Making the Links in Family Violence Cases: Collaboration among the Family, Child Protection and Criminal Justice Systems

• Volume I: PDF Version
• Volume II - Annexes: PDF Version

• Previous Page

Table of Contents

• Foreword
• Executive Summary
• Chapter 1 - Background
  • 1.1 Why focus on family violence?
  • 1.2 What do we mean by family violence?
    • 1.2.1 Typologies of intimate partner violence
  • 1.3 What do we know about family violence in Canada?
  • 1.4 What do we know about the incidence of parallel justice sector involvement in family violence cases?
  • 1.5 What are key differences between the relevant sectors of the justice system?
  • 1.6 Raising allegations of family violence
• Chapter 2 - Risk assessment
  • 2.1 Importance of risk assessment
  • 2.2 Terminology: “screening,” “threat assessment” and “risk assessment”
  • 2.3 Purpose: what do risk assessments tell us?
    • 2.3.1 Risk assessment of family violence or lethality
    • 2.3.2 Risk assessment by responding police officers
    • 2.3.3 Screening in family law settings
    • 2.3.4 Risk assessment for children whose parents are experiencing intimate partner violence
    • 2.3.5 Risk assessment tools with diverse client populations
  • 2.4 Risk management: how is the information used?
  • 2.5 Communicating risk
  • 2.6 What are the challenges/barriers to sharing risk assessments?
  • 2.7 Promising practices
    • 2.7.1 High-risk case coordination protocol framework & protocol committees
    • 2.7.2 Integrated threat and risk assessment centres
    • 2.7.3 Domestic violence death review committees
• Chapter 3 - Impact of pre-existing orders and proceedings
  • 3.1 Pre-existing criminal orders
    • 3.1.1 Intimate partner/spousal abuse charging policies
    • 3.1.2 Police release and judicial interim release (bail).
    • 3.1.3 Common bail conditions
    • 3.1.4 Impact of release or bail orders on child custody/parenting
    • 3.1.5 Delays in reporting
    • 3.1.6 Lack of communication and safety concerns
    • 3.1.7 Peace bonds
    • 3.1.8 Sentencing
  • 3.2 Pre-existing civil orders
  • 3.3 Promising practices
    • 3.3.1 Removing intersectional barriers to reporting
    • 3.3.2 Protocols and policies for Crowns to obtain orders prior to bail hearings
    • 3.3.3 Bail clauses that consider the impact on family proceedings
    • 3.3.4 Standard form orders in family law
    • 3.3.5 Court order databases
    • 3.3.6 Statutory provisions addressing conflicting orders
• Chapter 4 - Identification of multiple proceedings
  • 4.1 Promising practices
    • 4.1.1 Identifying family violence cases
    • 4.1.2 Requiring litigants to provide information about related proceedings and orders
    • 4.1.3 Requirement on court to inquire about family violence
    • 4.1.4 Court coordinators
    • 4.1.5 Technological innovations
    • 4.1.6 Other
• Chapter 5 - Coordination of court proceedings
  • 5.1 Challenges
  • 5.2 Promising practices
    • 5.2.1 One family – one judge
    • 5.2.2 One judge for each family law case
    • 5.2.3 One judge for all civil cases
    • 5.2.4 One judge for civil and criminal cases – integrated domestic violence courts
    • 5.2.5 Judicial communications
    • 5.2.6 Coordinated court/court coordinator models.
    • 5.2.7 Aboriginal Courtwork Program
• Chapter 6 - Evidentiary issues
  • 6.1 Evidence from one proceeding to another
    • 6.1.1 Criminal trials
    • 6.1.2 Disclosure to the accused in the criminal proceeding and to parents in child protection proceedings
    • 6.1.3 Family law and child protection trials
    • 6.1.4 Practical issues
    • 6.1.5 Judicial consideration of orders and evidence not on the record
  • 6.2 Promising practices
    • 6.2.1 D P v Wagg
    • 6.2.2 Uniform Prosecution Records Act
    • 6.2.3 Use of access to information legislation
    • 6.2.4 Ontario protocols
• Chapter 7 - Privacy
  • 7.1 Challenges
  • 7.2 Promising practices
    • 7.2.1 Police providing information directly to victims or potential victims of family violence
    • 7.2.2 Police and victim services
    • 7.2.3 Legislative changes.
    • 7.2.4 Multidisciplinary collaborations
    • 7.2.5 High-risk case coordination
    • 7.2.6 Other practice models
• Chapter 8 - Out-of-court dispute resolution
  • 8.1 Mediation and other dispute resolution
  • 8.2 Promising practices
    • 8.2.1 Training and practice standards
    • 8.2.2 Standardized assessment forms
    • 8.2.3 Practice standards and safeguards to address concerns about child protection mediation
• Chapter 9 - Services for families experiencing family violence
  • 9.1 Services associated with the criminal justice system
  • 9.2 Services associated with the family justice system..
  • 9.3 Services associated with the child protection system
  • 9.4 Challenges where there is a lack of coordination
  • 9.5 Promising practices
• Chapter 10 - Models of cross-sector collaboration
  • 10.1 Challenges/barriers to coordinated responses
  • 10.2 Promising practices
    • 10.2.1 International
    • 10.2.2 Models within Canada
• Conclusion
• Annex 1: Family violence statistics
  • 1. What do we know about the prevalence of family violence in Canada?
    • 1.1 Family violence – general
    • 1.2 Spousal violence
    • 1.3 Family violence against children and youth
    • 1.4 Witnessing spousal violence
    • 1.5 Homicide
    • 1.6 Impacts of family violence
  • 2. What do we know about the prevalence of reported child protection cases?
  • 3. What do we know about family violence in the context of the family justice system?
  • 4. What do we know about the incidence of parallel proceedings in family violence cases?
• Annex 2: Overview of justice system processes in family violence cases
  • 2.1 The criminal justice system
  • 2.2 The family justice system
  • 2.3 The child protection system
  • 2.4 Civil protection orders and family/domestic violence legislation
• Annex 3: Evaluations of integrated domestic violence courts
• Annex 4: Family violence responses by jurisdiction
  • Canada
  • Alberta
  • British Columbia
  • Manitoba
  • New Brunswick
  • Newfoundland and Labrador
  • Northwest Territories
  • Nova Scotia
  • Nunavut
  • Ontario
  • Prince Edward Island
  • Quebec
  • Saskatchewan
  • Yukon