CARS Projects

Periodically the volunteer Co-Managers of Rural Voices organize and seek funds for national projects and events. Presently there are three projects related to the CARS process: a national conference which occurred February 2008, and two CARS training projects that are still in progress. Information on all three projects is provided.

CARS for Women and Children in Rural, Remote, Northern and Aboriginal Communities (RRNA) is a project to increase the participation of mothers in the development and delivery of local services in RRNA communities across Canada. The project is sponsored by the Canadian Women’s Health Network (CWHN) in partnership with Rural Voices. CWHN is a voluntary national organization working to improve the health and lives of girls and women in Canada by collecting, producing, distributing and sharing knowledge, ideas, education, information, resources, strategies and inspirations. Rural Voices is a national network that works with interested community members, organizations and governments to build, strengthen and modify services to better meet the needs of rural, remote and northern families in Canada. The project is funded by the federal government’s Social Development Partnerships Program. Over a 15-month period, the CARS for Women and Children in RRNA Communities project will train two groups of mothers in RRNA communities to use this 10-step process to increase the involvement of local mothers in the development and delivery of services for families and children in their communities.
View the CARS final report.pdf

Improving Access to Early Child Development and Parenting Opportunities for Rural Remote and Northern Families Across Canada.

This project will support two rural remote and northern communities in each province and territory in developing responsive early child development services for community parents and young children using a pre-tested community development process called CARS (Communities Achieving Responsive Services). The project will focus on the building of sustainable partnerships among parents, communities and governments focused on the local program design of community early learning and care supports and related policy issues. The project is funded from June 2007 to May 2010.

85 people from 11 provinces/territories attended this event, with over 75% of participants living in communities of less than 10,000 people. Participants learned about the CARS process through key note speakers and workshop sessions regarding the key components of the CARS process. Recent research regarding rural issues, the critical role of child care in communities and the importance of the early years were also presented and discussed. Networking during the conference was the highlight for many participants. Evaluations were quite positive with a suggestion that a second conference be held again soon.