your rights as a caregiver within the provincial child welfare system

If you receive PSI maintenance payments, the SFFA is already part of your world whether you realize it or not — it publishes the payment schedule. Building a relationship with them can help you stay informed about rate changes and available supports.

Advocate for Children and Youth (ACY)

The Saskatchewan Advocate for Children and Youth is an independent office of the provincial legislature. The ACY does not provide direct financial help, but they play a critical role in holding the Ministry of Social Services accountable for how it treats children and caregivers in the system.

In April 2023, the ACY released "In Their Sufficient Interest?", a special investigation into the PSI program that found structural deficiencies affecting the roughly two thousand children in PSI care — eighty per cent of whom are Indigenous. The report led to a provincial PSI Action Plan running from 2024 through 2027, including maintenance rate increases and improved caregiver guidance.

If you believe a child in your care is not receiving services or support they are entitled to, you can contact the ACY directly. The office reviews concerns about government services to children and youth and can provide advocacy or investigate within its mandate.

Getting Started

The hardest part is often making the first call. If you are not sure where to begin, start with 211 — it costs nothing, it is confidential, and the person on the other end will help you sort out which organizations match your specific needs.

For a complete map of every financial benefit, legal pathway, and support resource available to Saskatchewan kinship caregivers, our Saskatchewan kinship financial help guide pulls it all together in one place, including a printable contacts directory you can keep by the phone.

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